The Secret to Getting More Done With Kids at Home

Learn the secret to getting more done with kids at home!

I have a boy that is needy, crazy and OMG wants ME, ME, ME all the time!

Now that I’m a stay-at-home mom, there are things that have to get done in a day.

Every day I do two loads of laundry from washing to folding.

I have to make three meals for me, my little one and my big one (aka husband).

It’s tough when everyone in my family eats entirely different meals. While my son could eat tomatoes and avocados for every meal, my husband could care less about avocados and I can only tolerate so many tomatoes in a meal, EVERY DAY.

There are also chores to do like dust and organize and vacuum and now that I started a blog, I have blogging on my list of to-dos!

But, there’s just one thing: my son won’t let me get anything done around the house.

He wants me to play, play and play some more.

He loves his dinosaurs and trucks and if he could, he would play all day…but with me only.

My house is a mess.

It’s not that easy to get things done now that I’m a blogger (wow, so official!) and my son stays home with me. There are dishes in the sink, a bucket of laundry that needs to be folded and my son comes to me to fix his toy…while I’m in the bathroom.

Here’s what I mean via Mum’s Grapevine:

Exactly, right?

Then I feel all guilty about it.

My son is still little and not yet in school. I’m staying home to take care of him and all I want to do is clean? Kill me right now. I feel guilty just feeling like that. Mom has to go now to clean.

This is the time when I should be developing themes for the week, art projects and science tips. Well, that’s what I feel I should be doing because I feel guilty for having all this stuff that needs to get done and no time to do it and a son that wants my undivided attention.

I hope I’m not the only mom feeling like this or going through this.

When I mention this to my work moms they look at me funny because they think I have a ga-zillion hours to frollick, play and clean.

I wish. Staying home is a full-time job. But, I think I figured it out.

The secret to getting more stuff done is to:

Think of your home and chores as a business.

Now moms, that’s a smart mom idea for you πŸ™‚

Under all the toys, the laundry, dirty dishes, messy closets and unmade beds is a business. There are set times for meals, block times for cleaning and schedules for organizing.

It’s all in the mindset to really change how you delegate your day smart moms! I’ve recently started doing this and it REALLY has changed my frame of mind. I have to implement schedules for me and my child so that we can get everything that needs to get done.

And, what about your child? What if he or she wants to just play all day? I have some solutions for that.

Remember how I told you my son just wants ME,ME,ME all day, ever day? Well I give him ME, ME, ME all day and every day by doing this one thing:

Sit, Play, Walk Away

(and try not to say no all the time when your child asks for something of you).

When my son wants to play dinosaurs I sit with him. I get engaged with him and put all my attention to him. We play and I help him create a play time that he enjoys. Then, well then I walk away.

By that time, my son is so engulfed with his playing that I can slip away to get dinner ready, finish that load of laundry and get my cleaning done for the day.

The Little Helper

My son also loves to help me with chores, so when I’m ready to “clean up” after him  I will let him set the table (all plastics of course), vacuum (quick vac), make his bed and pick up his toys. When I have to organize he helps me pull things down and categorize them.

For little ones, you might have to create activities around your chores. Little ones like putting objects into containers, pounding pans and doing more sensory things like that.

Let me know how you get stuff done around the home!

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13 Comments

Wow, this is going to be a game changer for sure! I can’t wait to try this out!Reply
Thanks Sabra! yes, this post does have some great ideas to help busy moms get more done at home!Reply
Wow! Lol, it’s like you pulled all the words in your post out of my head! Except the little man part, he’s fine. My needy little one is my 1 year old girl. She is sooooo clingy. Going from one to two – I had no idea it was going to be MORE than double the trouble, lol. It is hard to get everything done, be a present, intentional mama, AND do everything it takes to make a blog grow and do well. Thanks for the mindset change I needed! Great tip. I hope you’re seeing great growth on your blog, and enjoying ALL the moments with your precious littles. πŸ™‚Reply
Hi Tiffany! Thanks so much! Yes, my twins seem to pull me in opposite directions and always want me to play with them (and not the other). Such is the mom life! πŸ™‚Reply
Hi we have 9 kids 5 of them are getting adopted soon do you have anything for a big family . Our house is always a mess and I feel like I am cleaning all the time and you can’t even tell.Reply
I read a blog from a mom with nearly that many children. One amazing thing she did was she would wash all their clothes then sort into their individual basket, the kids all had the same set up in closet and drawers like top left draw in every room had socks, right had underwear and so on. So all of the kids were responsible for hanging all shirts and folding the rest of their own laundry then putting away, the older kids helped the younger and that was the reason for the drawer set up being the same. Anyhow I implemented this with my older two I no longer even wash their clothes, and they have a daily chore, like unload the dishes or vacuum the floor. Delegate what you can to make it a bit easier on yourselfReply
What blog is that? I love hearing more tops for big families! I have five children and laundry is no longer a problem (wow!) Because we have ikea baskets installed in the laundry room, and each child has one day of the week that they change over a load of laundry (I just have to start it), sort what’s in the dryer into the proper baskets, and put their basket of clothes away. It’s never all “done” but who cares? Everything has a place and there’s no mountain creeping into the hall or piles of clean clothes to fold and sort for everyone. I also don’t require pajamas to be worn if the kids kept their clothes clean that day and they’re comfortable hitting the sack in what they’re wearing. We have a chore rotation (be prepared for the work that comes with personally guiding each child through each task for a while at first – take turns with your husband and have the older kids help the younger kids if possible, and still do a check-up/re-teach once in a while to nip bad habits) but it’s TOTALLY worth it to keep the mess to a dull roar and not give my kids the message that the house is more important to me than they are, it’s just something we all need to put in a little effort to take care of. Now, if someone could help me figure out how to have more of me to go around after school for homework time I would love that!!Reply
Flylady. She’s a game changer.Reply
Crystal! That IS a big family! I think the biggest thing you can benefit from is a visual chart of chores for your kids. Get them hooked into doing chores and they get stickers when they do. At the end of the week, count how many and if they reach a certain number they get a treat! Good luck!Reply
Hi Cathy, I just had my third child nearly 3 weeks ago and I am thinking of writing a blog. Any suggestions? Do you wanna be friends lol?Reply
Hey Laury! Thanks and yes! πŸ™‚ Congrats on your baby! Wow…so precious when they are that little. Cherish every moment!Reply
I totally understand the needy toddler. We usually just get out of the house, but have had to stay in for the last two weeks. I will try the walk away. That might work best. Thanks.Reply
Hi Addison, Yes! Play, stay, walk away works MOST of the time..but there are days when little man is extra needy πŸ™‚ Go with the flow right?Reply

Elna is a mom to twins who blogs and writes for a living. She loves all things mom. While she’s not blogging, you can find Elna meal planning, organizing and helping other moms in her Facebook group, Ready Set Blog for Traffic (From Mom to Mompreneur).