5 Tips for How to Manage a House as a Mum
We all have our basic tips for how to manage a house as a Mum. But do you use all of these in your daily or weekly life?
We know what works in our own house, what works best for us-but often we pick up a little handy hack here and there from other mamas.
So here are my top 5 tips for managing a house as a mama!
**Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission at no cost to you.**
First of all, understand that everyone is not the same.
Each child is different, has different strengths and different areas where they need to develop more.
Even as parents, we function differently to each other, and this means we need to have a generous amount of tolerance towards each other.
We also need to teach our children how to do the same with each other.
This involves teaching them how to
- say sorry
- listen to each other
- share
- take turns
- be respectful
- manage their emotions
Want to learn how to teach your small child emotional intelligence-and understand your child's emotions? See here>>>
(These all take time to teach and all children develop at different rates-so be aware that there is no such thing as perfection in a family, too!)
Love covers all-after all, family need each other and building trust and goodwill between each other is an extremely important goal.
Teaching tolerance goes a long, long way! But the main ingredient in teaching our children how to have tolerance with each other is in how we demonstrate or model tolerance as parents.
A few hard-hitting questions to help you think about how you already model tolerance:
Do you give your husband the benefit of the doubt? Do you snap at him when he speaks or says something you don't like?
Do you move toward each other or away? Do you say sorry first?
What does he do when he doesn't like the dinner that is served? How do you react if he overspends?
The way we interact in these smaller daily ways, in front of our children, are the ways we are consistently modelling tolerance toward each other.
2: Have a morning routine.
Regardless of whether you are a morning person or not, how you begin your morning is how your day will often continue.
Get up within 10-15 minutes of when you wake up, move your body and brain, have a relaxing moment somewhere while you eat breakfast if you can-then you can be ready to move into the day!
Morning routines are very important for babies, children and parents alike-unbelievably so.
This tip is one that I always regret skipping.
3: The next top tip to manage a house as a mum is....
...have a budget.
Yes, I know this one is a tricky one.
Many people aren't interested in talking about money, but it is essential if you want to efficiently run a household.
Especially if you are a stay at home mama with only one income coming in.
We do a budget 6 monthly (or 8 monthly, if I'm honest, I remember about every 6 months then have to organise it over awhile as I am left alone for enough time!)
We manage what money goes in and goes out, bills, etc and all the budget things.
Try a fellow blogger the Curious Frugal's printable Budget Binder here!
I've found these budgeting tips helpful:
- have an account specifically for bills, work out how much per week you need (work out yearly first), then put the money in there and try not to touch it for anything else,
- Get sorted with a few dollars per week towards Christmas presents. This is unbelievably helpful towards the end of the year!
- Don't just settle for the same old insurance providers, get a quote every year or two from a rival company and save some money!
- Start a small regular transfer into a bank account for each child. Even $2 per week will add up to almost $2000 by the time they are 18!!
Budgeting and understanding your money will help you manage your finances better.
Also, if you need to work or find another source of income, you should know before you actually don't have enough for the next bill.
4: Get Prepared!
This is a well-known tip for being able to manage a household-and kids especially.
If you can get prepared for the following day, do so!
It saves SO much time, even if it is just something small.
Setting aside even 5 minutes to think about how the following day is going to proceed, gives parents a head start and a chance to be a little prepared for what you will need.
We don't do all of these in our house, but here are a few items to sort the night before:
Even with these things complete, it will help the next day move much easier.
Note: This is something I struggled with for a long time, and always felt like I was chasing my tail! I now know how important this actually is, and yes, everyone who previously said so was 100% correct!
5: Hold it all lightly.
This final tip might seem a little random, but in fact it is a huge part of keeping a happy atmosphere in a home, and essential to making sure your child doesn't feel overwhelmed by expectations-or your husband, either.
Holding it all lightly means be a little flexible.
Allow for each other's faults (see Tip #1), take mistakes and accidents in your stride, and think about that huge moment you feel like you are in, from a bird's eye view.
Of course we need to deal with moments with wisdom, try to be calm, and of course we don't always.
We are in fact, human, and will always be.
No amount of training or learning can change that fully.
By holding it lightly I don't mean remove expectations, consequences, or remove yourself from responsibility.
I mean don't take life so seriously.
The world actually won't end if your baby doesn't sleep through the night (although it might feel like it for a bit), and giving your husband the silent treatment for awhile because he didn't do it 'right' is not going to promote a happy, connected household.
Give the others around you some slack.
But, most of all, give yourself a break.
If you're already showing you can manage a household as a mum, you're doing great! You are exactly who your children (and partner) need right now.
Just you. Not a perfect housekeeper.
So take these tips if you find them helpful, and keep on doing that amazing job you're doing, because no one can do it like you.
And that's the truth.
If you find this post '5 Tips for How to Manage a House as a Mum' helpful, I would love if you could share it on Facebook or Pinterest!
Grab this printable checklist here to help your toddler or preschooler drink enough water!
