7 Best Time-Saving Hacks for Busy Moms

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Here are my best tools and hacks for busy moms.

So here's the question I get asked more than anything.

“How do you do it all?

You take care of your grandmother around the clock. You homeschool the kids. Run the house. Now a blog.”

Update: I'm no longer a caregiver or homeschooler. And so glad!

Which most of my friends and family don't even know about the blog by the way.   They still don't.

LOL. Well for starters, I don't do it all. 

No matter that I'm a stay-at-home mom with kids in school, I'm still very busy.  I put in fulltime hours on the blog and keep up with the house, my marriage, myself and of course the kids do come home.

The internet, social media and frankly life, in general, gives a skewed impression of other people's lives.

We see holiday and vacation photos. Family newsletters. Ick, just sayin'.

Talk to people at parties. It looks and sounds fun.

Like people are happy. Seems as if they have money. That their kids are cute and cuddly.

We somehow get the impression that we are less. That EVERYONE is running around doing... All. The. Things.

That's a lot of pressure. And a load of crap.

Most people I talk to are either doing too much and miserable, or not doing much and feeling miserable because they think everyone else is happy doing it all.

As usual, I'm off the rails. So let's get back to the question. How do I do it all?  Well, I have a simplistic approach to life and stuff.  Though you wouldn't know it with all my grandma's stuff!

Did you ever hear the saying “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”?

Lately, I'm going for “Shoot for the fence and be glad you didn't hit the kids.”

Sometimes life is like that. Now I don't mean to say that I don't have goals or want to improve my life.

It's more like right now I have to do the best I can where I am to get through. I'm letting some things slide. Just for now.

Whether you've got your shit together and need a few extra tools or you're having a week, month, or let's face it, year, like mine and need some glue to hold yourself together, I'd like to help.

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For starters, here's a To Do List Printable to help you along.

Here are my top favorite hacks I use in my house right now. I thought about categorizing them into time savers, motivators, or sanity savers, but honestly, most of them fall into more than one category. So for time and sanity, I'm just throwing them out there in no particular order.

1. Baby Wipes

I don't care if you have kids or not, baby wipes are one of my top favorite inventions ever.

I know it's not a green solution like rags. Don't care. I do a lot of other things here that are green. This product stays. I buy Parent's Choice from Walmart by the case.

They are inexpensive. Anyway, rags + laundry detergent + water + electricity still isn't free. Besides, some jobs are just nasty. Without kids in diapers, these last a long time, and I don't have to think about it.

Baby wipes are magic.

For versatility in the house or car, they are the best. They can get out stains on clothes. I use them on the floor attached to my Swiffer, way cheaper.

To clean the bathroom, hell yeah. Car interiors. Try them on your steering wheel or car seats, I dare you. So gross.

They beat flushable wipes because of their size. I now need them with my gram, enough said, TMI.

My husband is a truck driver and keeps them in his truck since he's always on the move.

They manage to get the dirt off of things where nothing else has worked.

Dog paws and dog butts. Ewww. If you've ever had a small dog, I don't need to explain this one.

2. Amazon and Walmart

Sometimes I hate the behemoths these two are; most days, I am just thankful I can order online. They have everything I need. Most of the time, anything we buy is cheaper at Walmart. And I can read a review before I buy. Returns are easy, too. We also don't have much to choose from where we live.

Amazon has a Prime membership. Faster and free shipping.   I also have the benefits of their video services, which are great for homeschoolers.

Walmart will ship to the house, or you can pick up orders at the store. Some areas even do that with groceries. Now with free curbside pickup, shopping is a breeze.

Coupons can be used too. Not just printables anymore.  Most companies have taken their coupons online, so no more cutting.

The Ibotta App, if you aren't familiar, is a coupon app that is used after you shop, by scanning receipts and barcodes with your phone.  Deals are sorted by store.

Big names like Walmart and Amazon.  But many grocery stores, pharmacies, department stores, and wholesale outlets.

The savings can be turned into e-cards for Amazon, Walmart, or other stores.

Kids can scan items just as easily as you can. They think it's fun.

I'm averaging about $15 a month.  And that's without really trying.  If I were better with it, it would be so much more.

It's not just household items and processed foods, either, like typical coupons.  Every week, there are deals on dairy, produce, and meats.  Even alcohol.

3. YouTube and Netflix

It's what is holding my homeschool together. This year, we are hating the textbooks. Having trouble leaving the house, even to hit the library. Sadly, field trips are only in my dreams.

I am sure die-hard homeschoolers and public school educators are gasping about now. But the truth is, I am having a homeschool identity crisis. We have done public school, unschooling, deschooling, curriculum textbooks, and unit studies. We cannot get into a groove.

The year we did the textbooks went better in the sense of staying on track. We followed the majority of the curriculum. We completed the work. We finished by March. So what was the problem? .... everyone was bored, they barely remembered any of it, and no one wanted to do it that way again.

I also spent the whole time thinking, why the heck do they need to know any of this? This year, we are reading aloud as a family almost every night. Large chapter books like Anne of Green Gables and Swiss Family Robinson. We discuss words and concepts we don't know. Google places and animals we read about.

Online videos are teaching all of us for free. We watch all sorts of tutorials, movies, musical performances, and documentaries from around the world on far more subjects than I know about or could possibly teach them.

Okay, okay, there may or may not be lots of videos of funny pets, stupid people, and inappropriate memes. But let's face it, those offer some learning opportunities too.

Besides, if I can keep them knowing how to find information and a love of wanting to know, I've done a better job than having them memorize facts. And it's more fun.

💁‍♀️After this post was originally written, we quit homeschooling and my grandmother passed away, but most of this still applies, so I left it as is.

4. Delegate Chores

If you have kids who are old enough to walk and talk, they can do chores. Even if it is as simple as folding towels or sorting socks. Luckily, my kids are 9, 10, and 14. Chores are not new or optional. Now I don't mean I am a die-hard dictator, just that it's been part of their lives for so long, they are used to it.

If this isn't already part of your life, I can't tell you the “how” that will work for you. Every family is different.

🧹44 Household Chores for Tweens: Make Your Life Easier Today

💡Pro Tip: When my kids got older than this post, I implemented the best strategy. Read that here: Chores for Teens Made Simple: The Easy Plan That Worked Best

Search Pinterest. There are a million charts, lists, incentives, and ideas. Find one. Even if it's a different one per child. Try different methods until one clicks. Ages, lifestyles, and temperaments of kids and parents will affect your choices.

✨Kids Need Chores: Top 3 Reasons Why

You might think that giving up one small chore that only takes a few minutes is no big deal. HA. Try it and come back and talk to me.

Need a chore chart? Try one of these

I already knew this. Still, I didn't think that someone else giving my gram a shower, like a 15-minute job once or twice a week, would help all that much. Boy, was I wrong. It is AWESOME. I disappear into another part of the house, and it would happen. Like magic.

You will be amazed by how each small task taken off your plate makes you feel. That goes for any of the hats you wear.

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It doesn't have to cost money. Being part of a family means working together to get things done. Barter with someone else if you have to. A fair trade may not always be about time.

These are also life skills.  So it counts as a two-fer.  Hell, if you homeschool, it's a three-fer.  So not a word, how about a trifecta, a hat-trick, or for all the Christian homeschoolers, let's go with a trinity.

Maybe you can do something like batch cooking in bulk to help your neighbor. They could repay you in a chore you don't like or carpool the kids for you if you can't leave the house.

I know some moms who get an afternoon to themselves by taking the other one's kids. Wednesday for you, Fridays for me. Whatever works.

5. The Great Outdoors

We have a huge yard and we are using it.  It's free.

The kids are outside every chance we get. Tents, balls, bikes.

They take pictures, use binoculars, and watch birds. Clean the yard and shovel snow.

They get creative and learn to get along or not. They exercise for themselves and the dog.

Any games they can make up on their own to stay active (and out of my hair). It gives them independence and breaks up the day when people are out of sorts. Especially me. Get. Out. Side.

🤾‍♀️61 Outdoor Party Games for Teens Perfect for Summer

⚽77 Outdoor Toys for Teens to Have Fun All Summer Long

6. Essential Oils

Wait, come back, I don't sell them, and no, I'm not on the bandwagon that they fix everything...not even close! While coffee is my main motivator, essential oils are new in my arsenal.

⚠️Take caution when using them and find out everything about them beforehand since they can hurt you if used improperly. I don't take any internally. That said, I freakin' love them.

Essential oils are somewhat personal. Just because a certain oil is right for your need, you may not like the scent. Some of my favorites give my son a headache. That's when I use a cotton pad near me or with a carrier oil rather than a diffuser. Find what works for you.  

Essential oils seem to be all the rage now and are selling in cheap discount stores. I wouldn't suggest that. Chances are they may not be real, and that does make a difference. I know multi-level sellers don't recommend Amazon, but that's what I do.

I admit, for the budget's sake, I smell them at the local health food store. They sell a good quality brand like this one.  Unfortunately, the markup there is quite high. So I see what I like, for what needs I have, and then order them on Amazon for half the price. Chances are, I also have a gift card. Double win.

My favorite motivating blend is 4 drops of Lime, 3 drops of Bergamot, and 2 drops of Rosemary into this diffuser or on a cotton pad I set near my workspace. Let me tell you, I can crank out some serious work with that.

Last spring, I put over 60 hours into my yard in 2 weeks.  There were a few nights it was dark already, and I had been out since first thing in the morning. Holy Energizer Bunny.

I have used oils for colds and coughs with dramatic results. We had luck solving my daughter's sleep issues, which you can read about here:

🛌Sleep Problems in Children: Please Just Sleep in Your Own Damn Bed

7. Batching, A Bullet Journal, and a Timer

These three work hand in hand.

Batching

For years, we've been told that multitasking is the way to go. That if we can do this, we will have it all. Turns out that's a load of crap. You end up being stressed out, and a little bit of everything gets done half-assed. Ask me how I know.

Batching is just the opposite. You focus on getting a whole lot of the same thing done in chunks of time. Maybe do all your cooking on Sunday for the whole week and freeze it. You could grocery shop once per month. Laundry on Mondays. Cleaning on Tuesdays.

You could also do it by the time of day. All the school work in the morning. All the chores in the afternoon.

Bullet Journals

If you don't know what a bullet journal is, check out www.littlecoffeefox.com. Shelby Abrahamsen is the one who turned me on to using one. She creates the most drool-worthy journals. Her whole blog gives you ideas and inspiration. She even sells her creations.

You wouldn't know all that by seeing my journal since it's plain and boring. Using different color ink to divide tasks like personal, home, school, and blog is about as creative as I get.

However, the most important thing is that she inspired me to start using one, and it keeps me organized. I know what I need to do. When I need to do it. More than once, it has saved me when I couldn't remember when I made a blog change or wrote down a book I wanted to read. It has gotten the scrap paper notes and sticky note chaos under control.

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Timers

The timer simply keeps you on track. It can be a fun challenge, especially if you get the kids involved. A race against the timer rather than each other. It can be used as a reminder to move on to the next task. Sometimes we get on a roll and don't mean to work through lunch. Other times, it can keep us going just a little longer when we don't want to.

Choose a task. Block it off in the journal. Use your timer to stay focused.

And these...well, they're just for fun...don't you just love this mug?

That's it, folks.

These life hacks are making my world go around right now. Anything else just isn't happening. I wish I could say I had earth-shattering news for you. That I had all the answers to doing all the things.

Some days, I think I am falling apart and that I can't possibly do it all. Some days I think I actually do have it all figured out, and this is the way to go. Keep it relaxed. Keep it simple.

It's like my homeschool identity crisis. Maybe it's not about knowing all the things and doing all the things, but about being able to know how and when to learn them as they come up and go from there.

🗨️What are your must-have tools for getting it all done? Comment below.

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