Being a stay at home mom is both one of the most rewarding and one of the most thankless jobs on the planet. No other career choice keeps you on call 24/7 365 days a year. I don’t actually like the term “stay at home mom”, which I talk about in my post There Is No Such Thing As a Stay At Home Mom. But then, I am not a fan of labeling people at all. Whether you choose to stay at home or work outside the home or a mixture of both, it is important that you spend your time in a way that is meaningful to you. In a way that allows you to set and achieve goals. But sometimes that may feel impossible between the mountains of laundry and dishes. Even if you can stay on top of household tasks, they often leave little time for “reaching goals”. So I am going to give you a 5 ways to find a healthy balance as a stay at home mom:

1. Get Dressed. This may sound silly as most of us wear clothes every day, but do it. Wear something that makes you feel good about yourself. You don’t have to dress up like you are going out, but when we dress in a way that reflects who you are, you will be much more motivated to do everything else you need to do. There is nothing inspiring about realizing it is 1pm and you are still in your pajamas. It doesn’t matter if you are going out or not. Do it for you. If you need inspiration and ideas for this, read this post about Dressing Your Truth.
2. Make 2 lists. The first list should be personal goals. They can be big or little. Things you want to accomplish such as “purge my closet” or “learn to play the piano”. Beside each goal, write down any steps you need to take to accomplish those goals, such as “find a piano teacher” or “practice playing piano” or “get rid of everything that doesn’t fit”.  Then make a second list should be things that really feed your soul or make you feel good. Maybe it is reading, writing, praying or exercising. Write them all down.
3. Spend 15 minutes a day working on/doing 1 thing from each list. Here is the catch. Do this BEFORE attacking the laundry monster or the dish mountain. Those will NEVER go away and if you wait until you are caught up, you will never get a chance to work on things that really matter to you. Use a timer if you need to and then you can go on with the daily housework. I promise it will still be there. If you have a small child and caring for them prevents you from doing these things, use their nap or rest time.
4. Do your daily tasks. After you have spent half an hour on accomplishing your goals and self care, you will be amazed at how motivated you are to get other things done. Find ways to make these chores more enjoyable. Listen to music, podcasts or books on tape while you work. Get your kids involved. Or if you need some quiet, let them play with special toys or do special activities while you clean.
5. Get out of the house. Get out with your kid(s) by going to the park, library or on a walk. And make sure you also get out without your kids for time alone or with your spouse. It is worth hiring a babysitter so you can get a little bit of kid free time to refresh yourself. You will be a better momma when you are with them if you have a little bit of time without them.

What else do you do to achieve a healthy balance in your life? Please share with me in the comments!

Every mom needs to pamper herself! Make yourself some non-toxic DIY lip balm!

Photo’s courtesy of Jomphong via freedigitalphotos.net

PAID ENDORSEMENT DISCLOSURE: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog.

AMAZON DISCLOSURE: The owner of this website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon properties including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and the statements on this blog have not been evaluated by the FDA. Any products or techniques mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. I am just a mom who shares what works for me!