organized mom

How Moms Use Time Blocking To Get More Done

06/25/2019 By Jenn Leave a Comment

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Are you a mom struggling to get everything done? Or maybe you feel overwhelmed by it all?

If you have been here for some time y’all know I thrive on routines, schedules and good organization systems to keep it all together.

But, let’s face it with kids, jobs, homes and every thing in between it can be tough to keep it all going as smoothly as it looks.

Are you a mom that struggles with time management? Learn how time blocking can help you be a more productive mom and get it all done in less time.

When you have kids, you never really know what will happen – am I right?

Many days you might feel like your running around in circles. By the end of the day you think to yourself, “what did I really get done today?”

Then the feeling of defeat sets in. Your overwhelmed, stressed and snapping at everyone.

Does this sound like you?

If so time blocking may be your answer.

Now hear me out here. I know kids are unpredictable, your day will not always go as planned.

But first..

What is time blocking?

Time blocking is a scheduling technique that “blocks out” periods of your day.

Just as you write out your monthly budget to see where your money is being spent think of time blocking as where your time is actually going.

Time blocking is an amazing time management tool if used correctly.

The words “used correctly” is KEY!

Once I started to see where my time was going, I realized I wasted a lot of time and could get more done in the week.

I also realized how much more time I had to play with my kids and take me time breaks. Momma’s we need breaks!

Here are some time blocking tips to keep in mind just for moms:

1 – Start With Your Routines

When you start to think about your day the first thing you should add onto your time blocking sheet is your every day routines and must dos.

Things like:

When you wake up
What time your kids go to school
When your kids come home
What time to start dinner and eat
What hours you are working that day if you work
Babies or toddlers feeding times
Morning clean up routine
Evening routines

Weekly Cleaning Schedule Printable

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2 – Make A List Of Your Must Do Tasks

Now that you have your routines set into your time blocking schedule look at what you need to get done.

Make a list of your must do tasks for that day.

If you are working towards a big goal, break this down into smaller attainable goals to get you there.

3 – Be Realistic With Your Time Blocks

Life happens when you have kids.

Your child forgets something before they left for school, little ones need us, we are running late somewhere.

A big issue with time management is you need to make sure you are realistic with the time you have.

I would rather add more time for a task than less. Therefore I will not get burnt out and you will wind up finishing more instead of playing catch up.

Leave plenty of room for error here.

Even if you know the task you need to complete will only take 15 minutes, time block more time than that.

You can always fill in that extra time with another quick task or do something fun.

Keep it flexible.

4 – Time Block Down Time or Me Time

Momma’s schedule in your time and recharge your batteries.

This could be your workout, read a book or that hey mom needs an hour at Target, I’m out time.

Just schedule it in somewhere.

5 – Use The Right Tools

Y’all know I am a pen and paper gal but you can use apps or even your phone or Google calendar to use time blocking.

Get fancy and use color coordinated blocks if that speaks to you.

Pick what works for you and try it out the way you find it best.

Let’s put it all together

How to create a time blocking schedule that works!

This is my time blocking schedule on most week days. As you can see it’s nothing fancy or elaborate.

Be as specific as you’d like this is just my guideline for you. In my actual time blocking schedule I list exactly what I need to do.

5 AM – I wake up and workout
6 AM – kids get up – morning cleaning routine
7 AM – drop off kids at school
7:30 AM – weekly cleaning routine chore
9 AM – work emails
10 AM – write blog posts, schedule posts
12 PM – lunch – switch laundry
12:30 PM – schedule pins
2:30 PM – get my boys off the bus – fold laundry and put away
3 PM – after school routine
4 PM – daughter arrives home from school – prep dinner she loves to help me
5 PM – dinner – evening cleaning routine – family time
7 PM – kids night time routine
8 PM – kids bedtime – make grocery list – meal prep – go over my planner – time block next day – me time
10 PM Bed

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How To Organize Your Home For Summer

05/21/2019 By Jenn 2 Comments

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Organize your home for summer now so you can spend less time worrying about where things are and more time having fun with your kids.

7 simple tips to organize your home for summer now so you can spend less time worrying about where things are and more time having fun with your kids.

Summer starts at my house in just a couple of short weeks, so this week I plan on getting ready.

Here are 7 simple tips on how to organize your home for summer before it starts.

1 – Out With The Old In With The New

In order to create less clutter take the time to pack away all of your families winter items.

This is a great time to purge winter and fall items that you no longer need or that your kids have grown out of too.

Make a donation pile, a keep pile and a throw away pile.

Invest in a large tote for each child and family member. This makes rotating seasons so simple.

You can double your space in these totes by using vacuum bags. Place all the items you can to maximize the storage.

Pack away all of your coats, long sleeve shirts, boots, whatever you have from winter you will not need until the fall into the large tote.

Then make sure you label the tote with the person’s name.

Keep this rotating system going as we get into different seasons.

2 – Stock Up

In order to prepare your home for summer, you should stock up on summer essentials.

Check your sunscreen and bug spray from last season. Make sure it is not expired. I always grab a few more from the store now so I never run out all summer long.

Check all your pool floats, beach items, water balloons or anything you will be using this summer to make sure all the items are good to use this summer.

Check to see if you have enough beach towels and bathing suits for everyone. I know in my house flip flops are always something I have to buy each season for my kids.

And don’t forget to pick up Bandaids – lots of Bandaids!

Stock your kitchen as well!

I swear every summer I feel like all my kids do is eat. And with their friends coming in and out I like to have a full stocked kitchen.

Take inventory of what you have and start stocking up on summer items like water and popsicles.

If you have an extra freezer or refrigerator in your garage load it up just for your kids and their friends.

I wish I would have done this years ago!

This makes it easy for them to grab what they want without dragging water into my house since most of the time they are outside playing with water.

It was well worth the investment, since I have to clean my floors less.

3 – Create A Landing Station and Tote Bag

Make summer organization as easy as possible by creating a landing station and a tote bag you can easily grab and go.

Create a landing station for the items you use all summer long like sunglasses, hats and sunscreen.

The summer is all about outdoor adventures and last minute plans make sure you are ready.

Pack a tote bag with day trip items.

Things to include:

Bug Spray
Sunscreen
Hats
Bandaids
A few plastic bags – for wet clothes or trash
Picnic blanket
Sanitizing wipes
Reusable water bottles to fill

By keeping a tote bag ready you can be out the door in less time for a fun summer day out.

4 – Make A Summer Calendar

One way to organize your home for summer is create a summer calendar.

Start early and make a summer calendar for all the activities you want to do.

That way you feel more prepared. Once your kids get out of school you can be ready!

Write everything down so you do not miss anything fun this summer.

Schedule in camp dates, vacations, any appointments you may have and fun events that your town might have planned like fairs or festivals.

Get your kids involved too and see if there is anything they want to do on their summer bucket list.

Summer should be relaxing too so do not over schedule things.

Leave room for spontanious days or down time days.

Make sure you display your summer calendar for the whole family.

That way it keeps everyone knowing what the day’s happenings are.

5 – Create Summer Rules and Routines For Your Kids

I know, I know summer is supposed to be more relaxed but if your kids are like mine they need to stick with some sort of routine.

Make sure you go over with them what is expected as far as rules go.

If you want your kids to help around the house make it known so there are no issues later.

You can set up a simple chore chart for the summer to help them visualize what needs to get done.

Coming up with a morning routine and evening routine is important as well.

In my house, it is a bit more relaxed during the summer but our mornings and evenings for the most part always look the same.

Routines make for good habits.

This helps when they head back to school by sticking to some sort of routine.

6 – Garage Organization and Summer Toys

A major area to focus on to organize your home for summer is the garage.

The garage always takes a hit during the summer months!

With the balls, bikes and extra sporting equipment your garage can quickly become a hot mess.

Take some time before summer starts and make sure all the things you need are accessible for your kids.

Since you no longer need your winter tools try to move them into a place where they do not need to be accessed.

Then move all the kids toys up front.

You can use totes for this too.

Gather all your water toys, sport items and anything else you have for the summer and designate bins for those items.

Store these bins in places your kids can reach if you want them to be able to get into them on their own.

7 – Rainy Day Activities

There are going to be days where everyone needs some down time during the summer.

So your kids do not get bored make sure you are ready for some activities to keep them busy.

Before summer starts take a look at your craft section if you have one.

If you need to replace or add anything now is the time to do it.

Games, puzzles, and movies are a great thing to have on hand too for those rainy lazy days.

Related: 40 Frugal Summer Activities

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14 Habits of An Organized Mom

02/19/2019 By Jenn 3 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Read the full disclosure.

Ah, the organized mom!

Do you know that mom that looks like she has it all together? The mom at parent drop off that looks like she had the most peaceful morning getting everyone ready for school…

She looks like she got plenty of sleep the night before…

She looks like super mom running her home, volunteering at school and has a career on top of that.

Well, no one has it all together!

But these moms have a secret – they are a highly organized mom.

Are you an overwhelmed mom trying to keep up? You can become an organized mom with these simple habits that will change your life and be more productive with less stress.

We are stretched so thin these days that being an organized mom and staying one step ahead of the game is key!

These organized moms have developed amazing simple habits that are easy to follow but make all the difference.

Here are 14 Habits of An Organized Mom to help make mom life a whole lot easier!

1 – Create Routines

I’ll start with my favorite organized mom habit!

Routines..

I love my routines and I use them a ton in my day to day life.

When you set routines in your day to day life it takes the guess work out of what comes next.

Children thrive on routines but so do moms!

Having good routines for yourself can and will make you more productive, less stressed and a more organized mom overall.

Just take a look at my weekly cleaning routine.

Weekly Cleaning Schedule Printable

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It takes the guess work out of what to do, where to start and by the end of the week your home is clean in less than an hour a day.

Be sure to check out all of my posts on various routines:

2 – Make To Do Lists

Organized moms have a plan.

By having a to do list every day helps you clear out your mind.

There is just something that feels good about writing down all the things you have to do.

And, being able to cross it off as you complete each task.

Organized mom secret to make a to-do list but make it attainable!

If you make a daily to do list make sure you can complete it today.

No one wants to set themselves up for failure. So when you sit down writing all the things you need to get done make sure you can complete those tasks.

Grab A Free To Do List Printable

Getting it done one day at a time with this free to do list printable. Sign up below for your downloadable copy.

3 – Meal Plan

Meal planning has saved me tons of time and money.

If you are new to meal planning you can start by just planning out a week at a time.

If a monthly schedule works better by all means go ahead and plan it out.

Figure out what works for you and your family.

By having a meal plan each week it takes the guess work of what’s for dinner?

You already have a plan written out!

Related: Free Meal Planning Printable

Sit down each week and go over your schedule. Those busy nights plan to make a quick meal or something you can throw into your slowcooker.

It takes very little time to plan and you will find your weeks run so much smoother when you have meals planned out for you according to your schedule.

4 – Wake Up A Little Earlier

Now I know what you are thinking.

My kids get up too early, there is no way I can get up any earlier.

However, by getting up just 15 minutes before your house can do wonders for your day.

Take that time to get a quick shower, or plan your to do list.

This allows you some time to think before the busy mornings happen.

5 – Nail Down A Night Time Routine For You and Your Family

Night routines are probably the most important routine an organized mom uses.

Get your house completely ready for the next morning is the goal here.

Things to include are:

Making kids lunches for the next day
Making sure their backpacks are ready to go
Picking out everyone’s clothes, including yours
Make sure you have the things you need for work ready

6 – Do A Load Of Laundry A Day

No more piles of dirty clothes and over flowing hampers.

Once you create a one load of laundry a day policy you will never spend hours doing laundry again.

I throw in a load of laundry each night before I go to bed. Then I set it to an automatic start for about an hour before I wake up.

Once I am up that morning I switch it over into the dryer and it is dry before I even leave the house in the morning.

You can fold it and put it away later.

A simple routine that organized moms swear by.

7 – Create A Command Center

A command center is an organized mom ultimate successful trick.

Having everything you need right there so all of your family knows what is going on.

Things to include in a command center are:

Dry erase monthly calendar – write down kid’s activities, meetings and appointments.
Weekly meal plan – every one knows whats for dinner that night
Chore charts – laminated chore charts so your kids can help
Important papers – school calendars, party invitations etc.

Related: Free Printable Chore Chart

8 – Batch Your Errands

Try to designate one day a week to running errands if you can.

By batching your errands all into one day saves you time, money on gas and having to quickly run out on days that are busy.

The best habit of an organized mom is to make the most out of the time you have.

9 – Grocery Shop Less

Make one weekly trip to the grocery store.

Plan your list each week with your meal plan and get everything you need that week in one trip.

If your grocery store offers grocery pick up, try it!

I do this in the summer and let me tell you not only do I save time but sanity.

Is it just my kids or do yours hate going to the grocery store?

This is a battle I choose not to fight so I order my groceries online during the summer.

10 – Declutter Regularly

Clutter can be very overwhelming to deal with if you allow it to pile up.

An organized mom will tell you the more clutter you have the more overwhelming it can be.

Go through things regularly such as kids clothing and household items you no longer need.

Paper clutter too!

Toss junk mail, coupons that have expired and old receipts the second you can.

11 – Meal Prep

Prep anything you can on your grocery shopping day or on a day that works for you.

Wash your fruits, cut your veggies anything you can prep ahead of time is a win for every organized mom.

Go through your meal plan for that week and see if anything can be prepped before hand saving you even more time during the week.

12 – Create A Drop Zone

The key to being an organized mom is to have simple systems in place.

Like the command center you should also have a drop zone.

A place where backpacks go, keys, shoes, your purse.

Anything that you need to walk out of the house with should all be in one centralized location for easy access.

13 – Set Deadlines

By setting deadlines for yourself you will more likely to make your task a priority.

But, just like your to do list keep it realistic.

Break up bigger goals into smaller chunks.

An organized mom will tell you by working towards a goal little by little and setting a deadline to get it finished is the key to successfully getting it done.

14 – Plan Your Week Every Sunday

This is so important to set yourself up for a successful week and hit the ground running on Monday.

Take some time each Sunday to write out everything you need to do, places you need to be and everything in between for the week ahead.

So you see being an organized mom is just planning ahead. Taking a few minutes each day to get things done.

Are there any organized mom habits you have? I’d love to know in the comments.

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Are you an overwhelmed mom trying to keep up? You can become an organized mom with these simple habits

organized mom

How Moms Use Time Blocking To Get More Done

What is time blocking?

Weekly Cleaning Schedule Printable

A big issue with time management is you need to make sure you are realistic with the time you have.

How to create a time blocking schedule that works!

Daily Schedule

How To Organize Your Home For Summer

Here are 7 simple tips on how to organize your home for summer before it starts.

In order to prepare your home for summer, you should stock up on summer essentials.

Make summer organization as easy as possible by creating a landing station and a tote bag you can easily grab and go.

Start early and make a summer calendar for all the activities you want to do.

Summer Schedule Printables

You can set up a simple chore chart for the summer to help them visualize what needs to get done.

A major area to focus on to organize your home for summer is the garage.

14 Habits of An Organized Mom

We are stretched so thin these days that being an organized mom and staying one step ahead of the game is key!

Here are 14 Habits of An Organized Mom to help make mom life a whole lot easier!

Having good routines for yourself can and will make you more productive, less stressed and a more organized mom overall.

Weekly Cleaning Schedule Printable

Organized mom secret to make a to-do list but make it attainable!

Grab A Free To Do List Printable

Night routines are probably the most important routine an organized mom uses.

A command center is an organized mom ultimate successful trick.

An organized mom will tell you the more clutter you have the more overwhelming it can be.

The key to being an organized mom is to have simple systems in place.

So you see being an organized mom is just planning ahead. Taking a few minutes each day to get things done.

organized mom

​​​​​​​What is time blocking?

Weekly Cleaning Schedule Printable

A big issue with time management is you need to make sure you are realistic with the time you have.

How to create a time blocking schedule that works!

Daily Schedule

Here are 7 simple tips on how to organize your home for summer before it starts.

In order to prepare your home for summer, you should stock up on summer essentials.

Make summer organization as easy as possible by creating a landing station and a tote bag you can easily grab and go.

Start early and make a summer calendar for all the activities you want to do.

Summer Schedule Printables

You can set up a simple chore chart for the summer to help them visualize what needs to get done.

A major area to focus on to organize your home for summer is the garage.

We are stretched so thin these days that being an organized mom and staying one step ahead of the game is key!

Here are 14 Habits of An Organized Mom to help make mom life a whole lot easier!

Having good routines for yourself can and will make you more productive, less stressed and a more organized mom overall.

Weekly Cleaning Schedule Printable

Organized mom secret to make a to-do list but make it attainable!

Grab A Free To Do List Printable

Night routines are probably the most important routine an organized mom uses.

A command center is an organized mom ultimate successful trick.

An organized mom will tell you the more clutter you have the more overwhelming it can be.

The key to being an organized mom is to have simple systems in place.

So you see being an organized mom is just planning ahead. Taking a few minutes each day to get things done.

What is time blocking?