My life is chaos.  Complete, utter, chaos.  And most days I am just trying to keep me head above water.  it can, honestly, get depressing and lonely too. So I have come up with some things that make my life a tad easier.  Not many, honestly, but some!

10 Tips for Mom

1)  I – try – to do a load of laundry a day.  Even on Sunday.  Because that is 7 loads a week.  And, for some reason, when I let it pile up and do it all at once, I suddenly have 12 loads.  I don’t know how that works, but I am all for 7 loads.

2)  I  – try – to clean my house after everyone goes to bed.  Yes, some nights it is very late, like midnight.  But I find that sweeping, mopping, and dusting at night, when it is quiet and no one can mess it up, can not only be therapeutic, in a way, but also makes my mornings easier.  There is almost nothing better than waking up to a clean house.  Except maybe, someone else cleaning it for you at midnight.

3)  I buy up every basket, bin, or bucket on clearance.  I find that picking up a thousand toys a day is a lot easier when I can just toss it into a bucket.  I don’t care if they match – anymore – I just need a bucket!

4)  I use paper plates.  With 4 people on this house and at least, 6 meals a day, I was doing dishes at least twice a day.  I tired of it, remembered that the store has paper plates, and bought some.  They have “green” plates too!  And silverware.  And napkins.

5)  I keep cleaning supplies and toilet brushes in every bathroom – we have 4.  I find that I can keep up easier if they are within reach.  I scrub the girl’s bathrooms while they take baths!

6)  I always clean out and rearrange my pantry and refrigerator before I go to the store.  It provides me with a true list of what I need – since I have no memory – and also makes putting groceries away faster and easier!

7)  I dress, brush, and groom my kids all at once, all in the same bathroom.  Maybe when they are older that will change.  But right now it is easier to assembly line them.  One, two, three – all clean, brushed, and bowed!

8)  I use a white board, religiously!  I write everything I have to do down and make sure I keep on top of it.  Everything even mentioned that we have to do in this house gets written down.  From what is for dinner to what I need to send to school with the girls.  I live by it!

9)  I set my alarm and try to get up before my girls.  Even if I can beat them by 10 minutes, I feel like I started the day for me.  It makes my day easier because I feel I am ahead of the curb, instead of always catching up if they wake me.

10)  I talk, and blog, and Tweet, and Facebook.  Keeping in touch with my friends makes my day easier because I feel I am not alone!  And if I have a question then I can almost always get it answered in a few minutes!

These are little things that alone, don’t seem like they affect my day at all.  But when I combine them and really try to eliminate extra stress by adhering to them, I find that my day is much smoother!

What little tips do you have to make your day run a little smoother? I would love to hear them!

Originally Published November 24, 2010