“As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you” – Isaiah 66:13
Being a stay at home mom (SAHM) is a big job, its a full time job. I tip my hat to all the moms that do public work while having kids. Although we own a cleaning business I am still at home a majority of the time. So I say the cleaning business is my side job because being a SAHM is my full time job. It is such a full time job that I work 24/7. Raising kids is a very challenging and fulfilling job. It’s the best job I’ve ever had and I am very thankful the Lord has allowed me to do this. In this post I will talk about positive habits every SAHM should have and try to practice everyday. Yes life will always get in the way and you may not do these habits every day, but doing them a majority of time will help. These are habits that I have started myself to help me try to keep my sanity.
Positive Habit #1 Schedule
When our first child was born I never had a schedule for us and it worked fine but as our two younger ones came along it got hectic and stressful for me. So I decided to make a daily schedule for our family. With my husband working third shift at this time, we want to eat dinner with him so we eat an early. We may not follow this to a tee everyday but it is something to go back to when I’m feeling overwhelmed to get me back on track.
- 7am – 8:30am: Breakfast – this gives me time to get up make breakfast and get dishes cleaned up.
- 9am – 11am: School
- 11am – 12:30pm: Lunch
- 12:30pm – 2pm: Finish up school
- 2pm – 3:30pm: Chores
- 4pm: Dinner
- 5pm – 8pm: Free time
- 8pm: Kids showers
- 9pm: Kids bedtime
Like I said we don’t follow this schedule to a tee but we try. After every meal I load the dishwasher and try to clean up the cooking area. Sometimes this habit gets skipped because I lose track of time, but it always works out at the end of the day. Every night I try to make sure all the dishes are clean because it’s nice to wake up to not having a sink full of dishes. Dishes are my arch enemy, because we eat all meals at home and there are five of us, dishes are a never ending cycle so we got a portable dish washer to help out. Also in this planner is my business planner. I keep track of the houses we are going to clean and about how long it will take. I also keep track of when I need to try to work on my blog and work on making graphics for our cleaning business.
Positive Habit #2 To Do List
Although I have a schedule for our day it can still get a little overwhelming for me so I write a to do list for the day. My list consist of everything down to reminding me to drink water. With three kids my sensitivity can overload a lot and this habit helps me tremendously. My list is a lot of reminding me to do certain things I want to make sure I do. By the end of the day if I haven’t checked everything off my list I just breath and make a list for the next day and those unchecked things go to the top of it. My list starts with the most important things that need to be done to the least important. In the bible, The Lord tells us not to worry about tomorrow. If we worry all the time how do we have time to just live and love on the Lord. Making a to-do list helps me to not worry!
Positive Habit #3 Meal Planning
Meal planning has taken a HUGE weight off my shoulders in our day to day routines. Before I started planning our meals I stressed out everyday trying to figure out what to cook. This also helps with the budget when we go to the grocery store. Because our family eats three a day at home I plan for breakfast, lunch, dinner everyday. My husband gets paid bi-weekly so the night before I see what food we have in the house and start planning out meals for two weeks. What we don’t have I get from the store. There are a ton of printable meal planners out there for free or to purchase. However, I just use a regular planner.
Another cool thing we got is this dry erase menu board. My husband found this at the Dollar General and picked it up for us. I write down our menu weekly that way everyone knows what are we having. It also helps me keep up with things that we run out of so I can make sure it goes on our list.
Positive Habit #4 Time With The Lord
This is one of my most important habits. Spending time with the Lord is important for our faith, mind, spirit, and health. Without God nothing is impossible to conquer and that includes being a mom. Having three littles is a lot of work, especially when we homeschool, but none of this would be possible without Him. In January I made a New Years Resolution that I was going to read my Bible everyday and get closer to the Lord. So far I have kept that resolution and it has helped me tremendously. I am able to go day to day with less worry and He strengthens me everyday. I am a child of God and He always reminds me of that. Life is hard without God. Spending time with Him everyday benefits not only me, but my family too. This has helped remind me to pray everyday and to fully rely on Him.
Having a close relationship with the Lord is crucial for us. He created us in His own image and we need to be praising Him everyday for that. I have so much to be thankful for; my husband, my children, my home, my family, the food we eat. So I try to make sure that everyday I spend some time with the Lord. This can be reading my Bible, praying, worshiping, or giving thanks over our food. Just thanking Him for everything He has done for us. Thank Him by spending time with Him. He loves spending time with us. Always remember who you are: “YOU ARE A CHILD OF THE KING”!
Positive Habit #5 Having Me Time
Having “me” time is another big habit to remember. Being a mom is very tiring and draining. We all love our kids very much but sometimes we just need to step away and have time for ourselves. This is a time to recharge and have a fresh start. This can be watching your favorite show when the kids go to bed, reading a book, having your kids go outside so you can have a moment to yourself. Here at our house my only me time is when my kids go to bed. Very rarely do I get a whole day or go out with the girls, but that’s OK. But if I don’t get at least a little time to myself, I can get a little grouchy. It’s not because I’m mad but that I didn’t get that time to recharge.
Closing
These habits have helped me so much in the past year and they may help you. Your habits do not have to look like this at all they are unique to you. I’m more of a pen and paper kind of gal so my planners and lists work best for me. Everyone is different, find your 3 – 5 positive habits and stick to them….for your sanity!