“Busy mom” is a bit redundant, isn’t it? We mean, all moms are insanely busy. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a working mom or a stay-at-home mom: If you have little ones running around, you’re probably up to your eyeballs in daily hassles and decisions. What should the kids wear for school? What should you make for dinner? Did you ever get around to scheduling that dentist appointment? It just never seems to end!
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Balancing motherhood is incredibly tough, we know, and nothing you do will ever truly make it 100 percent stress-free. The good news? There are plenty of ways to simplify your life and make navigating your daily to-dos much less complicated. Below, here are six life hacks to make your life a whole lot simpler.
Hack #1: Create a Kid’s Capsule Wardrobe
Want to simplify laundry day, organize your kid’s closet, save money, and spend less time shopping? (This isn’t a trick question, we promise!) You can achieve this seemingly impossible dream by building a kid’s capsule wardrobe.
Started by Caroline Rector of Un-fancy, the capsule wardrobe trend has been taking the style world by storm. Here’s how it works: You build a wardrobe of versatile pieces that you absolutely love. With each new season, you clear out most of your closet, save for a few key pieces. Do it for your kids, your spouse, and yourself—then, be amazed when your wallet expands and the clutter magically shrinks!
Hack #2: Make the Most of Your Daily Commute
Between driving the kids to school, shuffling them to and from soccer practice, and running errands, moms often spend a lot of time in the car. Why not get more out of your driving time by sneaking in some healthy habits on the road? For instance, you could do pelvic floor exercises at stoplights. The kids won’t know that you’re doing them, and they’re a great way to strengthen the muscles that help you hold your bladder. (Because “mom bladder” is real, people.)
Another way to maximize your commute? Use it to practice mindful meditation. Focusing on what’s in front of you, the feel of the steering wheel in your hands, and sensing the movements of the car can dissolve a lot of stress and anger you may be experiencing. Since meditating with kids is next to impossible, you’ll probably want to practice mindfulness after you drop the kids off at school or soccer practice.
Hack #3: Cut the Cable Cord
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Still watching TV using a cable box? Consider cutting the cord in favor of TV streaming services like Disney Plus, Netflix, Sling TV, and Amazon Prime Video. Ditching cable TV will help you save money by drastically reducing your monthly bill. No more paying for TV shows you don’t watch!
If you’re hanging onto your cable television because of those price-saving bundles, just know that you can bundle streaming services as well. For instance, Disney Plus has a plan that tacks on ESPN and Hulu when you sign up for their subscription services. And don’t forget that you can potentially get local programming for free with a simple TV antenna.
A quick word of caution, though: Be prepared to spend some time on the phone with customer service when you cancel your cable television. They don’t make it easy!
Hack #4: Share the Load
You’re a busy mom. Your neighbor is a busy mom. Why not combine your supermom powers and share the childcare load? Bring some sanity to both of your schedules by figuring out a simple carpool arrangement and scheduling time to watch each other’s kids while the other runs errands or enjoys a date night.
Don’t have a fellow mom to help you share the load? Find your “mom squad” through Peanut, a social networking app that helps busy moms connect and support each other. Remember, it takes a village!
Hack #5: Get It Delivered
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Picture this: After running errands with the kids all day, you finally get home. Exhausted, you dump your purse on the table and collapse into a chair. You’re ready to unwind from a stressful day until a realization occurs—you forgot to pick up the groceries. Sigh.
We’ve all been there before. Why not make your life easier by signing up for subscription services that send products straight to your door? You can get almost anything delivered to your door these days, from toothbrush sets to incontinence products for women. Take advantage of subscription services for all those little things that you’re most forgetful about and you’ll always be covered!
Hack #6: Make Dinner Go Further
As if making breakfast for the kids and packing their lunches for school every day wasn’t hard enough, you also have to figure out what’s for dinner. Every. Single. Night. Sure, you could do takeout sometimes, but everyone knows that cooking meals at home is healthier and easier on the wallet.
The obvious solution is to meal prep on Sunday. But let’s face it– even that can be challenging for busy moms. If you’re struggling to make meal prepping a consistent habit, start small by planning a few meals each week and doubling the amount you make for each one. Boom—you have leftovers for the next day, which is one less meal to think about.
If you want to make dinner time even simpler, cook your meals in a crockpot. The crockpot is a wonderful invention that has helped many an exhausted mom get food on the table without resorting to takeout.
Simplify Your Life, Maximize Your Time
There you have it—six hacks that will hopefully restore some of your sanity and make your life much easier. Not only do these hacks reduce stress and save you money, but they can also give you back the most important commodity of all: your time.