Simple Little Moments

Becoming a stay at home mom is a huge transition. Leaving the professional world behind to look after your children at home means that life is going to be different.

Let’s talk about how to maintain your sanity as a stay at home mom!

Being a stay at home mom is truly priceless. You get to be there with your kids through it all: the ups & downs, first steps, first worlds, giggles, diaper changes, reading stories, making insiders, and everything in between.

While there are so many perks to being able to stay at home with your children, it can also be incredibly difficult. You don’t really get any breaks, some days you may deal with lots of tantrums, it can feel isolating or lonely, and many moms struggle with the lifestyle in general. Those who are not yet moms will ask:

“what do you do all day?”

Depending on your hobbies, habits, and number of children, “what you do in a day” will vary significantly. However, across the board many stay at home moms want to know how to maintain their sanity and make each day feel fulfilling.

Tip #1 – Leave the house every single day

When I first became a mom and was finding my footing, going on outings felt really daunting. Especially as the seasons began to change and winter gear became involved. Leaving the house is definitely a process with kids.

Leaving the house every day was difficult at first, but we’ve managed to integrate it into our routine so it doesn’t feel as stressful anymore. Here’s what making this a part of our daily lives has done:

• Keeps cabin fever at bay. Days where we don’t end up leaving the house (someone is sick, it’s way too rainy, we don’t have a car, etc) cabin fever is real!
• Allows my son time to walk around outside and explore nature. Lately he’s been loving picking up rocks and twigs.
• We all benefit from fresh air & exercise (me, my son, my dog)
• Breaks up the day
• Stimulates the senses with creativity and fun, so my son is more tired for bedtime later
• Allows opportunity to run errands if we need anything

Tip #2 – Find your way of relaxing during naps & down time

As a stay at home mom, some days feel really hard. As an introvert with creative hobbies, the transition to being a stay at home mom meant I had to figure out when I am able to work on my own creative endeavors and fill my cup. In addition to needing time just for me, some days I’m so tired I feel like I could sleep all day!

A huge way that I’ve maintained my sanity as a stay at home
mom is by truly listening to my body and what my needs are. I specifically try to meet my needs during my son’s naps and after he goes to bed. It can be difficult to get used to have so much less “you” time, but taking advantage of naps & bedtime has been crucial for me and my sanity!

Things I do while my son naps / after he goes to bed:

• Work on crocheting
• Reading
• Working out
• Hanging out with my husband
• Bumming on my phone if I really need that
• Working on my blog (hi!)
• Napping with my son if I’m super tired

You don’t always need to be productive during naps or when your child is gone to bed. I’ve found that getting in touch with me and what I need has been very important. That means some days are productive and creative, and other days are lazy and getting extra sleep.

Tip #3 – Stay on top of chores

It is so easy to get overwhelmed with chores when you don’t seize time during the day to clean. If I didn’t clean during the day and just left it until the end of the day (when I’m exhausted), I’d be stressed & anxious for sure. Now, it’s not always easy to stay on top of chores. I have a 16 month old, so trust me, I get it! Some days I physically don’t have the ability to do certain things if my son is feeling especially needy or wants to be held 24/7.

That means on “normal” days I’m:

• Doing dishes in the afternoon, so that after dinner we only have the dinner dishes to worry about
• Doing laundry every couple of days
• Vacuuming daily (hello, shedding dog)
• Wiping high chair & table after each use to avoid crusty food on surfaces
• Quick tidy of toys and books during nap

Tip #4 – Declutter often

Decluttering feels like it’s become my middle name!

Since becoming a mom, and more specifically a stay at home mom, I make a point of decluttering frequently. Not only does this keep me sane by keeping our space clean, but it helps my son too by promoting creative play.

Kids can actually benefit from less toys in the following ways:

• Better focus: Children with fewer toys are more focused and engaged.
• More creative play: Children with fewer toys play more creatively and interact with their toys in more varied ways. 
• Less distraction: Too many toys can be overwhelming and distracting, limiting creativity and focus.
• More time for play: With fewer toys, children have more time for play. 
• Improved neurodevelopment: Playing in an environment with fewer toys can positively affect attention skills, which are important for cognition, problem-solving, sequencing, and communication skills. 
• Deeper engagement: With fewer toys, children tend to engage more deeply with each toy, which promotes creative thinking. 
• Lower stress levels: Humans have lower stress levels when they are in tidier spaces. 

There are tons of different ways you can incorporate a decluttering routine into your life! Check out this post about 9 expert decluttering strategies.

Tip #5 – Look for new kid’s activities when things get stale

Maintaining your sanity as a stay at home mom means that you need to be adaptable. Having little ones means that you can’t always rely on a specific toy or activity to “work” every time. Some days my son is totally jazzed about books and we end up reading every single book on the shelf, which entertains us both for quite a long time.

However, there are other days where he can’t keep his attention on one book the whole way through, so I can’t rely on reading that day as a way to pass the time! Having a few go-to activities is crucial, but having a couple tricks up your sleeve for those days when you really need something new are very important as well. Nothing is worse than feeling stressed & overwhelmed and not having anything to do at home with your kid!

My 18 month old goes through a rotation of loving the following things…

• Stickers: We take stickers off the sheet and put them on our hands, the table, back on the sheet, wherever!
• PlayDoh: I introduced this at about 15 months. He doesn’t try eating it anymore but he did at first.
• Reading: Depends on the day of course, but he usually really loves looking through books. Sometimes we just look at each page and I quiz him about the images (“where’s the dog?”, “do you see any flowers?” etc)
• Helping me cook: I set up our toddler tower at the counter while I’m baking or cooking and let him play with all the measuring cups.
• Folding laundry and putting it away
• Here’s a good post about toddler activities if you need more ideas right now.

You can maintain sanity as a stay at home mom

Being a stay at home mom can be hard, yes, but so very rewarding. I truly could not imagine myself going back into the work force now that I’ve had a taste of staying home with my baby. Despite it being amazing most of the time, there are days where you have to rely on the routine you’ve established for yourself to get through the day.

I hope you found this post helpful, and maybe it even invigorated you to try out a couple of things that we talked about today.

What else would you add to this list that helps you keep your sanity in check?