Cleaning | Declutter | Home Management | Organize | Routines
What to Do When You’re Overwhelmed by Your Home
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Are you feeling overwhelmed as a mom? Are you just wishing you could take some things off your plate to make your life a little easier?
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This post is full of ways you can cut back on some of the non-essential responsibilities.
Sometimes we just need a break. Whether it's because of a new baby, sick children, a big project at work, or plain old exhaustion, sometimes we need to slow down and stop trying to do so much.
Things You Can Do When You Feel Overwhelmed by Your Home
- Decide to do less. Make a conscious decision to let the non-essential things slide for a while.
- Use paper plates. And paper cups, utensils, napkins, etc. Not having to wash dishes will save you a lot of time and energy. I'm all about cutting down on waste, but sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do.
- Keep meals simple. It's okay to have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner every once in a while. Cook a frozen pizza or order out. Sometimes, not having to cook a meal gives you time to catch up or catch your breath. Here are even more easy meal ideas.
- Use your crockpot. If you know you're going to be busy, plan on simple crockpot meals that you can prepare ahead of time.
- Use your Instant Pot. If you're in a time crunch, use an Instant Pot to whip up a quick meal. Here's a list of ways you can use your Instant Pot – one of my favorites is using it to cook frozen chicken. I always forget to thaw!
- Stop folding everything when you do laundry. If you have enough hangers, hang your shirts. Don't fold socks, and certainly don't fold underwear. Your family will survive through not having their underpants folded into nice little squares for a while.
- Take a social media break. Social media takes a lot of our time, and it can be stressful. Sometimes, stepping away from social media gives us the time and space we need to recharge.
- Order supplies online. You can order almost anything from Amazon, and a lot of times, the prices are cheaper if you sign up for the Subscribe and Save service. Amazon has a wider selection than we have at our local stores. We order diapers, pasta, flour and more from Amazon. It has saved us countless trips to the grocery store.
- Write out your to-do list. Then cross off anything that's not essential. Then, plan out when you want to do the essential items. Sometimes seeing what you need to do on paper can cut down on your stress.
- Get up earlier. It's tough to do at first, but waking early gives you the opportunity to get tons of stuff done. I just completed Money Saving Mom's Makeover Your Morning course, and now I'm using my mornings to prep for the day, take time for myself, and work on my blog. If there's something that's really nagging me, I can take care of it early in the day before the rest of my family wakes up. It's really nice to feel productive in the mornings!
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Using paper plates and paper cups, and stop folding everything are the best tips among you mentioned..
But. “Take a social media break” is one of the suitable tips for this world mums. Now days I could see that lots of mums spend/waste their time in Social media. Of course, that’s one of the relaxation places in this busy world. But sit in front of social media everytime will make you struggle in your daily works.
Rally informative tips and thanks for shared this article.
Thanks, Thyrone!
The impact on the environment is not worth it for me to use paper plate! I’m all for doing less, folding less, anything to decrease my stress level. But wasting and polluting our world will only stress us in a different way.
Some Chinet paper plates are compostable. Using them would create a lot less waste than going out to eat or ordering takeout.
I have a hard time prioritizing and saying no. But I have found if I rid of “stuff” this helps, and getting rid of commitments as well. Thanks for posting. Hello from Thrifty Thursday.
Thanks, Melissa!
I never thought I’d get past the guilt of serving dinner on paper plates and using plastic utensils, but when I looked at the sink and noticed the only thing I had to wash was the pan I cooked with and the spatula…It was as if the Heavens had opened up and shined a beam of happiness, peace, and relaxation on this overwhelmed mom.
You keep it real, and that’s what it takes to be a mom.
Excellent post! Great advice!
That’s awesome, Michelle! I’m glad the post helped, and you didn’t have to do so many dishes. 🙂
Great suggestions. I definitely find myself overwhelmed by my home on occasion. I appreciate your tips.
Thanks, Julie!
All excellent ideas! The not cooking, or washing dishes is the best one for me!
Ordering supplies online and other ways to have things delivered to you is a huge time saver.
I have too much “stuff” that I need to get rid of!!! So I look at all of it & don’t know where to start so I just end up not doing any of it!!!
Amen, sister
Yes, yes, yes! Overwhelmed by too much paper, clothes , books….
This is me… so me. Was thinking this through this morning and trying to figure out where to start. I feel so off-track in many aspects of motherhood, the home included. Not knowing how to GET the kids to regularly clean after themselves. I try to be consistent but after a while I forget that the kids switched activities, we are late to leave or whatever else and the mess is just there. I’d love to hear from any ladies who have suggestions.
I grew up with an OCD mom who had a mother who did EVERYTHING, like scrubbing baseboards once a week and ironing sheets (my mom cut that down to ironing pillow cases, but she felt guilty about it). Every day was spring cleaning, which is why I hate housework so much and would rather live in a bit of a mess before I get sick of it.
But I got married late in life to a man who was a bachelor for many years, and many of these ideas came from him (paper plates, not folding anything*). The other thing I do is make my kids work, which I don’t see much in the Mommyblogosphere.
Ask a dude who doesn’t want to do all the stuff Mommy Bloggers do. Give him your list. He’ll cross about half of it off and give you ideas for simplifying. (Right now he’s on the fence for Amazon delivery, but he LIKES going out and running errands.)
So now I’m teaching my mom, slowly, to simplify, simplify, simplify. My advice is filled with things she would never think of in a million years. Do you REALLY need to iron your pillow cases? Do you REALLY need to do hospital corners for your sheet and blanket separately? These things never occurred to her.
So thanks for this.
Work out this meal plan with a friend: Make enough dinner to feed your family and your friend’s family. Package it up. Your friend does the same thing with a dinner at her/his house. You do need to do a bit of planning, but you can skip making dinner one night! It’s almost as easy to make a double batch, especially when you are anticipating a meal and a night off in return. *This works best is you find a great cook! Next time you and someone you care about are commiserating, work together! ????
I love this idea! Thank you, Nicki!
And I like to do that when someone has a baby or even unfortunately a death in the family. I cook double and take it to them because it means a lot to them and doesn’t really add ro my work load.
Another thing i do is when it feels like too much i just makr myself do “five” of it: minutes of cleaning or put away five items of laundry, etc. Even start a five minute walk when i need some exercise. Next thing you know you have done it all….or you give yourself permission to stop it that is all you can do right now.
I am running low on flour, so I figured I’d use your affiliate link, but it links to a 5 pound bag of flour for over $17! Sorry, that’s a little spendy for me! Lol! Maybe put in a new link?
Great ideas in this post.
Thanks for trying to use my link! Sorry about the sticker shock. I try to only link to stuff I’ve actually tried so I know I’m making good recommendations for our readers. Sometimes the price on Amazon fluctuates too. If that’s the case, sometimes Amazon provides additional sellers you can choose from that aren’t so expensive.
This is the 3rd move in one year, I’m sick of all of it. Fortunately this is the last move , so unpacking and finding ways to store things would be helpful. i usually start with kitchen. I think paper plates and cups will be a big help besides having a maid and butler and assistant and a staff of 12. Got any more ideas on unpacking and how to get it done when i just would like to throw all of it away?! Lord help me! Pray!!!
Hi Tracy! We just moved a couple of years ago, and we’re due for another move again soon. My best advice for unpacking would be to take it one box at a time. During our last move, I set a goal of unpacking 3 boxes a day after we found all of our essential things. I was taking care of two toddlers, and that was truly the best I could do. Eventually it got done! For our move before that, I lived closer to my mom, and she helped me unpack the kitchen. She pulled stuff out of the box, and I had to put things away right away. It went so much faster because I had to make decisions quickly! Good luck!!!
I started doing a to-do list and that is really helping. Being able to cross off things when I’ve completed them, makes me feel accomplished. I couldn’t use paper plates or cups since I’m very conscience about the environment and also we are only two (so why are we clutter bugs!-It’s my husband and we live in a very small apartment). But I will try making simpler suppers and not folding everything. And also I’ve tried ordering my groceries on-line this summer twice and it was fantastic. It saved me loads of time. THANKS for all the great tips.
That’s awesome, Grace! I’m so glad the to-do list and grocery ordering worked out well. 🙂
I liked the comment about social media and taking a break from it. I feel that, although some of it can be fun, it can also be incredibly time consuming. It can also be depressing which can drain a person of energy needed to be productive.
Quit folding your underwear, people! Lol! When I was a child, I was taught to fold underwear. I was 25 and still folding my knickers when I had an epiphany. Why am I folding my thongs? What purpose does this serve? Who cares? Not me! Seven years later it still feels good to toss a heap of clean panties into my dresser drawer and call it done!