I am a work at home mom of a 3 year old and a 2 month old and because of that I often get asked "How do you do it all?". First of all, I'm no expert at this, it's a juggling act and believe me, sometimes I drop all the balls. But I do have some tips to share on things that have worked for me.
The best thing you can do is take a look at your day and find your "time sucks".
If you can eliminate those then you can make more time for other things. Mine are getting ready, shopping for things we need, and household chores. So those are areas I was looking to simplify and here's what I did to fix them:
1. Simplify Household Shopping: I now use Target subscription service to purchase all of my household supplies like laundry detergent, shampoo, pet food, etc. You get 5% off with your red card, 5% off with a subscription, plus free shipping. You can set things to arrive however often you need. So now these things show up at my doorstep without even a thought from me. Besides my subscriptions, if there's something else I need and I can't wait for Amazon Prime 2 day shipping, then I use the Target Drive Up feature where you can order on the app, drive up, park, and someone walks out your order. {I promise this isn't sponsored by Target, I'm just a fangirl}
2. Simplify Grocery Shipping: I know a lot of people love grocery shopping but I have never been that person. To me, it's just another chore. I now use Instacart which delivers from Whole Foods in my area. I do wish Trader Joes was an option but it's not. Similar services include Shipt and Amazon Fresh, among others. Yes, it does cost extra, a yearly fee and a small service fee but for me, the time and hassle saved it well worth the cost. Ordering takes only a few minutes and we have less food waste now too.
3. Simplify Your Beauty Routine: I started focusing more on skin care which allows me to wear less makeup and therefore save time applying it. The 3 things I won't leave the house without doing are my brows, lashes, and concealer. So now I tint my brows and lashes, and use this under my eyes every night so if I run out of time, I still look ok and feel good about myself, even without makeup. Another thing that helps with this is my now straighter teeth. Lastly, I stopped washing my hair everyday and now I'm down to twice a week which has saved me a ton of time! I promise your hair does get used to it and eventually gets less greasy.
4. Simplify Chores: Instead of waiting for all the dishes and laundry to pile up, I do them every single day whether it's a little or a lot. I throw all the laundry in in the morning, even if it's just a few things and fold it and put it away when it's done. If you do it everyday then it's a small load and easier to just get done. Then every night I do the dishes and every morning I put them away. I tidy up and wipe things down throughout the day and run the roomba anytime I leave the house and things stay mostly in order that way.
5. Plan it Out: I'm a type A, planning, organizing type of girl, always have been, for sure always will be. So I like to have a plan for the day and a to do list of what needs to get done. I talk about that in my Girlboss Guide to Getting Things Done post. It helps me stay on track and get everything done without getting overwhelmed. Here are 2 free printables for the planners I use almost everyday.
FREE Daily Planner Printables:
Daily Planner
Weekly Planner
