10 Steps To Sanity For Moms

Moms are on this endless journey and sometimes we find ourselves pulling our hair out, yelling and having panic attacks! That’s when you realize that something needs to change and you might need to fix some areas of your life!  I compiled a list of things that have drastically helped me keep myself from losing it! 

    1. Start Your Day In The Word

If you want a sure start to your day, the best way to remember to claim your strength in Jesus when your kid spills apple juice all over your newly washed couch is by starting off with time with God.  

As I’ve said before here, offer up your mountain before you start climbing it.

    2. Suck It Up and Do The Dishes

Do you know the amazing feeling of having an empty sink?? It’s enough to create a small sense of accomplishment and in a life where it feels like almost everything you do gets undone, you need that. 

I know not ALL of us struggle with dishes.  It's my most hated chore on this earth.  But for those of us who struggle here, this is my mantra! Maybe you struggle with something else! Whatever you have to suck up and do to accomplish something, just do it!

Keeping on top of the housework will make a less stressed environment for your family and for YOU! Conquering little battles here and there will help keep you ahead of the avalanche that our families inhibit on our homes.

    3. Meal Planning

I do trim healthy mama (check it out here if you’ve never heard of it) and I’ve been doing it for a year now on and off.  I always feel so much better when I’m on this plan than when I’m eating ramen for lunch, and for dinner… I recently signed up for their plan membership and it’s very reasonably prices (much cheaper than the monthly subscriptions that are going around these days!) It has a meal planner which gives you access to the recipes and creates a shopping list for you! 

This has been a life saver to me in helping me plan my own meals and plan my dinners for my family! I work around a dairy free diet with my daughter so I can incorporate that into the meals that I choose!  

I hate grocery shopping.  So when I find something that helps me do it and accomplish it easier, I’m all about it!

    4. Dedicate Days To Staying Home

I know this isn’t feasible for every mom out there.  I work from home, so I need days where I’m not running everywhere! But I also just need time to be home and focus on doing laundry or cleaning the play room or kitchen.  Even if you work out of the home, girl, you still need days at home where you don’t go anywhere! We run around like wild women and our families suffer sometimes.  I've heard it enough from my husband that he just wants days where we are HOME.  So I make sure on one of his days off that we are home whenever our schedule makes that possible.

    5. Set Yourself Up For Success

When I have my days that I am going to be running around like a crazy lady, I plan the night before.  Will I need a change of clothes? For me? For my kids? Do I have enough diapers? Snacks? Juice cups filled up?  You get it.  Plan ahead and set yourself up to be able to handle any situation you might be handed! I keep diapers and a change of clothes for both kids in my car.  I keep a few toys that are designated car toys in there too! My busy days, believe it or not, are Sundays and Wednesdays.  I would lose it if I didn’t plan ahead!

    6. Toy Purge Every 6-12 Months

Let’s face it.  There are some of us drowning in toys.  I’ve said it before that my house is one gigantic toy box.  Even now, we need to do this.  About 9 months ago, I did a huge toy purge.  We’d had birthdays and Christmas and were just filled to the brim, NO! It was overflowing with toys.  So I spent a day going through all of our toys and figuring out what would be missed and what could go.  I even put some in the attic and do some toy rotations.

    7. Figure Out Bottle Necks In Your Living Arrangement

We have arranged our house about 50 times trying to figure out the best set up.  We’ve finally landed on a good configuration of things.  My youngest recently became mobile and I had no baby gate up and she was roaming all over the house and getting into things.  I finally told my husband that we NEEDED a baby gate in the playroom.  It was the best thing I’d done for my sanity!! 

We also recently cleaned out all of the toys that our couch sucked up with the invisible and silent vacuum that is underneath it.  I had been asking for my husband to help me with a barrier to put up so nothing can sneak under there!  We finally did it.  2nd best thing I’ve ever done for my sanity!! 

I also gave up the pillow fight.  Not an actual pillow fight, but the fight to keep the pillows ON the couch and off the floor and out from under the couch. I put them up.  I figure, in a few years I can get them back out and enjoy them, but they're more trouble now than they're worth. 3rd best thing I've ever done for myself!!

There may be a few situations you have in your life that you just need to take care of! And once you figure them out and tackle them, your sanity will be saved, for a little while anyways ;-) 

    8. Uncomplicate The Bedtime Routine

4 stories. 8 songs. 30 minutes of laying next to them.  That just stressing me out thinking about it.  I know every kid is different with different needs, so you do what you know is best, mama! But sometimes, we need the reminder that we can cut back on some things.  My oldest gets 1 long book or 2 short books and she has this thing she likes called “Pat and Sing”.  I’m happy to do it, but I cap it at 3 songs.  She’ll work you for more if you’re an amateur.   We say our prayers and then I’m out of there.  I’ve spent my day working and taking care of my girls all day.  I NEED my me time!

    9. Stop and Enjoy Them

We live such busy lives. We’re going here and going there.  We’ve cleaned all day.  We need to remember to stop and just listen to them talk to us, or play with toys with them! Life is so fleeting! The one on one time we spend with our kids charges them to flourish. Make sure you make that time happen with each kid. It does so much for their little hearts!  And ours.

   10. Take Time For Yourself

Again with the busy lives deal! But you seriously need to stop and do something for yourself! You need to unwind at night.  You need to carve out time that’s just for you!! Take a bubble bath, do your nails, go to the salon, go shopping! Just make sure you find your YOU time.  Just like our children need to regenerate, so do moms.  You spend the day doing chores, taking care of everyone.  After they go to bed, watch and episode or two of your favorite show on Netflix (currently obsessing over Parenthood).  I do my nails while I’m watching. It’s calming and relaxing to me.  Figure out what’s relaxing to you and do that! It's part of my job to help women find that moment of the day to sit down and give themselves a manicure! It's so much more than pretty nails.  It's finding yourself and expressing yourself through your manicure!! Find out more here!

We’re all just moms’ getting through these days of young kids, school age kids and teenagers.  Finding your sanity is crucial.  I hope some of these tips speak to you and that you can take some and implement them in your own lives!