(Disclaimer: Stay at home moms, work from home moms, and even dads are also welcome to utilize these hot tips!)
Some moms seem to have it all together. They work full time, make home cooked meals, and when you go over to their house, somehow it’s always clean. Always! I’m here to tell you that I am not that mom. I am a Type B, laid back, always running late, kind of messy, barely keeping it all together mom. I work full-time, and by golly, it’s hard. I never feel like anything is getting completely done around the house, and it starts to weigh on me. How does a working mama do it? I read a book by Joanna Gaines a while back, and she mentioned that she was a lot happier when she made the choice to let certain things go when it came to how clean her home was with kids in it. Well, I’ve seen the inside of her house on tv, and I’ve seen the inside of my house. And if I let any more go, I’ll lose my kid in the laundry pile.
I haven’t completely lost my sanity yet, and here are some ways I hang onto that last shred:
1. Grocery Pickup
When my son was born I realized I didn’t have time anymore to meander the aisles of Walmart, Kroger, Aldi, Target, etc. Luckily for me, our Walmart had recently started offering grocery pickup. Here’s how it works: You download the grocery app, take a few minutes to pick out your items, choose what day/time you want to pick them up, drive up to the side of the store, and someone wheels your groceries out and LOADS THEM IN YOUR CAR FOR YOU. I wouldn’t joke about this. It is the greatest invention since sliced bread. There is also grocery delivery, which I have not tried yet because I am a little bit of a control freak and I like to be able to check my groceries as they go in the car. That way, if I forgot something I can still run in. Walmart does their own pickup and delivery service. Target offers certain items for pickup. Kroger, Food City, Aldi, and several other local stores use Instacart for delivery. Type in your zip code on their website and see what’s near you.
2. Another way I make the most of my time is to use my lunch breaks to be productive.
Sometimes this means buying stamps. Sometimes it means walking around the parking lot because it’s the only chance I’ll have that day to “exercise.” A big thing that helps me is bringing my lunch to work. Why waste time going through a drive through when I can have my lunch microwaved and eaten in 10 minutes, and then walk around the parking lot for 20 minutes? Just be sure you take lunches that don’t take a lot of time to pack, because then you’re losing precious evening or morning minutes packing it!
3. Something I haven’t tried yet but would love to try is a laundry wash and fold service.
Knoxville has a couple of laundromats that offer to wash and fold your laundry, and so does
Oak Ridge. Could you imagine as a new parent if someone gave you the gift of your laundry getting picked up, washed, folded, and returned to your doorstep? As long as the place seemed super clean (and I would recommend reading online reviews) this sounds pretty great to me!
My other go-tos for saving my sanity:
-Using the crockpot at least once a week (one of my co-workers recently got a Wi-Fi crockpot that she could control with an app?! That would have saved the roast I recently forgot to turn on…)
-Carry a cold bag in the car. Perfect for lunch break or after work last-minute grocery stops!
-Make dinner at home as much as possible. You’re all home together while it’s being made. And while you’re waiting for the oven to pre-heat you can throw in a load of laundry or unload the dishwasher.
-Marie Kondo your work clothes, shoes, jewelry, and makeup. I did this earlier this year after watching her “Tidying Up” show. I used to have a lot of “I have nothing to wear” mornings; now everything I have is something I like and wear often and it fits well.
-Put your kid to sleep in his school clothes. I have a toddler, so a lot of his clothes are soft. But it’s pretty great not to battle him every morning when it’s time to put on clothes for daycare.
I know there are many other great ideas; I know this because I see you other working moms who look way more put together than I do. So share your ideas with the rest of us! Pretty please. Thanks a million.
I love all of these ideas! I have NEVER heard of a WIFI crockpot! 😱 That sounds amazing!
I wouldn’t survive without grocery pick-up and lunchtime walks! Great article and tips!