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One of the questions I get asked all the time by family and friends is “How do you do it all?”. In all honestly I don’t! There are a lot of sacrifices that I have to make daily in my life to achieve everything I get done in a day. Having an amazing supportive husband definitely helps in the process. But for the record, I do NOT do it all! But just in case you don’t believe me, here are 5 Tips I Use To “Do It All”.
As a homeschooling and work at home mom I lead a very, very busy life. My husband also works from home and with two little girls, and two dogs it can get very chaotic in our 1500 square foot home at times. Yes, we need more room and yes I could use more time, but we make it work the best we know how.
Here are 5 Tips I Use To “Do It All”
Tip 1: Wake Up Early or Stay Up Late
I wake up at around 5:00 am every morning to make sure that I get work done and homeschooling materials ready before my girls and husband are up. Yes, it’s a struggle but if I want to get a jump start to my day and not take away from my girls or family then it’s a sacrifice I have to make.
This also makes homeschooling times run smoothly. When I have to stop lessons to find materials or a lesson page she loses concentration or gets distracted waiting for me. I prefer to have lessons planned for the day and all materials ready before she is even up.
Earliest time I usually go to bed is around 11:00 p.m.
Tip 2: Do Laundry Everyday
I do laundry every single day of the week except on Sundays. As soon as the laundry is dried I fold or hang. I also keep a schedule on what days of the week I wash what.
- Monday: Girls clothes (divide everything by color)
- Tuesday: Mommy & Daddy Clothes (divide everything by color)
- Wednesday: Girls Socks and Towels
- Thursday: Mommy & Daddy Socks and Towels
- Friday: Whatever is left over
- Saturday: Everyone bed linens
- Sunday: No laundry
Tip 3: Keep a Visual Calendar and Schedule Everything
I keep several calendars to keep myself organized. I have an editorial calendar that I keep organized with all of my writing and events, but the most important calendar I have is the desk calendar I have hanging in our kitchen. This calendar holds everything everyone is doing everyday. Dance classes, soccer practice, soccer games, piano class, theater class, doctor appointments, events, family events, birthday parties, and special occasions all are written on this calendar.
Not only does it allow me to keep organized, but it also allows my husband to know what is going on. If his mom calls to make plans he can easily see which day of the week we are available or when he has a dentist appointment without me having to remind me all week long.
I used to keep the calendar color coded, but only I knew the code and it made it more confusing for my husband.
Tip 4. Share the Load
My husband also works from home and that can definitely be a benefit. We take turns running errands like grocery shopping or taking the girls to their activities. This gives one of us quiet time at home for some extra work time, which means that we might be able to watch a movie together at night.
We also have certain chores that we divide. I cook and he cleans. I do all the inside cleaning of the house and hubby does the bathrooms. Then we all share gardening duties, but he mows the grass. Makes life so much easier.
Homeschooling is all me. I plan, shop for materials, and teach lessons.
We also use my mother in law a lot to come over and help. Especially on days where we both have to work his mom will come over and play with the girls. This takes away from us feeling guilty for being in front of the computer all day and she gets to spend time with her granddaughters.
Oh, and get a iRobot Roomba Vacuum! Did you know those things clean your floor on their own? Best gift I’ve ever given myself!
Tip 5: Plan Fun Days
To me this is the most important one of all! Without these planned fun days to look forward to we all start feeling the stress and pressure of paying bills, running errands, homeschooling, and work. This is our time to spend together as a family without any worries or work. The days that we reserve for fun days are exactly that! FUN DAYS!
We also use fun days as homeschool field trips lessons a lot, which cuts down on my weekly “lesson”. Instead the girls get a hands on approach and we all get to spend time together as a family.
As you can see I am one busy homeschooling work at home mom, but I certainly do not do it all! I have help from my husband and a lot of the days our floors are not clean, toys are spread all over the house, and the sink is filled with pots, but we do our best as parents and husband and wife.
I appreciate our friends and family thinking that I do it all, but that’s just the view from the outside. I’m very motivated and a person who wants to accomplish more than she can handle, but we only live once and I want to make sure that I live it to the fullest!
What other tips do you have for “doing it all”?
I have to do laundry every day with five of us living in the house. If I don’t keep up with it, it will completely take over.
Oh, I can definitely see it over taking if you don’t!
Yep. You nailed that on the head. I have a calendar with so much on it, it looks like a scribbled on it, and I get up at the crack of dawn. I have to!
Haha! That’s how my work calendar looks, LOL!
Love your tips! I need to start waking up earlier as well – I feel like I would be less stressed out and rushed if I did that.
I feel like your telling my story! I’m a homeschooling mom too, and it’s not easy to get everything done in 1 day…but the busier I am – the more I actually get done. My husband works long hours outside of our home, it would be so nice if I could get a hand from him, but he is the provider so I can stay home. I’m glad to know I’m not alone out there! 😀
This will definitely keep you on schedule! It’s always good to be on top of things when you’re living with kids.
Yes, those little rascal definitely make it a little crazier, LOL!
I don’t have any tips to add but yours are great! Having a calendar certainly does help.
Yes, it does 🙂
These are all great tips. Unfortunately it’s getting harder and harder to stay up late and get up early. My bedtime is earlier than it used to be!
I totally agree! After a few weeks I definitely need to sleep in at least one morning because my body is so tired.
I just recently told my husband that we needed to schedule more fun days. We all work hard to keep our house clean and tidy, but we just don’t take enough time to enjoy ourselves!
You definitely need to Dawn! It can make all the difference!
Love this! My husband and I both work outside the home so it could be difficult to get everything done. We usually divide the tasks pretty well. I’ll do the dishes while he bathes the kids or does a load of laundry. We definitely split the responsibilities.
Yes! That’s the way to go, because if not one of you will drive yourself crazy! Believe me I know!
We do laundry almost every day and that really does free up my weekends. Other household chores, I try to tackle just a little bit each day before I start working for the day at home online.
It makes it so much easier when you share chores too!
These are some great tips for doing it all. I love the calendar idea and I really need to do this one to get more organized with my time. Thanks for sharing,
Yes, that calendar is what keeps us sane, LOL!
I am a early riser myself but I don’t start cleaning until everyone is awake. I do try to get the house picked up the night before so It’s easier in the morning for me.
I usually clean after they get up as well. I try to work before everyone gets up, so much quieter 🙂
I’m up early everyday and late every night. Laundry? Is an all day every day thing at my place. Drives me nuts I can’t seem to keep up! These are great tips!
Me neither! No matter how much laundry I do. It’s like it duplicates once I’ve finished, LOL!
Wow, you must be super woman because I could NOT do laundry everyday, I hate putting it away with a passion. I’ve been staying up later at night to get things done but then my mornings are such a struggle!
Yes, definitely not easy.
I couldn’t live without my planner! My days are so busy and hectic that a planner is a must.
Same here!
My s/o and I share cleaning duties pretty evenly- which is nice. We also share cooking duties. It’s great having someone else to help out with stuff.
I wish my hubby would cook, LOL! Other than sandwiches 🙂
These are great tips! I don’t know if I could do the laundry every day though, lol! I find that what works for me is choosing to organize or clean only ONE room in the house at a time, either every day or every other day…that way I don’t get overwhelmed!
That’s definitely a great way. If I don’t do laundry everyday it will over take me LOL!
These are great tips. I can never seem to get every thing done in a day that i need to. I will have to try these tips to see if i can.
Thanks Ann!
That’s a cool schedule for washing clothes…maybe I should do something like that. Seems like it would make things a little easier for me.
It definitely helps me 🙂
You are one organized lady! I super appreciate the tips – my life has been so crazy busy lately!
LOL! I try! Believe me I know crazy!
Oh you are just amazing. I try to do laundry everyday but it seems I am always side tracked. I have to get back to that
Oh, I wish! LOL! I definitely can use some super mommy powers!
We try to do most of these same things, but it looks like you are better at it than we are, even with the added work of homeschooling. We’ve got a family of seven and it feels like all I do is clean the kitchen and do laundry. My wife and I both work from home also and I wonder how it would ever get done if one of us was out of the house.
Oh, I have the same thoughts all the time! If the hubby worked out of the house I have no idea when I would have time to go grocery shopping.
Haha yes!!! I’m all about doing laundry everyday! People think I’m nuts, but I rather spend afew minutes daily doing it instead of hours once a week!
haha! I’m so with you on that!
With 6 kids, I find that laundry piles up super fast if I don’t do it every day. This is a great list of tips!
I only have 2, but apparently they think they are the Kardashians and change their clothes several times a day, LOL!
so nice that your husband is home too, that helps tremendously!
Great tips! My mom and I share chores in our new condo. We love spreading them around. My husband loves to cook!
Oh, how I wished my hubby cooked! LOL!