Mom life is hard! Right? It’s definitely way harder than I expected, but oh so rewarding as well. While I love the life God has called me to, I really love when I find tips and tricks to make my life a little bit easier. Motherhood is so much work already, so definitely make things easier when you can. Check out these brilliant mommy hacks or mom hacks!
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What is a Mom Hack?
What is a mom hack anyway? While there’s no official definition, a mom hack is basically anything that helps make something easier or more simple, solves a problem, or reduces frustration. The best mom hacks will save time for the busy mom as well. Sounds good, right?? I just love a good mom hack!
Mommy Hacks
I’ve tried to break some of these up into applicable categories, but definitely read through the whole list. Sometimes these are called baby hacks, parent hacks, or kid-friendly life hacks, but they’re basically all the same thing. They’re all meant to make life easier with young kids. If you have some favorites not listed, be sure to let me know in the comments.
Baby hacks to make life easier
I wish I had known some of these when I was a new mom without much experience. Some I learned as I went, and others I totally missed out on! Hopefully this will help you out, especially if you’re a first time mom.
- Buy (or ask for) one-piece outfits. So much easier!
- Keep extra clothes and diapers in your vehicle. You may want to have an extra shirt for you as well! This is such a great mommy tip.
- Wear your baby in a wrap or carrier while doing chores. Your baby feels close to you, and you’re still able to get some things done. Win, win.
- Store up on easy meals and freezer meals before baby arrives. They’ll be a life-saver, especially if you have a hard time adjusting to a new baby.
- Use dry shampoo. I wish I known of this sooner . . . game changer! When you don’t have to wash your hair as often, it’s one less thing to do.
- Double layer. Layer new diaper under old one for quick changes. Layer a disposable blue pad on your changing station when baby has a blowout. Layer several layers of sheets and mattress covers so you can quickly pull up a wet one and the dry one is already there.
- Refill your diaper bag when you get home so it’s ready to go for next time. Sometimes it’s the small things that save you later.
- Use blanket swaddlers with velcro for newborns and sleep sacks when they’re older. These were definitely some of my favorite things.
- Pull the onesie DOWN when they have a blowout. Somehow I never knew this until after babies!
- Use a pack n’ play as a safe spot for your baby. You can even use it outside and put a crib sheet over the top to block sun and bugs. This is the best idea for a road trip as well.
- Use a baby hammock or wear your baby when shopping . . . such a great way to keep baby safe!
- Cut your baby’s nails while they’re sleeping as such an easy way to get the nail clipping done.
- Accept help! This will give you extra time to rest and bond with your new, sweet baby.
Simple mom hacks
Here are some great general mom hacks for moms in the thick of parenting. There are definitely some good ones!
- Cut a sticker in half and put half in each shoe to help your child put their shoes on the right feet. Sometimes it’s the simple tricks that work the best.
- Put a pool noodle under the fitted sheet at the edge of the bed when your child moves to a regular bed. This will help them not fall out while they adjust. Besides, this will save you the extra cost of buying a bed rail.
- Put ketchup under the hotdog. This is one of those genius mom hacks I wish I’d known sooner.
- Use cupcake liners under popsicles to catch drips. I find this one of the best tips for helping your child stay clean.
- Cook several extra pounds of ground beef while you’re at it and freeze the extra in 1 lb portions.
- Organize for the next morning the night before as a great start to your morning routine. So helpful!
- Use grocery delivery or pickup. So much easier than bringing 4 little ones to the grocery store! Don’t be afraid to try a meal delivery service such as Green Chef as well.
- Use a crockpot or instapot. Personally, I love a crockpot, but someday I may jump on the instapot bandwagon.
- Try sheet pan baking many of your meals. Layer the pan with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Give yourself more time than you think it will take to get ready to go anywhere. If you want to be on time, this is the best way to do that when you have littles.
- Use mesh laundry bags for laundering kids’ socks to keep them from disappearing in the washing machine.
- Use a pizza cutter or scissors to cut everything . . . chicken, pancakes, waffles, etc. I only recently learned this, and I’m in such a habit of just using a knife and fork.
- Establish a daily routine with at least 30 minutes of quiet time for everyone in the afternoon.
- Make a meal plan with an ingredient list that you rotate every 4-5 weeks as a great time-saving hack.
- Minimize toys, household items, clothes, etc. This will help so very much!
- Don’t over-schedule you or your kids. Pick your priorities and know they don’t have to match what everyone else seems to be doing.
- Do periodic cleanups throughout the day. You can motivate by saying, “Everyone picks up __ things as fast as you can!” Keep these cleanup times consistent.
- Train your children to help cook, do laundry, clean, and other household chores. Try a weekly chore rotation or assign zones for each child. Learning to do chores is a good thing for your kids to learn while they’re young.
- Use a robotic vacuum. So nice!
Want to learn more about living a simple life? Maybe you want to live more intentionally or find easier ways to do things. Be sure to learn how you can get started today!
Large family hacks
Definitely use the mom hacks listed above, but there are some other hacks that are especially helpful for larger families. Some of these I definitely wish I had known or learned sooner!
- Set a timer for everything . . . laundry, clean as much as you can in __ minutes, time on social media or reading a book, etc.
- Run the dishwasher every night. This little trick will keep you having clean dishes each morning.
- Establish a laundry routine and stick with it, whether it’s a load per day or one day a week. Personally, I don’t want to deal with laundry daily, so I just do all of it in one day.
- Color code everything! Have a color assigned to each child and use their color on your calendar as well. This is such an easy hack that will help in many areas.
- Have your children help keep each other accountable for their cleaning zones. Be sure to praise their hard work.
- Assign showering/bath times.
- Speaking of assigning, assign van seats, seats at the table, etc. to cut down on fighting.
- As your children get older, assign days for them to do their own laundry.
- Make and freeze food in bulk. Sometimes it’s just as easy to brown extra beef or make an extra casserole for the freezer in order to have meal prep take less time another day.
- Buy in bulk when you can.
- Keep the ingredients for at least 2 easy meals on hand, which is helpful if your day doesn’t go as planned.
- Use one sock color/style per child.
- Just buy the big van! Ha! I totally balked at this one, but the space is definitely nice!
There you have it! These mom hacks are a great way to save a little time. Which hack do you wish you’d known sooner? If there’s an easier way to do something, why not? Don’t forget to let me know other favorite hacks you have in the comments. Also, if you love what you see on this blog, consider subscribing below.
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