4 Motherhood simple house management hacks
By: Helping Mum
Tags: Motherhood, Exercise, Parenting, Budgeting, Money

I have never heard anyone saying that they were ready to be parents, some might think they are, but then after their first child is born they change their minds. Life is full on, adding kids to it just makes it harder. Let’s say before you had to work and look after the house and that was fine, but now, you have to look after a newborn (which is way more difficult than working full time) and squeeze your household chores within it’s routine. It’s so tricky, I don’t even need to mention that everybody recommends that mums should rest while their babies are asleep, what a joke! I always liked to see my house organized and cleaned. I struggled for a while but now, I can let it go (sometimes, it’s a work in progress still), for that reason I had to come up with practical and easy solutions to handle with everyday problems that I was facing. Follow my personal tricks:

Weekly Meal Planner: I spend a couple of hours making a weekly meal planner. I like to keep it simple, I have a look in the fridge to see what hasn’t been used, then with my list of dishes (I have it at my notepad) I decide what I am cooking the following week. Based on it I make the groceries shopping list. The beauty of it is that I don’t need to stress out on what to cook everyday. Budget Setup: It’s easy to lose control of finances, especially when one of the parents it’s not working. There are different ways to keep up with it, there are some apps like pocketbook and a few banks that categorize your expenses. I have tried a few different things, but what works best for my family is Xero. The system is linked to my bank account, I categorize all our expenses, generate a report and finally make the family budget on a spreadsheet. Yes, it is a bit of work at the first 2 months, but after that it’s amazing. Now I spend around an hour a week on it and I know exactly where our money is going, it helps to prepare for the months to come. Exercise: I know how hard is to leave your child for while, but it’s so important. You need to breathe some fresh air and enjoy yourself. I have labeled it as exercise, but it can be anything as long as it helps to relieve stress. I go to yoga once a week at least, I’m a yoga practitioner for around 5 years, it has changed my life, but that’s me. Maybe just going for a walk, a run or gym, whatever works for you. It will also help to keep your energy levels up. Meeting friends/Playdates: there’s nothing better than having a coffee with a friend. Having someone to talk about all the issues that are going on with your life is essential. You might not even realize it, but carrying a worried head on your shoulders every day, creates a lot of physical tension. You’d be amazed at what a release it can be to get things off your chest.

I have found my way of maintain our house, they really work for me. I know they might sound a bit difficult and sometimes scary to start with, but I can guarantee they will be helpful and you can always adjust according your needs. I will be going into more details on the weeks to come, but I hope you have enjoyed my ideas, please share your experiences, let me know what do you do to take care of your house.