Do you sometimes feel totally overwhelmed by the chaos of your life?
I could hazard a guess that most moms do at times and I’m also sure it has nothing to do with what kind of mom you are.
Having twins is stressful but so is having one child who demands all your attention all of the time. Same goes for having a home-schooled child versus a child in school.
Spending all that time with your kids can be exhausting but so are school runs, packed lunches and looooooonnngg summers!
So we’re all in the same boat.
In this post I want to look at 5 practical steps for surviving ‘mom chaos’. And for feeling like you have more control and more peace in your life.
1. Surviving the Mess
I would have to say that this really gets me down at times.
My husband and kids can be incredibly messy – but I’ve stopped myself from obsessing about this because it’s a losing battle. I also don’t want to spend my whole life tidying up after them.
So how can you survive the mess?
- Get a storage basket or box in every room. It’s a great way to quickly get rid of stuff on the floor and everything will instantly look better and less chaotic.
- Get everybody to chip in. For example, get the kids to tidy their rooms every night. Even though they aren’t doing it perfectly, it’s okay. I’ve learnt to accept that it’s a learning process for them. My husband and I alternate things like doing the washing and the dishes. This helps a lot in preventing resentment too.
- Stop stressing about everything being perfect. As long as everybody is helping, you can’t really ask for more than that. So there is some washing that hasn’t been folded – it really isn’t the end of the world.
2. Keeping it Clean
Cleaning is a whole other ball game!
Obviously just tidying isn’t going to cut it. Floors must be mopped and toilets must be scrubbed.
Boy, this can seem like a mammoth and thankless task at times! Especially when everything has been cleaned and then everything is dirty 3 seconds later.
Once again, I don’t want to spend my life cleaning. So what’s the solution?
- Break down the cleaning into small parts. The whole house doesn’t need a spring clean every day. Tackle one room a day for a proper deep clean and then just concentrate on the floors, counters and dishes every day. Maybe it’s worth your sanity to even get a cleaner once a week.
- Get everybody involved again. If there is a system that everybody agrees on, it makes it easier to share the workload. Get the kids into that schedule as soon as you can. They are going to learn such valuable skills along the way.
- Wash a load every day. I have resigned myself to the fact that not a day will go by without me doing at least one load of washing – but one load a day is better than 10 in one day.
3. Coping with Mealtime Mayhem
In our house, we all eat different food. I’m vegan, my husband is a carnivore and the kids are very picky, sensory eaters.
Throw in the fact that we home-school and it’s like a really busy restaurant in our home!
This can be the absolute epitome of chaos, but I’ve found that the only way to survive this is to get organized:
- A weekly or monthly meal plan is first prize. It takes all the stress and time out of deciding what to eat and it means less wastage and time spent shopping during the week.
- Get strict with mealtimes. This helps a lot with having to fix snacks all day long. Our kids get 3 square meals a day and then have access to as much fruit as they want in between.
- Always cook extra. This means that you can quickly stock your freezer with lots of different meals, which you can use in a pinch.
- Have a well-stocked larder. For me as a vegan, this means lots of no-soak lentils that can be used to make a quick soup. My husband has tins of tuna fish for a sandwich and for the kids this means pasta and some tinned tomatoes for a quick sauce.
4. Avoiding Mom Burnout
The need for regular self care can’t be overstated!
No human can survive on coffee and sugar, no sleep and constant stress and anxiety, without reaching a breaking point eventually.
Make sure that you schedule some time for yourself every day. Nothing is that serious that it can’t be handed over for half an hour to someone else.
However, self care also goes deeper than pampering and rest. You need to take care of your physical and mental health.
- Get your checkups done regularly. You need to prioritize your health as much as the health of your children.
- Exercise regularly. Exercising can do wonders for your state of mind and there are lots of things you can do at home with the kids.
- Avoid alcohol. I know ‘wine mom culture’ can be funny and enjoyable but alcohol is a depressant and it might not be the best thing for your mental health.
5. If All Else Fails, Embrace the Chaos!
Sometimes the best thing to do is to take a deep breath and to dive straight into the chaos. It can be liberating at times to just ditch the schedule and the to do list.
A few days off is not going to make a whole lot of difference in the grand scheme of things and I can guarantee that it will do a lot for your mood.
Something else that you can also do is to take a break from Instagram and Pinterest.
What you see is not real. I know that we all logically know this to be true but sometimes we need to remind ourselves.
If that’s not possible, then switch off the notifications and read a book instead – or have a look at your chaotic, messy life and find all the good in it!
How Do You Deal With Mom Chaos?
How do you survive the mayhem of motherhood? Do you have any tips? Please leave a comment below! I would love to hear them.
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