Do you feel that as a stay at home mom you’re going crazy sometimes? This post shares 11 ways to stay sane as a stay at home mom.

On one hand, it’s amazing to be able to be there for your kids. But it can also be hard feeling confined, and maybe you feel lonely at times.

You can definitely succeed, though, and be a happy stay at home mom!

Here are 11 tips to stay sane as a stay at home mom, (when you feel like you’re going crazy at home.)

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1.) Stick to a routine/schedule, and use organizing tools that work well for you.

Having a good routine and scheduling things you need to do will maximize your time and allow you to make room in your schedule for the aspects of your life that are high priority.

You’ll also have a sense of accomplishment as you get things done throughout the day.

Otherwise the days might just sort of fly by without you getting things done that you need or want to do.

Note that just having a schedule and weekly game plan doesn’t in itself guarantee you won’t feel like you’re going crazy as a stay at home mom or that you’ll never be bored.

BUT.. this is a good stepping stone to being able to implement some of the other tips in this post, because you’ll be maximizing your time in a way that allows you to accommodate more in your schedule.

Tools to Stay Organized as a Stay at Home Mom

1. Daily Cleaning Roadmap

I designed this free printable Daily Cleaning Roadmap after I finally saw how a daily cleaning routine changed the state of my house for good. (This was after years of struggling to keep my house, well, not a mess.)

It turns out I was previously making a big cleaning mistake.

It really amazed me how much easier it was for me to stay sane as a stay at home mom after I started keeping my house under control.

2. The Book Organizing from the Inside Out

I LOVE this book. It has practical tips for organizing and breaks down every single step of how to organize what. And it gives you the motivation and confidence you need to succeed.

When I read this book years ago, it was the first time in my life I actually believed I could be an organized person.

3. The Living Well Planner

I personally enjoy using a physical planner or agenda to track events and tasks. And this one has all kinds of organizational features.

It is hands down the best planner I’ve ever used (and I have tried many!) This is a great tool to help you manage your time well at home.

✅Check it out the Living Well Planner here in the Living Well Shop.

4. Clothes Decluttering Cheat Sheets

This free resource for decluttering clothes includes steps, tips, and clothes decluttering questions to ask. If you’re struggling with what clothes to get rid of and what to keep, this will help.

5. Trello (the free version)

I use Trello both on my computer and the app on my phone (which is really convenient.)

I use this to make my grocery list and other miscellaneous checklists.

While I actually prefer using a paper organization tool, such as a planner/agenda, I do like the ease of Trello, because it is super easy to use and you can customize things really well.

6. Pinterest

I use Pinterest to find recipes to add to our weekly meal plans. This is great because it saves time for me when I meal plan, and we are always trying new things for dinner.

I do recommend clicking through on recipe pins before saving them to make sure the pin goes to the correct web page. I also read any comments on the recipe to see how people that tried it liked it and any changes they made.

You can download our Free Printable Flavorful Meal Plan Guide to help you find tasty meals your family will love. (And it also has tips to save you time & money.)

Pinterest also has a lot of great inspiration and ideas for organizing different aspects of life, so it’s good for that too.

2.) Take your kids places.

There are so many places you can take your kids for free or for a very low cost!

For example, many libraries offer for free or for a small price, certain hours where they have activities (and sometimes snacks) for toddlers or children. This is a fun thing to do with your kids, and lets you both get out of the house.

It’s good for your kids, especially toddlers who aren’t in school yet, because it gives them a chance to interact with other kids in a relaxed but somewhat structured setting.

You can also take your kids to the park or public pool/beach in warm weather. Or go on walks (in safe neighborhoods.) For kids that are old enough, most cities have public skating- roller skating and/or ice skating- for very reasonable prices. Some places even offer it for free at certain times, and some indoor ice skating rinks are open year-round.

3.) Take care of yourself as a mom.

Sometimes as moms we are so busy taking care of our kids that we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves. For example, you feed your child breakfast, but do you eat too?

Granted, it can be hard sometimes to balance everything. And sometimes you might be so busy that you forget to eat or shower or do your hair. I get it. (And I forget to do things all the time.)

But you don’t want to neglect your needs. Because in order to take care of your family, you have to take care of yourself. If you aren’t eating, drinking, or sleeping enough, you won’t have the energy you need for the day. You might wear yourself out, feel frustrated, and maybe even get sick.

As for things like getting dressed, doing your hair, doing your nails, plucking your eyebrows, etc… if doing things like these make you feel more confident, then there is nothing wrong with taking the time to do them.

If you plan it out right, taking care of yourself doesn’t need to be expensive, take up a lot of time, or interfere with caring for your family. Simply include time in your schedule for it as we talked about in point #1.

You may feel like sometimes you don’t have time to properly get dressed or brush your hair.

I can totally relate, because I have a toddler, a 9-month-old, (who appears to be waking up as I’m typing this,) and 2 school-age step kids. Life is busy. And I used to feel the same way.

But surprisingly, when I added time for self-care to my schedule, I still got the same number of things done as I would any other day, maybe even more!

And if you already have a tight schedule as a stay at home mom, you could start small. Try adding one small thing to your day for self-care. Then add more as time goes on when you get faster or get into a better routine.

Personally, since updating this post, I no longer wear makeup, (with the exception of covering up acne at times.) I enjoy doing other things to take care of myself and feel good.

Something I absolutely love putting in my routine as a mom is taking baths. I used to take showers all the time. But I love taking baths now, because it gives me a chance to relax. And it is pretty much the only time of day I get to spend kid-free (my husband watches them.)

I realize not every mom has the luxury of having someone who can watch their kids while they take a bath. If that’s the case, you could take a bath when your children are asleep, either during nap time, early morning, or after they go down for the night. And if you have a young baby or toddler you don’t want to leave in another room for too long, you could use a baby monitor, so you know if they wake up.

But let me just say: baths are awesome. They’re so worth the extra few minutes of relaxation and uninterrupted thoughts I enjoy as a result.

I even ordered this awesome spa gift basket from Amazon, to make my baths even more relaxing. So if you have a bath tub in your home, try to take advantage of it. 🙂

4.) Take time to reward yourself, and do little things you enjoy.

*Start your day off with a soothing beverage you love. (Lately I’ve been loving chai tea, but whatever cozy drink works for you..)

*Take a few minutes of your day to read or listen to a good book.

*Make yourself a fast and yummy mug cake.

*Or do something else small for yourself every day.

The truth is as moms we don’t always have time (or money) to do bigger things for ourselves every day or even every week. But we can absolutely do one of these smaller things for ourselves every day.

Taking care of yourself as a mom is so important!

5.) Call friends or family members.

It is easy to get caught up in caring for your home and family. And granted, a lot of the tasks we do as stay at home moms are completely necessary.

But being isolated from others isn’t good. So on the days I can’t get out of the house, I try to call someone. Even if it’s just my mom, my sister, or another stay at home mom I’m friends with.

You might think you don’t have time to call people. But this is something you can definitely do while you are caring for your house and kids.

I call people while I’m nursing, cleaning up, and doing other things. Often, I will put the phone on speaker so I can talk hands-free.

Or you could even get a Bluetooth earpiece for your smart phone, which may make it easier for you to hear the person on the other end (and vice versa,) instead of having them on speaker. Whatever works for you- there are definitely ways to talk while you are doing your stay at home mom tasks!

6.) Get together with other stay at home moms and their kids.

This is good for both you and your kids. You’ll have a mom friend to hang out with, and your kids will have other children to play with, so everyone wins.

I have found this is especially helpful when both moms have been feeling a little overwhelmed or frustrated. Because then you have another adult there to help with the kids and for moral support.

I have a mom friend with young kids and we have enjoyed taking the kids places together. I find it’s less overwhelming and more enjoyable than trying to take my kids places when it’s just me.

Since my husband and I share a car, I will sometimes drop him off at work. Then I can take the car to do something with my mom friend and our kids.

Update 09/18/2020: Due to the current situation with potential health risks, we have found ways to do this either outside with social distancing, (we’ve gone to the beach when the weather was nice,) or via ‘virtual’ gatherings playing games, etc.

7.) Have date nights with your spouse (if you’re married.)

Spending time together is important, even if it’s just a movie night after the kids are in bed. As a married mom, you need time to focus on your marriage as well as do things you enjoy too. And let’s face it- sometimes we need a break.

And for any single moms, if you have times when the kids are with Grandma or in school, you can take time to do something fun for yourself. Or if your kids are with you pretty much 24/7, try at least once a week to do something at home that you enjoy, after they’re in bed. (Or even during nap time if they are napping age.)

8.) Take time to slow down and enjoy the moments you have with your kids.

Sometimes we get caught up in the things we have to do. And due to stress we sometimes forget to appreciate the little moments we have with our kids. But time will fly by and they will grow up all too soon.

Some ways to enjoy special moments with your kids:

*Make room in your schedule every day to play with them. Even if it’s just for a few minutes at a time, give them those few minutes of being completely focused on them.

*Read to your kids. This is good for children in so many ways and helps them to learn and instill a love of reading.

*Take pictures and videos, especially of milestone moments. About a month or so ago, my youngest baby did a full crawl for the first time. I sat there and watched him full of pride and joy.

But you know what? I didn’t take a video! In fact, as sad as it is, it never even crossed my mind until I was telling someone how he crawled, and they asked if I recorded it! So don’t make the same silly mistake I did; make sure you record those special moments.

9.) Reflect on why you became a stay at home mom in the first place.

The truth is, not every mom can realistically stay home with her kids. And chances are you (and/or your husband) had good reasons for deciding you would be a stay at home mom, at least for the time being.

It’s good to reflect on the reasons you became a stay at home mom. You could even write down the things you appreciate about staying home with your kids. Then when you have one of those difficult mom days when you’re frustrated and every little simple thing is going wrong, (I think we all have those days,) you’ll have something positive to reflect on.

Because truthfully, being a working mom is hard too. Before we had our youngest 2 kids, I was a working step mom for a while. And coming home after a long day at a busy job to take care of kids and cook and clean is not always easy.

Granted, being a stay at home mom is also busy and has long, hard days sometimes. But I am grateful that I get to stay home with my young kids and be home for my step kids on the days they’re with us every week. And remembering the benefits of what I’m doing helps to relieve some of my frustration on days where things don’t go smoothly, (which happens a lot!)

Life as a mom, (whether you stay at home or not,) can be challenging at times. But it is worth it, and remembering the blessings we have and why we do what we do for our kids can help us to focus on those blessings instead of the day-to-day frustrations.

10.) Find a constructive hobby.

For myself, I love writing (if you can’t already tell by this extremely long post.)

I have also started learning to dance from videos on this YouTube channel. (I’m terrible at copying dances, by the way, but it’s fun & relaxing to me.)

Everyone is different, though. So I suggest choosing a hobby you enjoy. And bonus points if it’s budget-friendly and benefits your family in some way too. 🙂

If you are drawing a blank in the hobby department or want some inspiration, here are 30 awesome hobby ideas for stay at home moms from SAHM, Plus.

11.) Ask for help when you need it.

Everyone can use practical help and emotional support sometimes, especially as a parent.

So don’t be afraid to ask your spouse, friends, or family for assistance if you start to feel overwhelmed with housework or just in general.

So those are 11 ways to stay sane as at home mom- even when there’s chaos in your life and you’re stuck in the house.

By taking care of yourself and giving yourself a break now and then, maintaining healthy relationships with your loved ones, enjoying the time with your kids, and reflecting on the benefits of being a SAHM, you can succeed as a stay at home mom without going crazy.

P.S. Don’t forget to grab your free daily cleaning routine checklists to start saving sanity in at least one area of the stay at home mom life!

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

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