24 Stay At Home Mom Life Hacks You Might Be Missing

If you checked out my last post on life as The World’s Okayest Stay At Home Mom, you know that I definitely have this whole SAHM gig figured out. 😉

[ReviewDisclaimer]

Okay, I’m not the best teacher or housewife, but if nothing else… I am efficient and organized. When my kids are doing their thing in the playroom, I’m in the trenches with them brainstorming new methods to maximize our toy storage. Yes friends, slap me in a centerfold and call me sexy.

Regardless, even though I’m a self-proclaimed “okay stay at home mom,” this ship stays afloat. We’re not THE cleanest, or THE craftiest, or THE most stylish household, but we manage to do a little of all of the above… and I think that is what keeps us from operating like a total circus.

I credit this to a number of time and sanity-saving tricks–stay at home mom life hacks—that the girls and I have accumulated over my last four years of motherhood. Whether you’re a SAHM or a working mom, we’re all looking for ways to make our busy lives a little simpler. If you think you could benefit from some everyday improvements, here are 24 stay at home mom life hacks you need to know about:

LIFE HACK #1: YETI Rambler for your coffee

How could I not start with the elixir of life?

Although our coffee is brewed promptly at 7AM, there are many mornings I don’t have my first sip until noon. Cold coffee would normally gross out most, but the kind souls at YETI have provided the means to keep my coffee hot ALL. DAY.

I also have a bigger cup for my water, (drinking more H2O was my New Year’s resolution) so you can’t go wrong with investing in a couple of these.

LIFE HACK #2: Roomba / iRobot

We have 4 humans and 1 dog living in our house, but our floors can appear as though there’s 50 of each. We have lovingly named our robot servant, Clem, and despite the initial investment, he’s worth his weight in gold. Anytime the girls and I leave for the day, I put Clem to work and come home to a magnificent, clean house. (Bonus points to anyone who gets the “Clem” reference.)

LIFE HACK #3: Lists, lists, and more lists

If you’re someone who can keep track of life in their head, seriously, congratulations. But me? I. MAKE. LISTS. FOR. EVERYTHING. Lists on my fridge, lists on my phone, I cannot survive on my memory alone. 😉

In the overwhelming world we live in, you might be surprised how lists can change your life and relieve the mental load. These are just a few of the lists I use regularly, after mastering the Notes App on my iPhone:

• Meal planning
• Home improvement project wishlist
• Weekly excursion ideas for the girls, as well as their hours of operation
• Tracking the girls’ milestones – my take on “journaling.” I can quickly jot down the new, funny, and amazing things my girls do as they grow

You’ve read about my printable Travel Packing List for when we’re on the go. I also have a physical list on my fridge for groceries… a no-brainer.

LIFE HACK #4: A “light” schedule list for the week

Many stay at home moms have already written novels about the value in scheduling out your mornings, days and weeks, so I won’t re-invent the wheel. However, I do believe in writing down, (YES, IN PHONE LIST FORM,) my tentative plans and goals for the week. This includes our weekly dinner menu, to-do’s for Lilly’s preschool, appointments, and more.

LIFE HACK #5: Online grocery system

Calling all southern mamas! If you’re not using Harris Teeter Express Lane, you haven’t lived. With this service, I can easily add items from my fridge grocery list to my cart, save my most-used items to a “Favorites” list, and pick-up everything at a scheduled time. Many regional and national grocery stores provide similar services, as well as Wal-Mart, Shipt, Amazon, and Instacart.

LIFE HACK #6: Command Center / Calendar

I’ll cool it on the lists after this, but the final way I keep the whole family up to speed with our comings and goings is by using a wall calendar. While its’ beauty is not going to make the cover of any interior design magazine, I prefer a full-year paper calendar so I can jot down important reminders months in advance.

LIFE HACK #7: Amazon Subscribe & Save 

Can you imagine a world where you never run out of diapers? With a Prime membership, Subscribe & Save comes at no additional cost and you can schedule virtually any product you can think of to arrive at your home on a recurring basis.

Check out my post on Subscribe & Save for ideas! 

LIFE HACK #8: Amazon Echo Dot

Speaking of robot servants I love, for Christmas, my parents gifted me an Echo Dot. Almost for the sole purpose of playing music at my every whim, I love my Dot. Starting off my morning with some light music positively impacts my entire day, and we love having it play at dinner.

LIFE HACK #9: Slow Cooker / Instant Pot

I’m not an Instant Pot user… yet… but I use my slow cooker at least 1-2 times a week. SAHM or working mom, there’s nothing like throwing a meal together in the wee hours of the morning and coming back to a delicious-smelling house in the evening—with enough for leftovers!

LIFE HACK #10: Separate gmail account for shopping

I didn’t understand this was actually a genius idea until I had others comment on it. Anything non-essential, meaning, no family, doctors, school, bills, bank-related emails go to another gmail account I’ve created solely for “extras.” This keeps all email related to retail promotions, online shopping, trials, kids’ memberships, etc. in one location. The intent and result of this is simply, efficiency; saving me time from sorting through priority and non-priority messages.

LIFE HACK #11: Thieves Household Cleaner

Would it really be a mom post without mentioning essential oils? On a serious note, I love that I can spray my Thieves solution on any surface; tabletops, carseats, my KIDS—and it’s totally safe!

LIFE HACK #12: Spacious book bag-style diaper bag

I don’t care how much you spend on a diaper bag… as long as it’s book bag style! I actually swapped my Vera Bradley diaper bag with my husband’s because his was so much more practical. (YES!!—as new parents we thought he needed a “man bag.”)

LIFE HACK #13: Throwaway placemats

If you ever go out to eat where these aren’t kindly provided for you, (no, it’s truly MY pleasure, Chick-Fil-A,) then disposable placemats are a must!

LIFE HACK #14: Coupon book

Don’t act like your local neighborhood hustler hasn’t tried to push one of these on you at some point during the school year. As a SAHM, I love these books for new ideas for kid-friendly restaurants and activities, at a discount!

LIFE HACK #15: Multiple diaper stations

These next two are great for extra teeny, tiny, tots. For moms of infants, particularly those who might have a 2+ story home, first-floor access to diapers and wipes is the ultimate time-saver. Not that I couldn’t use the exercise going up to the nursery, but it never fails that my 21-month old does her business JUST as we’re heading out the door.

LIFE HACK #16: Baby carrier

I wasn’t quite a 2 under 2 mom, but with kids 27 months apart, I had to be on-the-go with an infant and a very active 2-year-old. I don’t remember baby-wearing much with my first, but my youngest spent most of her first year in some sort of wrap or Ergo—even at home. I cannot stress enough how much this CHANGED MY LIFE. I all of a sudden became super mobile, and those infamous “mommy shoulders” finally got some relief.

LIFE HACK #17: Creative storage solutions

Do not underestimate the power of storage cubes and containers. If your kids play at home quite a bit, (mine obviously do,) play areas become messy and the girls inevitably run to me asking where “xyz” toy went to. If everything was dumped into a giant toy chest, I’d never know. Legos, blocks, dress-up clothes, art supplies, music toys, Barbies, puzzles, books, (I could go on and on…) all have their own home.

Check out our Pinterest board – Mom Hacks – for more storage inspiration.

LIFE HACK #18: Modernized, dual-function play spaces

Again, for littles playing a lot at home, it’s convenient to have areas that serve BOTH you and the kids. I was originally resigned to keeping all toys in the playroom but caved when I saw some adorable IKEA toy kitchen makeovers on Pinterest that would totally match MY kitchen. Without a doubt, this is the toy my girls use the most, and I think it’s because they can “participate” in what mom is doing. I love it because it’s cute.

Check out Jenny’s shabby chic playroom/guest room for further dual-purpose room inspiration!

LIFE HACK #19: Selfie stick / tripod system

Hear me out.

Not so long ago, I realized that I left my career to stay at home with my kids, and despite the 5000+ pics I have of them in my phone, I appear in about… 3.5 of them. Y’all, there is barely any photographic evidence that I exist in this period of my kids’ lives, and I’m around them 24/7!

This isn’t as much of a hack as it is a reminder. Take photos of YOU with your kids—disheveled hair, no makeup and all. Whether you use technology, or you’re gifted with super-stretch-go-go-gadget monkey arms like yours truly… get in the frame.

LIFE HACK #20: Move digital pictures into Chatbooks

Speaking of my 5,000 phone photos, I recently discovered Chatbooks. You can easily move photos from your device to a printed book—up to 366 pages! It’s another New Year’s resolution of mine to make photo books for each year of our family’s life together, along with travel photo books. It’ll finally get my photos on print and also clear up space on my phone.

LIFE HACK #21: Disable phone notifications

Outside of text messages, phone calls, and emails, I disabled every single app notification from my phone. It was nothing but a distraction and I found myself checking my phone every 5 minutes when I could have, and should have, been focusing on my kids.

How to do it? On an iPhone, go to Settings -> Notifications -> then select the notification style you’d like to use for each app, or just choose “Off.”

LIFE HACK #22: Daily inspiration

A couple of my fellow P2M girls swear by their daily morning devotionals! As a blogger, I recently discovered new value in the hundreds of motivational mom blog posts I’ve saved to our Pinterest boards. I read them. Mind-blowing, I know.

For me, a little purposeful reading about the ups and downs of motherhood from other amazing mamas can literally change my mood for the rest of the day. So whatever your medium or content-preference may be, I encourage you to make a little time to regenerate your positive feelings about parenting, and life in general.

LIFE HACK #23: 10-minute beauty regime

“Getting ready quick” is one of the pillars of motherhood. I could never just roll out of bed and go, but I have a 5-minute hair/5-minute makeup routine that allows me to look like a semi-functioning member of society. A little concealer, eyebrows, mascara, and a straightener through my dry-shampoo’d long bob and I’m ready for the day! (Sidenote: If I could only pick “1” item to get ready with in the morning, I cannot rave about this concealer enough.)

LIFE HACK #24: Modified home “gym”

I have a SAHM girlfriend who commits to the gym EVERY. DAY. And she does it because she’s made her HOME, her GYM. Just a few small pieces of gym equipment and an express workout routine ensures she’s getting the exercise she needs and deserves. I couldn’t love this more.

Those are a few of MY FAVORITE SAHM Life Hacks! I know you smart mamas have a few more. Share your favorite ways to “mom so hard” below!!