There is no doubt about it! Having kids can turn your life upside down! Long gone are the times when you only had to think about yourself and lazy Sunday lie-ins are most certainly a thing of the past!
I learned very quickly when my eldest was born 12 years ago, that for me the key to maintaining a level of normality as a parent was to get organised! By making sure that things ran as smoothly as possible at home I could then focus on the more important stuff in life (like raising my children and creating happy memories).
The lovely people at Shark have asked me to share with you my top tips for getting organised and keeping everything running smoothly at home!
(Sadly though I still am searching for the secret to getting back the lazy Sunday lie-ins. I now have three kids and the youngest is three years old and he thinks sleep is for wimps!)
But without further ado … Here are my top tips for staying organised when you have kids.
- Be your future friend! Now those of you who already follow The Organised Mum Method will be very familiar with this concept. The basic premise is … do as much as you can today that will make your life easier tomorrow. For example, spend a quick 5/10 mins making sure you are prepped for the school run in the morning/don’t leave dishes in the sink to go all hard and gross/and always fold stuff as soon as the tumble dryer is finished, to massively cut down on the ironing! … you get the idea. It is just another way of saying don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today!
- Get into a routine. This is such lifesaver! As soon as you get some structure in your life things will flow smoother. Everyone will know where they need to be and what is expected of them. What I always say about routines is that you are best to let one evolve naturally around your lifestyle. It won’t work if you are trying to shoehorn a routine into your life, this will just be stressful. Far better to sit back and watch as one forms around you.
- Speaking of routines … if you haven’t already done so make sure you check out The Organised Mum Method. It is transforming lives all over the world. Yes I know this sounds dramatic but this is what people are feeding back! TOMM gets all the housework done in 30 mins a day 5 days a week (weekends are completely housework free so you can enjoy yourself! Happy days!)
- Make the morning your friend! Get yourself ready before you deal with the kids. If you are sick of doing the school run looking like Worzel Gummidge then this tip is for you! Even if you get up 15 minutes earlier, commit to spending some time making sure you feel ready for the day. It will make a massive difference to your mindset!
- Do one load of laundry every day. And by a load of laundry, I mean wash it, dry and PUT IT AWAY! Piles of laundry around the house will not only start to look messy but they will stress you out! I put one load on as soon as I wake up and then by the time I am ready to leave the house it is ready to be hung on the line or popped in the dryer. Then later in the day I fold it and put it away.
- Try your hardest to not procrastinate … procrastination sucks already precious time from your day. Don’t think about it … do it!
- Let go of perfect because this way madness lies. If you can, try and relax your standards and know that good enough is ok. We can’t do everything to a Pinterest standard and that is ok!
- They say it takes a month to establish a habit, so if you are not a naturally organised person then fake it to make it for a month. I bet by the end of the 30 days you will be doing lots of things you would never expect and most importantly you will probably be doing them on auto-pilot by the time the end of the month rolls around.
- Add in some contingency! If you are the sort of person who is always arriving late then oh boy do I have a top tip for you! Firstly work out what time you need to be somewhere and then work backwards taking away your travel time, how long it will take you to get ready and leave the house etc. The time you are left with is the time you need to leave. Now minus another 15 minutes and this little bit of contingency will be your buffer should you encounter any bumps in the road on your journey (see what I did there?)
- And finally … If you’re not a naturally organised person (which I am guessing you’re not as you are reading this!) then take it one step at a time. You won’t be able to overhaul your whole character in a day. Start small and change one thing at a time and then build up from there. You’ve got this!
If you want more inspiration housekeeping tips (not to mention quick fuss-free recipes) then come and say hi over on the blog!