Survival Tips for a Stay At Home Mom

Stay at Home Mom tips

Wilted or in Bloom which  flower  represents you?

A blooming flower or a wilted one.  Which one are you?  

Are you enjoying and relishing the moments that you have with your children at home or feeling frazzled and stressed up over the little things?

I believe that it is in the mind on how you feel about staying at home with the kids.  It is up to you to create the type of live you want to lead.  It is possible to get through the day without having your feathers being ruffled by the kids.

Staying at home to be fully present in my kids life is one of the best decision which I have made.   It wasn’t a painful decision but being at home with the kids has far from been a bed of roses for me.

It has been a learning experience for me and after nearly 10 years of trial and error I finally found out what works best for my family and me.

Here are some tips that I have to share with other moms which would make  staying at home easier.

  1. Don’t expect your house to be meticulously clean and everything in it’s place.

    With kids around messes are expected and tolerable.  There are bound to be spills and other “accidents” happening around the house.  Tackle one square at a time while cleaning up and before you know it the house will be back in order. Clean up spills and messes as soon as they happen  so there will  not be stains.

  2. Don’t be afraid to get the kids to help out.

    Once they can walk steadily around they are able to help you with the housework so you get rope them in to help.  Many little hands do make the work easier and time pass faster.  I got my kids to help keep items, vacuuming the house and sort out the laundry when they were toddlers. Now that they are older and in elementary school they help in the cooking, washing the dishes and ironing too.
  3. Steal minutes and seconds for yourself to recharge.

    The kids and the housework  don’t have to be attended to immediately all the time. It is okay to take time out for a short breather during the day for some downtime so that you will be able to focus on the tasks that you have to carry out.

  4. It is okay not to be perfect or things not to turn out as you expect.
    You are not competing with anyone in your journey as a mother.  It is a constant learning journey which started from when your first kid was born. The environment and the developmental stage of your kid(s) changes so you need to adapt to these changes as and when they happen.
  5. Baking soda and Distilled Vinegar are your best friends. 

    These two substances come in really handy at home and are used to clean up everything. You just need to rub the baking soda on the surface you are cleaning before adding in the distilled vinegar. After both substance react with each other you just need to scrub over the area and it will be as clean as before.

With these five tips listed above  I hope that   your daily routines at home  will be a little easier and less stressful and that you be able to have more magical moments with the kids.

This post is part of a blog train hosted by Gingerbreadmum where 31 stay-at-home mums share their survival tips. We hope that you’ll find our tips useful and remember that you’re not alone!

Next up on  the blog train is  Ondine is the mother of JED (Jordan, Evan and Dylan- fondly known as Muffin on her blog). She blogs about them here  chronicling, celebrating and reflecting. She wears her heart on her blog and writes only about what matter to her and JED.

 ” After reflecting on those early stay home days with the twins, Ondine decided that an apology letter to her husband was in order and shares that somewhat personal letter on her blog. Have a look tomorrow to see what it was that drove her to need to issue such a public apology.”