This Simple Stay at Home Mom Schedule Will Make for a Happy Mom
I’m a stay at home mama, work-from-home mama, and a stay at home mom blogger. I also prioritize slow living to help all our sanity! This article will cover my simple stay at home mom schedule that will make you a happy mom too.
Right now, maybe your day-to-day is complete chaos or you’re a new or wanna-be stay at home mom and you need some guidance on how to do this new #momlife. I got you, mama.
I’m sharing my personal stay at home mom schedule so you can take some ideas to create one that works for your family. Not every day is the same but this is about our typical schedule for being a stay at home mom with toddlers. Alright, let’s get to it.
To make a successful stay at home mom schedule, prep actually starts the night before.
My stay at home mom schedule:
(never followed to the T and keep in mind, these are rough time estimates):
8 pm (Night Before) (Prepare For The Day Ahead)
5-7 am (Wake Up, Rise and Shine)
7-8:30 am (Morning Play Time)
8:30-9 am (Morning Bathtime)
9-10 am (Outside Walk or Indoor Play Time)
10-11 am (Craft Time)
11-12 pm (Lunch Time)
1 pm-2 pm (Nap Time/ Mom’s Time to Work)
3 pm (Playtime/ Walk to the Park)
4 pm (Clean up/ Get Dinner Prepped)
5 pm (Dinner Time)
6 pm (Quiet Time, Bedtime Routine)
7pm (Bathtime Starts)
7:30-8 pm (Prepare for the Day Ahead)
8 pm (Relax/ Mom Work Time)
9-10 pm (Hit the Hay)
8pm (Night Before): Prepare For The Day Ahead
Once I put the kiddos down for bed, I love to turn on some quiet music and get cleaning. We really do try to stick with a more minimalistic home, so clean-up isn’t as horrific as it needs to be.
I can quickly clean up the toys and put things back into their place within 20 minutes. Then I do the dishes, fold any outstanding laundry, fill up my Berkey Water Filter for the next day, soak my almonds or oats to make milk in the morning, and get the coffee set.
While this may seem like a lot, I’ve come to really love my mama nighttime routine. It’s a big part of being a happy mom in the mornings. I love waking up to a clean home and my coffee ready to go and I just try to be present when I’m doing the house chores.
If you hate house chores as a stay at home mom, try changing your perspective before each task. Tell yourself to relax, to enjoy these mundane moments, do the tasks in cozy lighting (I have string lights above my sink and little accent lights that make the home cozy). I find that I don’t mind cleaning up when I set the mood right haha.
This step is essential in my daily schedule while being a stay at home mom.
5-7AM: Wake Up, Rise and Shine
My kiddos are 2 and 3 years old right now. They wake up around 5 or 6 am most days. This means I definitely have to get to bed at a decent time to be the present, happy mom that I want to be.
Usually one gets up before the other, so I come downstairs, grab my coffee and get the little peanut some breakfast (usually while holding him in my arms) Gotta keep those mom arms toned somehow, right?
I keep the bright lights off for a while and keep just accent lights on. It helps everyone slowly wake up and stay calm in the morning. This is part of my slow living routine with kids.
My sleepy head sits at his little table and eats his breakfast. I quietly talk to him and sit on the floor next to him as he eats.
7-8:30AM: Story Time/ Morning Play Time
When he is done, we get cleaned up and I ask him what book he wants me to read. We will do some morning storytime until the other brother wakes up, and gets his breakfast.
We have some toys (one basket, a train set, and lots of books) on our main living floor and then more toys in the playroom in our finished basement. We play on the main floor until Dada goes to work (upstairs). This long self-play time allows this happy mama to have a slow morning.
This is one of my favorite things about being a SAHM. The slowness of it! (If you decide to slow your life down, that is!)
Then we head downstairs to switch up the environment on the colder days and have some playtime. I remind them of bathtime coming soon to let them know what is next.
This allows them to mentally be prepared for the shift in activity. I try to make bath time exciting with essential oil bath bombs, bubbles, and non toxic bath toys.
8:30-9 AM- Bathtime
This entire routine takes about 30minutes. That includes play, wash, and getting dressed. Some days they want to play forever, and others they are getting out dripping wet before I can get them wrapped up in a towel! This is where a lot of routines and schedules for stay at home moms differ. This is what works for us, but maybe you just do bathtime at night. Somedays if the kids don’t want to get a bath, I don’t stress over it. I give them plenty of opportunities for bath time and so I don’t fret over it.
9-10 AM- Outside Walk or Indoor Play Time
Then depending on the season, we either get around and go for a morning stroll around the neighborhood in the stroller (I bring a little snack like a cut-up apple or Larabars), or we do some more playtime where ever they feel like playing.
10-11AM: Craft Time
Every day I like to get a fun kid nature craft. While art time is always an option during playtime, I try to do one big art craft with them a day. This means getting out glue, non-toxic paint, dot-a-dots and the goodies. We have a huge paint tarp that I spread out so I don’t have to worry about the floor getting colored, sticky stuff on it.
If we can create something from recycled stuff, we absolutely do that.
We decorate paper towel rolls for “magic wands” with flowers and leftover colored paper
I cut out shapes, letters, and animals from our Misfits Market boxes to let them paint
Make pinecone bird feeders
Paint rocks
Once they lose interest, we clean up and I let them watch 15-30 minutes of TV time if they aren’t distracted by another toy. This allows me to get lunch on the table.
11-12 PM: Lunch Time
I don’t overcomplicate things as a stay at home mom. Simplicity makes for a happy mom. I either do leftovers for lunch or a meal that takes 20 minutes tops to make. I usually am stocked up on fruits and veggies from my Misfits Market delivery so I put on my creativity hat and see what I can make with that.
1 PM-2-3 PM: Nap Time/ Mom’s Time to Work
The kids go down pretty easy about nap time at this point. I think having a routine or set time every day for nap time at least, has helped. Once The kids are in their rooms, I do a quick sweep of the house to pick up odds and ends (nothing perfect, but just so the afternoon goes a libel more smoothly).
Then I focus the entire nap time on my work. I am a freelance copywriter and a stay-at-home mom blogger. I love what I do and it’s so flexible.
If you’re wondering “When do stay at home moms work and still stay a happy mom, not one that is completely burnt out?” It’s nap time or after bedtime! The key is really having a job that have a flexible schedule where you can make your own hours. During nap time, I am able to knock out a good size blog during this time.
If you are looking to bring in some extra income or even full-time income, read my 5 Best Stay at Home Mom Jobs: No Experience Required. You can even join, The Copywriter’s Academy, where you learn how you can bring in an income as a stay at home mom. (it’s pretty epic, to be honest).
3 PM- Playtime/ Walk to the Park
When they wake up, we all have playtime together. We head outside in nature, to the park again, or in the wintertime, I read books aloud while they play.
Even in the winter, we still get outside though because it’s so important. Here are some outside winter activity ideas: 10 Winter Nature Activities for Kids to do Outside.
4PM- Clean up/ Get Dinner Prepped
My husband gets done around 4PM, so I like to have the dishes in the dishwasher and have the home not a disaster. I also prep the ingredients for dinner, chop the veggies, etc. If I do a slow cook meal, I’ll do it sometime during the day and have the kids help me. I’ll chop and they put it in the crockpot or dutch oven.
Some weeks, especially when the weather is gorgeous, I’ll order from Sunbasket, so I can prepare a quality dinner super fast. I’ll do this just a couple of times a week here and there. If you use this link, you can get $90 OFF across your first 4 orders!
5 PM- Dinner Time
The kiddos will get Dada time as I cook dinner. We have some kid show on in the background but sometimes the kids will want to help with dinner and I highly encourage them to that over watching tv. Even though it may seem exhausting sometimes, they really do learn a lot by doing real life with you. Once you see how much they learn and are excited by doing adult things, you won’t be as annoyed that they are getting in the way. Cooking dinner may just take 15 minutes longer. No biggie.
Then we all sit down together to eat dinner. Bon Appetite!
6 PM- Quiet Time, Bedtime Routine
After we clean up, we may hop in the bath (again) with calming essential oils. This is more to get ready for bedtime than cleanliness. We get on jammies and brush our teeth, clean up together and then do storytime.
Sometimes they help with putting toys away, other times I just do it but I always invite them to do it with me. I say “Should we all clean up together? Oh, it’ll make the house feel so much better!” I start this bedtime process at 6 because I want plenty of time between now and bedtime without feeling rushed.
As we are doing our bedtime routine, the kiddos get distracted by things and I don’t rush them. When we rush our kids, we all get stressed. So if they don’t want to put on their shirt right away, I don’t push it. I’ll put it on in 10 minutes.
Then we tuck them in and we get parent time for ourselves.
7:30-8 PM: Prepare for the Day Ahead
Again, this is when I get the house ready to go for the next day. I have a system down, so it goes pretty fast. I try to do house cleaning during the day so there really isn’t that much leftover at night.
8 PM: Relax/ Mom Work Time
Depending on if I have a project I need to complete or a blog I’m inspired to write, I’ll work some nights or put on an episode of New Girl. Most times I just need to edit a blog quick then have “me” time.
This time is so important because it’s key to being a happy mom for you and for your kids. While some nights I have an hour of work, other nights I block off for “mama time,” where I get a Rose essential oil/ Epsom salt bath myself with my bath tray and relax! I do a skin care routine with all my incredible Osea products (you can get 10% OFF with code: “ourlittehappycrew”) and hit the hay super relaxed. I’ll share my more in-depth “mama time” in another article soon!
9-10 PM- Hit the Hay
I try to get to bed as close to 9 pm as possible (some nights even 8 pm to be honest). Especially since my nuggets get up so early! Sleep is such an important factor that makes for a smoother morning.
This simple stay at home mom schedule is super flexible. Some days it goes according, and other days we just go with the flow. It’s important to have somewhere of a routine, but not to a point that it causes stress.
If the kids are really into something and having a blast (like playing at the park on a gorgeous day), I’ll let it take up the entire day! I’ll pick up some healthy food and have a picnic.
Remember that it's fun to have some spontaneity and magic into your week. When you adopt a slow living as a mom lifestyle, it makes more space to be spontaneous with your kids and create everlasting memories.
If you’re a stressed stay at home, please know there are ways to make it more enjoyable! Read my article, Make being a SAHM mom easy with these life-changing hacks!
