As women, we are busy. There is a lot going on that we have to manage, especially if you have kids! There is the house, schedules for everyone (you, kids, husband), likes and dislikes, etc. I know we are working towards equality in the household, but in our house, I am still in charge of all the things. When we go out of town, I like to say to my husband, “You pack for one person. I pack for four.” And let me say, I have had my husband pack for the boys and either I have to make a list or they forget something!

So with being so busy, there is a lot going on in our schedules and our brains. The best thing to do is get it on paper. I used to think I was really good at remembering things (and I am), but it frees up so much space in my brain when I know it’s on paper.

Each week and each day, I take the time to plan. Most of this is through the lens of a working mom with childcare, but I will talk about what I did as a stay at home mom. I learned most of this system when I started working full time, but I did use it when I was home full time with 1-2 kids.

The key to a smooth running household is routines – both for children and parents. Think about each routine and what would work well for your family with the ages of your children.

The part of my day that used to take the longest was making dinner. I thought that I had to spend time following a recipe that involved lots of chopping and putting ingredients together. Since having kids, I have made dinners so much easier. I normally have about 25 minutes of a tv show to get dinner ready and on the table without going into too much screen time for my kids. Now, I typically finish what I need to do in less time because I have developed a plan that works well for our family.

Getting your home organized is helpful, but it’s not useful unless you keep your home that way. I have included my top 5 habits for keeping your home clean.

Getting your children in the habit of cleaning up is teaching them a life lesson as well as making your day a lot easier. When I don’t follow through and have them clean up before lunch or before dinner, I always regret it. Then, I have to use my childless time to clean up their mess!