3 Tips for Busy Moms To Reduce Stress

If you’re a mother, especially a new mother, then you know that motherhood is a full time job with no vacation days. If you work outside the home, make that two full time jobs. There are many days when it doesn’t seem possible to fit everything in—there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. Society puts a lot of pressure on moms to do it all: raise well-rounded children, excel at a career, have a clean home, maintain a level of fitness, and serve healthy meals every night. The reason it feels like you can’t do everything is because, simply put, you can’t. However, there are some tricks you can pull to do the most you can with what you have. Reducing stress will help you live a healthier, more fulfilling life.

1. Order Online

This may seem like a no brainer in this day and age, but many of the everyday errands that steal precious minutes from your day can be done online, eliminating time and an unnecessary trip of loading kids in the car. Many grocery stores are rolling out online shopping programs, so you can easily grocery shop from your bed if you’d like. Shopping online makes it easier to make sure you aren’t forgetting everything as you can review your cart, plus you will likely spend less as you won’t grab things from end cap displays that you don’t need. In addition to groceries an clothing, everything from diapers, toilet paper, vitamins, shampoo, deodorant, paper towels, and much more can be ordered from quite a few retailers on a subscription basis, meaning once you set everything up, you never have to worry about running out again.

2. Simplify Your Routine

Getting out the door may seem akin to climbing Mount Everest on some mornings, especially Monday mornings. The best way to accelerate this process is to prepare ahead of time and keep things simple. Everything that doesn’t need to be done in the morning should be done the night before—such as packing lunches, picking out outfits including shoes and accessories, collecting homework or paperwork, and corralling it altogether in a spot near the door. On the beauty front, keep things simple and create an easy make-up and hair routine that you can get faster at with practice. There’s no need to blow dry your hair each morning, do it once and reap the benefits for a day or two with a spritz of dry shampoo each day to keep things looking fresh. If you love the look of long hair but not the maintenance, clip-in hair extensions may be a good option as you can easily clip them in or remove them when needed.

3. Outsource

If you have the means to do so, outsource where you can. This can include a bi-weekly or monthly cleaning service, lawn care, or meal prep. Whatever you personally do not need to do can be outsourced to make your life easier. Think of it as paying for added minutes or hours back into your day. If you have little tasks that have piled up and bother you, you can outsource these too by posting an ad on a community site or using an app such as Taskrabbit. Tasks may include hanging picture frames, assembling furniture, painting rooms, or raking leaves. Whatever it is, you’ll feel relieved to check things off your to-do list at rapid fire pace.