Being a mom is already a full-time job. Add in an actual full-time job on top of that, and some days it feels like there just aren’t enough hours in the day.
You’re trying to do school runs, answer emails, cook dinner, fold laundry, and somewhere in between you’re supposed to sneak in self care. I’m not gonna lie, it can feel overwhelming. But one thing I learnt in the past year with the birth of my third child is that with a few habits in place you can stay organised and manage your family better. This post is all about the 10 simple tips that will help you stay organized as a full-time working mom.
10 Tips for an organised working Mom
Tip 1: Have a family calendar everyone can see
Whether it’s a wall calendar in the kitchen or an Google calendar on your phone, keep one calendar that has everything. From school events, doctor’s appointments, work deadlines, to sports practice. When you do this there are no surprises. Everyone knows what’s happening, and you stop carrying it all in your head.
Tip 2: Pack bags and lunches the night before
I shared this in a previous post about night routines for working moms. Mornings are already so busy, and will get worse if you leave everything for the last minute. So it’s always best to pack backpacks, work bags, even lunchboxes before bed and put them by the door. Try this and you’ld see it makes things so much easier. Plus there’s less rush.
Tip 3: Use Sunday as your reset day
Don’t wait until Monday to figure the week out. Take a little time on Sunday to meal plan, lay out outfits for the week, and get the house back in order. Sunday is also a good day to look through your work calendar for the upcoming week. Do you have any upcoming deadlines? are there any morning meetings? Are there meetings that coincide with pick up time or your child’s school play? This little preparation will help you stay organised both at home and at work and put you in a great position for the whole week.
Tip 4: Keep meals simple on most days
What to make for dinner or school lunch causes decision fatigue in so many moms. The trick is to avoid last minute scrambling about what to eat and plan your meals. Have go-to quick meals: pasta with veggies, tacos, sheet-pan dinners. For breakfast – scrambled eggs, toast, cereal and fruits, pancakes. Write it all down in your phone app or on a physical meal planner.
Meal planning will give you one less thing to worry about during the week so you can focus, stay productive and put your best foot forward.
Tip 5: Declutter often
The less stuff you have, the less you have to clean and organize. If toys, clothes, or random papers are taking over, you’ll struggle to look for things and you’ll have no space to keep things tidy. Mentally, you’ll feel disorganised. So try to declutter a little each week. It makes a big difference.
RELATED: 45 Ways to avoid clutter in your home
Tip 6: Do small daily resets
Instead of saving everything for Saturday, do 10–15 minutes a day. Load the dishwasher, quick tidy of the living room, wipe down the counters. These tiny resets keep the house clean and prevent mess from becoming overwhelming.
Tip 7: Plan outfits ahead of time
Nothing slows you down like the morning ‘what do I wear?’ battle. To make things smoother, lay out clothes for you and the kids the night before or even for the whole week.
If you’re a mom who struggles with finding what to wear, check out these 9 outfit formulas for busy moms and it’ll make picking out your outfits so much easier.
Tip 8: Use timers to stay focused
When you only have 20 minutes before bedtime, set a timer. Race the clock to fold laundry or pick up toys. It makes chores fun. It also makes boring chores feel doable, and you don’t get stuck for hours. Sometimes the thought of how long a chore will take is what puts us off. So when we have the time we want to give to the chore under our control, it makes us more willing to do things.
Tip 9: Prioritise and Ask for help and share the load
To be organised you need to prioritise like your life depends on it. When you feel like you have too much on your plate, ask yourself: What do you really need to do NOW? Your kids homework that is due tomorrow or shopping for garden supplies you may or may not need by weekend. Sometimes misplaced priorities make us feel and seem very disorganised.
Also, you don’t need to do it all. Maybe you can supervise the kids to do their homework while your partner does the shopping. Older kids can also help pack their snacks, Loading of the dish washer can be shared. When the work load is shared and feels lighter, you feel less overwhelmed and more motivated to stay organised and on top of things.
Tip 10: Give yourself grace
Not everything will get done everyday. Close enough is perfect. Some days you’ll feel on top of things, other days you might forget an appointment, or a child will fall sick and you’ll have to snuggle all day, or you’ll just get by folding one load of laundry with a disorganised utility room. That’s just the reality of being human and raising little humans that main stream productivity tips forget about.
Just do your best, try to avoid being burnout and prioritise spending quality time with your family.
Final thoughts on staying organised as a mom.
So those are 10 simple tips to stay organized as a full-time working mom. Try a few, see what sticks, and remember it’s about progress, not perfection.
If this helped you, hit that like button, sign up for more mom-life tips in your inbox, and tell me in the comments—what’s yournumber one hack that keeps your family organized? I’d love to hear it.
