Ideas for Stay-at-Home Moms (1)

It's funny how quickly things have escalated in my life since I graduated from High School (2008). By March 2009, I was engaged, and by February 2010 I was married. A year and about a week later, I had my first child. Fifteen months later, I had my second child. I am currently a stay-at-home mom exclusively nursing a 5 month old and learning so much each day about raising a toddler.
Here are some things I'm learning about being in my particular situation.

In no particular order....

How To Clean With Small Children in the House
(Before cleaning, be sure to occupy children with favorite show or video, and if possible, place in play pen, bouncy seat, swing, or some other temporary baby containment/entertainment device)
On your mark, get set..... GO!

1. Throw all the toys in a box/bag/storage device you generally use for toy storage.
2. Place all books on the shelf. Just stack them, cause they'll be taken off the shelf again soon enough anyway.
3. Make each trip across the house multipurpose. Example- If you're going to get the dirty clothes from the bedroom, you might as well get the trash from the master bathroom too. If it proves to be too much to carry, just carry as much as you can and feel good about yourself because you're strength training.
4. Take all dirty dishes to one area in the kitchen (typically beside or in the sink. I recommend picking a side, cause you won't have room for rinsing if you pile them all in the sink.). Soak the things that need to soak, if applicable.
5. Gather all dirty laundry to one location, preferably right by the washer, preferably (though not necessarily) in bins. Put a load on. If there are clothes in the dryer, take them out and put them on the bed or in a laundry basket near the bed. Never try to do more than one load a day, but always try to wash and dry one load. 
6. Check on babies. I'll add here that you should definitely at least check what they're doing every few minutes, if you can't see them from the room you're working in.
7. Grab a wal mart bag and briskly walk through the house, picking up trash from every room. Dispose.
8. Wipe kitchen counters( I use clorox wipes), putting away any left out spices, pantry foods, etc.
9. If children are still content, quickly straighten the living room and other main rooms.
10. Sweep kitchen/dining room, if you're lucky enough to still have sufficiently occupied children.
11. Don't mop unless you have a sticky area. Mopping is for those with older children or no children. Or exceedingly high expectations. Just set the swiffer stuff out for toddlers to "clean" with. 
12. Wash dishes. Try to keep toddlers from grabbing things out of dishwasher.
13. If you're not exhausted yet, run a swiffer cloth over the dustiest areas.
14. Save organization for when daddy/grandma/babysitter can watch the kids.
15. Light a candle so your house smells nice.
Done. Later you can fold clothes during their naps, or save them for tomorrow, or lovingly ask your spouse to finish it. Now feel good about yourself!

How To Make Dinner With Small Children in the House
I've found these are most effective...
a) Look up slow cooker recipes. Pick an easy one, put the still frozen meat and mixed up ingredients in the slow cooker (preferably with one of those slow cooker liners- saves LOTS of time), cook on low for several hours, and feel good about your house smelling amazing hours later when everyone is ready to eat. I also will cook rice, noodles, or whatever I would want to serve with the slow cooker meal when my husband gets home.
b)Put together another sort of meal during the baby's naps, or after the spouse comes home if it's fairly quick.
c) Order take out or eat out, preferably with a coupon during a kids eat free night.