An easy stay at home mom schedule that focuses on balancing your responsibilities, time with the kids, especially outside, and nourishing yourself.
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Despite the rumors, life as a stay at home mom isn’t all that glamorous. The only reason I’m still in leggings is because I didn’t have time to get dressed!
I get it. There aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything you must as a mom. You’re lucky if the house is relatively clean and there’s a healthy meal at least once a day for the kids. Maybe yourself, but you barely had time to shower and get dressed…
A dedicated stay at home mom schedule can help organize and prioritize your to do list, allocate time blocks for fun, and provide for self care. With the right structure, there can be plenty of time for what you have to do, and what you want to do.
Building a Productive Stay at Home Mom Schedule
In this post, I’m sharing tools and tips to create the perfect daily schedule for busy stay at home mamas who want to balance it all. You’ll also find my own personal stay at home mom schedule below.
But first, want to know my secret to creating and maintaining an effective, yet super simple, stay at home mom schedule? Time blocking!
Time Blocking Your Stay at Home Mom Schedule
Time blocking is a way of organizing and prioritizing your tasks by allocating a specific amount of time to accomplish them one by one. As a working mom, I used to time block my day at work, and at home.
I sectioned my work day into admin tasks, paperwork, emails, etc. At home, there was a specific block of time for our morning routine, and I had to prioritize and plan. I had a lunch hour to focus on one or two things.
After work, I had a specific time block for errands, cleaning, dinner, and night-time routines. By working with the limited time I had, not against, I ended up getting more done and had time leftover for myself.
Once I applied the tactic to my stay at home mom schedule, I instantly became more productive, and managed to find time for fun and self care.
Tasks or Groups of Tasks to Add to Your Stay at Home Mom Schedule:
Start by making a list of all the tasks you not only have to accomplish, but want to. Here are some of mine:
- Morning Routine
- Cleaning
- Errands
- Outings/Playdates
- Playing Outside
- Independent Play Time
- Nap/Quiet Time
- Reading
- Dinner
- Bedtime and Nighttime Routines
- Adults Only Time
- Self Care
- Meal Planning and Prep
My Personal Stay at Home Mom Schedule
I live by and love routine. The idea of structure, rules, and boundaries makes me happy. It’s also essential for children to have a routine. Knowing what’s coming makes the transition easier…and less time consuming.
We also live to be outside, so there’s a heavy emphasis on getting out to play. I find that I’m much happier as a mom when I can change up our scenery, too.
Here is my personal schedule that we follow on most typical days:
Morning Routine (7:30 am – 9:00 am)
A solid morning routine is necessary for a consistent daily schedule.
We typically wake up around 7:30 am (or 7:00 am on school days) and immediately start our simple morning routine, while includes:
- diapers / potty
- getting dressed
- breakfast
- unstructured free play
- morning chores: unloading the dishwasher, making the bed
On days my older son has school, we quickly get him ready and out within an hour, and I focus on morning chores when I’m back from drop-off.
You can read my entire stay at home mom morning routine here.
First Outing (9:00 am – 11:00 am)
An essential part of my stay at home mom schedule is getting out of the house, at least once, usually twice.
I find that if your morning routine preps you for getting out of the house, you’re more likely to do so consistently. And fresh air always does the family good.
Most days, this time block is used for our morning walks or a trip to the playground. We sometimes schedule a playdate here, or a trip to the library.
Mom Tip: This is also the block of time I’ll use to schedule doctors appointments for myself or my children because I find that they are most behaved and adaptable in the morning.
Lunch (11:00 am – 12:00 pm)
By 11:00 am, we’ll head home for our lunch block, which includes changing diapers, prepping and eating lunch, and cleaning up.
Most days, I aim to eat with my kids during their lunch here, especially if I skipped breakfast…because, you know, mom life!
Nap / Quiet Time (12:00 pm – 3:00 pm)
I can still count on an almost three hour nap for my younger son. During which I clean, meal prep, blog, and do yoga. I make sure to not only do chores during nap because it’s the only solid, consistent block of time for myself.
Adding time for mom to your stay at home mom schedule will make you a better parent!
When my older one decided to stop napping, we transitioned to quiet time. He can read, have unstructured play with quiet toys like puzzles, or use his tablet time. He’ll usually do yoga with me if he’s not still in his room, or watch TV while I blog.
Second Outing / Play (3:00 pm – 5:00 pm)
Since I try to get all of my errands done during my husband’s work day, a couple times a week this block is used for groceries, target runs, post office, shopping, etc. with the kids.
On days we don’t have errands, we head to the park, or play together. I’m big on child-led playtime (we love the Montessori method) and letting them pick their activities.
You can find our favorite Montessori style toys here.
Dinner (5:00 pm – 6:30 pm)
I start cooking between 5 and 5:30, while my kids watch a movie or play with my husband. We eat around 6, always as a family, at the table, and then clean up.
This is the time when we’ll ask our kids questions about their day or school, share what we’d like to do over the weekend, and keep TV and technology off. We also share our favorite part of the day with each other as a kid-friendly gratitude practice.
During the week, we focus on easy dinners: homemade pizza, pasta, chicken and rice, one pot or pan meals, burgers, salads, and take out.
Bath / Play / Relax (6:30 pm – 7:30 pm)
Do you ever finish dinner, settle in for the night, then remember the kids need a bath, and somehow you’re now behind for bedtime? I recommend creating a block in your stay at home mom schedule that can be used for bath, even if you don’t need it daily.
This last hour long block is saved for whatever we need, including a bath three nights a week.
If they don’t need a bath, we use this time for cleaning up, playtime, books, and, on weekends, a family movie. I prefer for the TV to stay off during the week to help their circadian rhythm …can you please remind my husband!
Bedtime Routine (7:30 pm – 8:30 pm)
Routine routine routine. I’ll say it again: routine is how children and adults thrive. Bedtime routines literally trigger your child’s body into knowing it’s time to settle down and get to sleep.
Our bedtime routine starts around 7:30 and the kids are hopefully asleep by 8:30. We aim to keep this as simple as possible: pajamas, brush teeth, read, songs, goodnight.
Next Day Prep & Adult’s Only Time (8:30 pm – 11:00 pm)
Preparing for the following day is the key to my stay at home mom schedule (and a smooth morning).
Some of the things I do the night before include prep the coffee, kids’ cups, and school lunches, do a quick wipe down of the kitchen, fold laundry, and finish any cleaning. We also run our dishwasher every night and I promise you, it’s life-changing.
Together, it takes my husband and I about 30-40 minutes to prep for the morning.
Between 9 and 11, I’ll pour a glass of wine and work on my blog, watch reruns of Real Housewives, or do anything that requires concentration away from the kids, like paying bills etc. This is also an ideal slot to add in any self care time that you may not get during the week – yoga, a bath, reading etc.
Set a goal to be in bed at the same time every night (I aim for 11pm) to get a good night’s rest.
Do you time block or follow a set stay at home mom schedule? Do you have any mom scheduling tips?
Keeping a to-do list and a fridge calendar help me stay organized and budget my time accordingly. It’s old fashioned, but visualizing the appointments and tasks I need to make time for helps me maintain my scheduling blocks even when responsibilities change.
Save our Stay at Home Mom Schedule to Pinterest:
Such a helpful blog post! Thank you! I’m a new mom and am struggling!!
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It gets easier, I promise! Routine helps, and I’m a big believer in just getting outside everyday for fresh air and a change of scenery. You got this!
Thanks! What do you do when you get your kiddos off a routine? How do you get them back on? I have a 20 month old and she has been staying up pretty late.
We pretty much have the exact same routine! My daughter loves her routine and so does this mama! The only thing I do differently is a bath every night. My daughter is a fish! (Loves bathtime/water). Thank you for sharing that the routine works! 🙂
This post was so helpful! I’m a working mom (nursing) who recently had a major scheduling change so I’m at home more often, and this has helped me organize our day in a way that is more fulfilling and efficient for both me and my children. Thank you!
Super helpful. This is simple which gives me plenty of space to make changes. I need to try a routine to find. Ore consistency.
Loved this post! I’m constantly trying to get my brood to stay on a routine…it seems impossible, but I’m not giving up! It can and will be done! 😊
When do you get ready in the morning? If you wake up with the children typically? I tend to get ready after my 3 year old is done with her morning routine and if I want to get out at a decent time, I usually spend a whole 5 minutes on myself, if I’m lucky! Also, do you keep a timer to make sure you stay within your blocked times?