How does she do it?
Ever admired those mums who seem to have it all together? You know – the ones who never come running through the school gates last minute, the ones who never miss a birthday collection or are caught out and about without a spare nappy or change of clothes? The ones who can host a birthday bash with a moments notice, and doesn’t go into a panic about the state of her kitchen floors – because they are clean already?
When it comes to staying on top of things, I always feel like I got some routines nailed, and others I am – well, not great at. Which is why I am forever curious as to how other mums do it – what tricks and hacks do they rely on to get through their busy days, and how do they manage to stay organised at life in the midst of it.
I am a firm believer in sharing our collective parenting knowledge, and how we all have so much to learn from each other. Which is why I recently polled five of my close mum-friends on how they do it – what are their best tricks for keeping the show on the road. Here are their (very nifty) answers:
1. “I get myself ready first”
I always get up 45 minutes before the time when I have to wake the children up, and in that time, have my shower, do my hair and makeup, make sure my bag is packed and that I have had my morning coffee. Then – and only then – do I wake up the kids. By doing things this way, it means that by the time the kids get up, I am ready and can devote all my attention to them, be it that they need help getting a shirt on or if they spilt milk trying to get it into their bowl of Cheerios. And knowing that I am actually all set and ready, and therefore not trying to get myself ready as I am getting them ready too, it has totally removed any stress from our morning routine.
Emma, mum-of-two
2. “Hold a short evening family briefing”
As the kids have gotten older, I find there are logistical plans that need to be shared between family members to ensure that our days run smoothly. Straight after dinner each night, everyone stays at the table and we have a short discussion of what the next day looks like if there is anything, in particular, happening (playdate, party, training etc.). I have a dinner plan in place, but depending on what the next day looks like, we can decide whether myself or my husband will be home first and can start dinner. If any papers have to be signed for school, or money required for something, we also sort this during this little evening session, meaning that when we all get up and start our day the next day, we are all set and organized.
Kate, mum-of-two-tweens-and-a-toddler
3. “I clean the bathroom while the kids are taking a bath”
My pet peeve is a dirty bathroom and trust me, with three boys under seven – I find that I have to clean it every day (especially the sink and toilet!). I solve this by taking a few moments every evening when the kids are in the bath and wipe the sink, wash the mirror and clean the toilet (with potty training toddler boys, there is pee everywhere!). This way, I am killing two birds with one stone, spending time in the bathroom with them and having all sorts of funny and lovely conversations – and the bonus is that once bath time is over, I know the bathroom is clean and I don’t have to wake up to pee on the toilet seat and toothpaste on the sink tomorrow morning.
Aoife, mum-of-three-boys (and another one on the way!)
4. “I carve out 20 minutes a day to tackle clutter”
With three kids ranging from two to 11, two cats, a dog and two full-time working parents, it goes without saying that keeping an immaculate house is near impossible. But I am also a firm believer in not letting things get too out of hand because when it does, I find it is so much harder willing myself to tackle the mess. In our house, I do the morning rush, and my husband does bath and bedtime. And when he takes them upstairs to get started on getting them into PJs and brushing teeth, I use those 20 minutes to blast through the kitchen, dining- and living areas, emptying the dishwasher, loading the washing machine, hoovering the rugs and in general just leaving the downstairs in an acceptable state. When I am done, I follow them upstairs and we do bedtime stories and put the kids to bed. I find the upstairs of the house doesn’t get quite as messy, but if anything needs to be done, we’ll do it together once the kids are asleep, and this way, we manage to keep the house pretty tidy and ticking over during the week, and so come the weekend, we don’t have to spend most of our time off tending to the house.
Sarah, mum-of-two
5. “Keep an Emergency Car Kit”
This is my life-saver. My kids are now at an age where we are constantly on the go, from creche to school to ballet to playdates and beyond. And to make my life easier, I have a carrier bag in the car that at all times is topped up with water bottles, healthy snacks, baby wipes, hand sanitizer, spare chargers, headphones, colouring books and pencils, plasters – basically all the things we might need when out and about and don’t have to turn back home to get once we have left the house.
Debbie, mum-of-three
