Working Mom Life Hacks?

@jackos We lay out clothes the night before too! I leave for work before my daughter and husband do, so it really helps the mornings.

We library it too! Saves so much money. I tried to plan ahead and request books to our small branch of the library, making the trip even more efficient.

I listen to podcasts or an audiobook while doing chores, makes it so much more enjoyable.
 
@quedee
  • roborock vacuum + mop
  • Walmart+ in home delivery
  • buy the kids more undies/socks if that is the only reason you are doing laundry weekly. I can go 3 weeks without doing my kids laundry, then it just takes 1-2 loads to do it all (small kids, small clothes)
  • lower expectations
  • throw stuff away! Donate toys no one plays with, throw away art projects from school (that you aren’t saving), throw out party favors, etc
  • if you get a lot of mail, sign up for paperless. Then, when do you do get physical mail, it’s mostly all trash and can easily throw out
  • I double/triple recipes I make and we eat on it for a few days. When I do soup, I’ll do the same and freeze half
  • factor meals are awesome for quick/healthy lunch or dinner but $$$
 
@matt21 I double recipes too! I only cook on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. We eat leftovers on Tuesday/Thursday/ Sunday. Friday is always take out!

3 weeks, no laundry- love this!

Walmart + is my absolute favorite, just added eMeals to it and now they make my grocery list and auto import it to Walmart for me.
 
@quedee Still pregnant, no kids yet, but I plan to rotate toys so that they aren’t all available at the same time. Helps keep it fresh for kids and less out means less to clean up/ sort at once. I used to work in childcare and it works!
 
@quedee If able feed kids dinner when they get home from school.

It may not be a great hack for working moms who don’t get home until 5. But I’ve always worked from home or in the field where I’m usually home by 2pm.

In elementary my kids would get home around 3:30/4 and be starving. I didn’t want them snacking and ruining their appetite so I just fed them dinner then if they wanted a snack later no problem.

Also dishes were done and kitchen clean before 6 and you could enjoy your evening.
 
@quedee Chatgpt for meal planning and grocery lists. Backup easy meals on hand for when that fails, like Mac n cheese and peas, veggie stir fry or breakfast for dinner.

Make and freeze muffins and sheet pan eggs (thank you MJ and the hungry man blog).

Checklists and packing lists for trips so we don't forget anything.

Shared calendars and monthly color coded calendar visible in the kitchen.

Automated recurring calendar reminders for stuff like changing air filters, contacts and pet flea and tick meds.

Solo activities with our daughter. One parent bonds, the other can do whatever.

Transition time. So often we go from one thing to the next. It's not 100% of the time, but I try to have 5-30 minutes of "me" time after work and before daycare pickup. Some days it's listening to a favorite song and dancing in the kitchen, others it's a word puzzle or podcast.

Exercise and occasionally going to bed when the baby does.

Grace and understanding that some days are about survival and that's okay.
 
@quedee Wow, I enjoy grocery shopping and would love to have a cleaner. If I clean my house I get distracted and it takes for ever, if I have a cleaner coming I just have to tidy it and they do in a couple of hours what it would take me most of a, day to do.
 
@quedee —Roombas: We have roombas for each floor of the house and run them daily.

— Meal planning and cooking: I keep our meal planning simple. Tuesdays are always taco Tuesdays, I do one crockpot meal a week, and always have frozen veggies on hand. Fridays are our takeout night and Sundays we do dinner at in-laws. I try to have one leftovers night on Thursday. I use the air fryer, crockpot and rice cooker a lot. I have a few set meals I rotate through.

—Grocery shopping: I order our groceries through pickup through the store’s website. Saves so much time!

—Laundry: We also have separate hampers for everyone. My husband does the laundry.
 
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