Love your days with this stay at home mom morning routine, plus get a free SAHM daily schedule template inside to help you build your own powerful routine.
I had this completely crazy moment this morning. It was 8 am. I was sitting drinking (still hot) coffee, doing my best dramatic presentation of Green Eggs and Ham for my 3 year old.
The house was picked up.
There were no dishes in my sink.
The counters gleamed as the morning sun swept across the kitchen. The dryer hummed cheerfully in the background.
Had I just been transported into some other life with daily maid service?
Unfortunately, no.
I had just completed my morning routine. It is a simple morning routine that has completely transformed the vibe of my household, and most significantly, my stress level so I can enjoy the blessing of being a stay at home mom.
Read: How to Afford to Be a Stay at Home Mom
And it all started with making the bed.
First though, for you to fully appreciate the transformation, you should know that for the previous three years, things around my home were not looking so good.
Not only were dishes and laundry constantly piled and breakfast crumbs were still scattered across the table by lunchtime, but things inside my head weren’t looking good either.
I was constantly berating myself, “You’re a smart, hard-working person, how can you be so horrible at homemaking? Why can’t you even manage to get the simplest things done?”
I stressed all the time that I couldn’t manage both a home and a work at home job. There didn’t ever seem to be enough time or energy in a day, and that didn’t make for a very happy mommy.
Now, maybe it’s just that I’ve hit my 10,000 hours, and now I suddenly rock at this homemaking thing.
Then again, probably not.
I have to attribute this fantastic change with my new morning routine and I just couldn’t wait to share it with you, in case this is something you’ve been struggling with too.
Read: How to Work at Home with Kids (without losing your mind)
How to Build Your Stay at Home Mom Morning Routine
My inspiration for creating a morning routine comes from a combination of the writings of some of my favorite bloggers and authors, but I finally decided to jump on this morning routine bandwagon while reading Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Money Saving Mom’s Crystal Paine. (affiliate link)
Here’s what I’ve learned. Those basic homemaking tasks that I’ve struggled to complete really are simple, but they’re never going to get done unless I have a plan.
Luckily, making a morning routine is simple, too.
1. Pick about 5 tasks you want to do every single morning
These could be anything from working out to praying to getting out of your PJs. You get to choose what’s most important to you.
The key is keeping it extremely simple, so you can realistically complete it on almost any morning, no matter what craziness is going on with your family. For the most part, pick things that you struggle to get done consistently.
Here are some examples:
- Make your bed
- Start a load of laundry
- Unload the dishwasher
- Write down one gratitude
- Track yesterday’s spending
- Get dressed
- Read
- Floss
Pick the things that, if they were the only things that got done that day, it would still be a good day.
The first task of the day should be something very easy to achieve. When you enjoy that little hit of success first thing in the morning, you’ll be motivated to complete your list.
2. Keep your list where you can see it
Otherwise, you’ll be stumbling through your routine every morning trying to remember what to do next and then getting distracted. (Ask me how I know, no wait, don’t.)
For a while, I kept a simple list on the side of my refrigerator. Later, I created a daily schedule and put it in a picture frame and used dry erase marker to write on it.
If you’d like to do the same, you can get your free SAHM Schedule Template here. I’ll explain more in a minute about how to use this checklist to help you stick to your new routine.
3. Build on an existing habit
While most of your routine should be made up of chores you don’t yet do easily, you should also include at least one thing that you do every day without fail.
You can use this existing habit as the foundation of your morning routine.
For instance, if you always brush your teeth in the morning, then you could use this as a trigger to remind to do 10 jumping jacks as soon as you’re done.
4. Give yourself a reward to establish the routine
In the end, we’re all still pigtail-wearing first graders who want to get our homework done and please the teacher.
We like checking things off our to-do lists, and the good news is these small rewards help you associate your routine with good feelings of success that make you want to keep doing it every morning.
If you put in the effort to stick to your system for a couple of weeks, it will become a habit that will happen almost without thinking, but including an incentive at the end of your morning routine will help cement the routine even faster. (I’ll show you how I do this in my morning routine below.)
That way, you can use our precious energy and will power for more important things like enjoying time with your children and tackling bigger projects like paying off debt.
For instance, one thing I recommend to my Budget Breakthrough students is to reward yourself for tracking your expenses by pairing it with your daily cup of coffee.
My Simple Stay at Home Mom Morning Routine
By now, I hope you’ve begun to formulate your new morning routine. Now I want to give you an example of how to implement the steps above to make your routine as quick and effective as possible.
Here’s what my morning routine looks like with a toddler and baby at home:
1. Wake up 6:20 am and make the bed
For years, 30 to be exact, making the bed seemed like a total waste of time to me. You’re just going to un-make it at the end of the day, right?
Despite my mom’s best efforts at teaching me this habit, I never appreciated the power it held.
Here’s what I finally discovered.
Making the bed sets the tone for a productive day. It looks so nice and tidy, so it builds momentum to move onto the next task and keep putting things in order. (Making the bed is also a good thing to do when your bed resides in the middle of your living room!)
As I mentioned above, it’s a great idea to kick off your morning routine with something incredibly easy to set the tone of success for the day and keep you moving forward.
2. Serve breakfast and wipe counters
My husband usually makes breakfast before he runs out the door which helps a ton! That way I only have to focus on feeding the kids and after-breakfast clean up.
3. Unload and load the dishwasher
Being debt-free rocks, but I never want to go back to life without a dishwasher. After 21 months without one, I almost enjoy the task of unloading and loading the dishwasher every day.
This routine has been great for my kids too. My 3 year old’s first chore is putting away the silverware while I unload the rest of the dishes.
4. Wash any other breakfast dishes
We eat eggs for breakfast every day, so the cast iron pan needs to be washed.
5. Get dressed and brush teeth
I know this seems extremely basic. However, if you have little ones, you know what a feat it can be to get this done.
When you stay at home, there’s nothing stopping you from staying in your pajamas all day. However, I’m finding that getting dressed early (or at all!) makes us ready to make the most of every day.
6. Switch the laundry
I make sure to keep the laundry train a-movin’ in the morning, so it’s ready to fold after I’m done working in the afternoon.
7. Make coffee
Of course, I’m definitely not the first to write about morning routines or the power of making the bed, but I haven’t seen anyone else who talks about putting ‘make coffee’ on their to-do list.
However, this step is important.
Having a reward to look forward to helps build the habit, and it’s a nice way to fit a tiny bit of self-care into an otherwise very busy day. Our brains literally get hooked on this kind of positive feedback (and no it isn’t just the caffeine).
I love how this habit has already started building on itself. Now the calm post-chores coffee time has become coffee time with God as I spend time reading my Bible or reading it to my kids. That is something I always thought I didn’t have time for before making my morning routine!
Read More: Our Kindergarten Homeschool Routine
What to Do When Keeping Up Seems Too Hard
Please know that I am sharing this with the utmost grace in whatever season you’re in right now. Our daily routine went smoothly when I had just a toddler at home, but as our family grew it became harder to keep up with everything.
Due to my POTS syndrome, there have been times when I could do little more than get out of bed in the morning. It was exhausting just to sit up and read my children a book.
So if you have a newborn at home or if you’re having personal struggles of any kind, please be extra kind to yourself as you make your morning routine.
That said, it is still so helpful to have these routines in place to keep us feeling positive and productive, even in the hard times. And it can give you an anchor when life seems chaotic.
If including five tasks feels like too many, then choose three, or even one.
Two morning routine mistakes moms should avoid
If you’ve tried a morning routine before but have struggled to stick to it, you might be falling into one of two common pitfalls.
The first is that you haven’t given it enough time
While the myth of ’21 days to make a habit’ has been debunked many times, it does help us understand that it takes sustained effort to build new practices into our daily lives.
Plan to spend extra time and energy every morning to complete your routine. Don’t be surprised if it feels like a lot of work and you want to give up.
This is completely normal.
Habits are like making popcorn.
Think about how long the kernels sit in the microwave or air popper cooking before you ever started to hear that satisfying pop, pop, pop.
A lot of heat (energy) must be added to the kernels before they finally explode into being.
It’s exactly the same with any new routine you want to start. It takes effort at first, but then it becomes easy and enjoyable.
Or you might be trying to do too much
As one reader, Gina told me, she was reading other blogs that put wiping the baseboards on the weekly cleaning list. Then she always felt completely inadequate when she couldn’t get it done.
No wonder!
Life as a stay at home mom is full of distractions and unpredictability and setting up a system that is unrealistic only leads to feelings of failure and defeat.
If you’re like me, you probably are getting all excited about how much you’ll be able to accomplish at home with your new routine. However, let me caution you to stick to five simple tasks that are realistic for you to accomplish almost every day, so you can feel successful and will want to continue on.
Once you master these, you can add on if you want to.
Let’s review how to build your morning routine
We’ve covered a lot, and now it’s your turn to put this powerful tool into practice in your home.
- Use one tiny and manageable task to launch you into a productive day (like making the bed)
- Then include only the basics that must get done to make this a great day (start with 3 to 5 tasks)
- Include at least one existing habit in your routine to serve as the foundation for new ones (like making coffee)
- Give yourself a reward to help establish the routine (checking tasks off a list works well)
A couple of weeks into my new routine, there came a morning where I realized I had finished the whole thing without having to check my list once.
I actually didn’t even remember washing the cast iron pan, but there it was, clean and dried waiting on my stove for the next morning’s eggs!
Moreover, I didn’t dread or drag through any of the chores on my list. I just did them! My mind was free to wander, coming up with new project ideas and planning for the day ahead.
With all of my basic chores out of the way first thing in the morning, I am free to spend time with my kids and then get down to work without the guilt of a mess piled up behind me.
Plus, just like starting to pay off debt, taking that first baby step gets the ball rolling for completing bigger goals. By accomplishing a few small tasks, I’m motivated to get more work done at home.
Free Stay at Home Mom Daily Checklist
I created a free printable worksheet to help you create and stick with your own daily routine. It helps so much to see everything at a glance. You can print it out and framed it. Then you can fill in the details and enjoy the accomplishment of checking everything off each day.
Yes, send me the free SAHM Schedule Template
I look forward to hearing of your success as you harness the power of a morning routine in your own home.
I have instilled a routine into my daughter from the age of 2. She is now 4 and can do it without thinking, as I do! Get up @ 6am- Make Bed-Brush teeth-get dressed including house sneakers. Without shoes on I do not feel as though I have the “traction” to move on!
Make breakfast, walk 15yr old to buss top. Workout(walking video for circulation and overall health). Switch clothes that have been washing this whole time. Take time for school with 4 yr old (homeschooling). When we are away from home it takes a day to get back in, but once we are in it I look at the clock and see, Wow, I have a lot of time left, and a lot has been done.
Ooo! It would be great to have my little ones pick up the routine too. So far, it’s taking some effort to bring them along. Did you do anything special to help your daughter learn and cooperate with the routine? I would love to incorporate exercise into my routine eventually. Well, no I really wouldn’t love it, but I know it’d be good for me! ha!
I use a flip chart for my son’s morning routine. With the tabs down, you can see a picture of each task. Once completed, he tucks the tab in to reveal a check mark and the word DONE! He likes it a lot and I feel it promotes a lot of indepence from him. On the weekends or days with no school, he cant do any playing until his check list is complete.
Thank you for posting this! Perfect timing, it was just what I needed to hear. I definitely need to get a routine in place, and I love that you added something about self-care. Your list is great. I might alternate coffee and green smoothies, depending on what I had.
So happy this was an encouragement to you! I am trying to figure out where my green smoothies fit into the routine too! I gotta have my coffee though. :)
I used to keep up with morning routines like this when we had fewer children. Now with five (and no dishwasher but me and the hubs), it just doesn’t happen the same. We are in one of those seasons of life that just doesn’t allow much regularity.
I do love your routine, though, and I’m so glad you put a note in for those of us that are at a stage where we are just trying to keep our heads above the water. ;)
Kristen! I don’t know how you do it, well all you do, but especially with no dishwasher! Ahhh! Putting that note in was really important to me. I just remember feeling so discouraged when we were in that season of survival and I would read advice like, “oh you just need to spend less time on Facebook.” They made it sound so simple like I was just wasting time away, but really I was doing the best I could. (Oh, and I hear kids grow up to do dishes someday! We can only hope :)
I came from a family of 5 kids and no dishwasher and we used to always ask my dad why we didn’t get a dishwasher and he’d say” cause I already got 5 dishwashers!”????
I have nine ages 8mo, 2, 4, 5, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16. Yes there are a lot more variables but you can totally have a routine.
I just wanted to say thank you for sharing this. I am 28 with a 3 year old and no hubby to help and I work from home so as you can imagine, things often feel quite messy and overwhelming in my home. Plus finding a balance between work and house work seems impossible at times. Maybe I will give this morning routine a shot and see if it helps!
You can definitely rock a routine as a single mama. You gotta pep yourself up and be gracious to yourself. My hubby is in the oilfield which means I’m not single BUT three weeks out of the month I’m the only parent home with 3 children (age almost 3, 4 & 8) our schedule is somewhat flexable but I would be lost without it. It also is surprising that once you stick to your routine your child will soak it up amd become so helpful. Good luck. I know you can do it! ❤
Annie, thanks for taking the time to share an encouraging word. You are amazing!
Thank you for this!
Love this, and couldn’t agree more. For the last 4 years (since having my first baby) I’ve drifted through depression and a lack of purpose. There was no need to do the basic first steps every morning, because we had no where to be at specific times, which led to the pajamas-all-day, clutter, and dishes/crumbs all sticking around all day long. Now though, she has school and we are effecient and ready for the day by 8, with a routine similar to this. Completely changes our days!
In my experience it’s a vicious cycle: that listlessness creates mess and the mess leads to more depression! I’m so happy you’re feeling better now!
I’m in this rut now! When I had my first little one I felt like super mom always keeping things tidy and clean and had time to do things with her. My second one was born and the fog rolled in! Not to mention my first is neat and calm and my second is a sweet little tornado! My oldest is almost 4 now and my youngest is 2 1/2 and I seem to be on a sinking ship of clutter fatigue and overwhelm! I also own over 100 rental properties and my husband is a commanding officer in the coast guard! I’m completely embarrassed by the dirty cluttered Home we are living in and rarely get dressed any days or spend quality time with my children. I feel like a failure at being a wife and mother and I need help!!
I have been really working at getting back into a morning routine. I think I do better if coffee and devotional time is first. Thank you for the nudge to make the bed! I needed that and it does make a huge difference!
Thank you. This is great encouragement and just what I needed today.
When do you prepare meals? Work? Clean the rest of the house?
Hi Maha! I have been thinking I need to post about the rest of the routine beyond just the morning. It varies by day, but I fit work in during naps and after the kids go to bed. I have also started having a sitter come a few hours a week, but that’s only recently. Since I’ve been working full time, we have had someone come in to help with the cleaning every couple of weeks, so that is something I’ve been blessed not to have to worry about. Before that, I would clean or declutter one area of the house each day before lunch. Lunch is left overs, so that doesn’t take much prep. I fold laundry after they wake up from nap. My husband helps a lot with dinner prep. We also have an evening routine that is much the same as the morning. We work together to get the kitchen cleaned up and dishwasher loaded and help the kids clean up all their toys. At least when things are going as planned, I wake up to a clean kitchen and house. Then it starts all over!
This is so great, Shannon! I think I needed a reminder that so much of routine is simply deciding what to do and doing it. Simple, not complicated. I’m crazy enough to be pregnant with an under-one, doing GAPS intro for the toddler, and hosting two groups. The stress is not ok! But even though I’ve been learning to be ok with letting things go–giving them to God–I think it’s time to get back some routine consistency! One day I’ll be able to drink coffee again.
I’ve always been a night person and one of those zombie morning people. With my two small boys 2 yrs and 1 yr I have had to ‘become’ a morning person lol.
We are in day 10 of our new morning routine. Coffee is part of my morning ritual. I zombie walk to the machine and get it started before I do anything, then make my bed and get dressed. By then coffee is brewed and I have around 15 min of down time before the boys wake up.
Loving my new morning routine!
I am sooo happy you’re finding your groove! Doesn’t if feel great? Oh I can sooo relate! I have a 1 yr and 3 yr old. They really do help motivate us don’t they? :)
I am so glad I came across this! I joined a support group this month specifically for helping and encouraging each other to be better around the home. I’m going to share it with them.
I don’t have a good morning routine – right now it mostly consists of scrambling around and then “relaxing” because it was a taxing morning getting the kids up and out the door. It’s not a routine that actually works for me, and I need to change that. I love that you scheduled in some self love as well.
I am so happy you found the post, I hope it will be an encouragement to you! I was definitely on the scramble, scramble, collapse routine before too, and my new morning routine has truly made such a huge difference! I hope you can find a routine that works well for you too! :)
I do not have kids yet…and have often looked forward to their addition to my life because I felt it would give me a sense of purpose and worth. This is sadly unhealthy and I have realized it. Your morning routine practice is spot on and DOES make all the difference in a day – kids or not.
Although I never took it to the next level and thought to incorporate my goals and make it a regular, daily thing – I now most definitely will! Thank you so much for inspiring me to get a head start on this! I will be a much happier, healthier, more productive mom, and human, because of this!
Such a simple and interesting article. This is just what I wanted with the current situation of my life. I have a 3 year old and never felt I did justice to the role as a home maker.sometimes leaving the dishes unwashed or left the toys on the floor, now this article has motivated me to do things in a right way. Can’t thank you enough for this article.
I’m so happy this has been an encouragement to you!! Our simple morning routine has continued to make a huge impact in our home, but I want to emphasize for other moms who might be reading that there really is a season to let the toys stay on the floor. Don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t feel like you can handle an extensive morning routine right now. With a 3 year old, it’s a great time to help them start building positive routines and teaching them to help out with things like cleaning up, putting the silverware away, or transferring the laundry.
Can you tell me where you got your cast iron skillet?
Haha sure! It’s an Emeril brand. I’m guessing it was from Bed Bath and Beyond since I think we got it for our wedding. :)
Pinterest just stuck this at the top of my feed, so I don’t know if it got picked for me or what, but this is definitely something I need. I’m a champion procrastinator, and have 3 young kids, so if I don’t read before they get up I never get to do it!!
Also, small point – you really don’t want to build inertia (that’s resistance to moving forward ). I think the word you want is probably initiative or maybe momentum?
This is something I feel I need to do. It’s really hard to with a 4 month old and working full time second shift and getting up early to take my husband to work. I don’t have much energy left even with the coffee that gets drunk in the car.
Do your kids go to daycare while you work from home? If not, what do they do while you work? My daughter was home with me yesterday, and after about 4 hours, I felt so bad for continuing to “ignore” her and making her play by herself… usually she goes to daycare!
Even though I am a work outside the home mama, I still have both a morning and evening routine which involves my 1 1/2 year old, and it sure makes such a difference! It provides more time and focused attention that I get to spend with my daughter when i’m at home with her, and that time is so priceless! The idea of a routine is just as appropriate to working outside the home moms! :)
So sweet! I love that your morning routine helps you spend more quality time with your little one. Thanks for sharing Christin. I think absolutely anyone (mom or not) could really benefit from the extra peace that comes from a morning routine. Now if I could just get in the habit of doing my evening routine consistently!
This may seem like an odd question but does the “Get Dressed and Brush Teeth” step include a shower? I love this routine and think it could be useful for us but seriously I struggle with when to shower. On days we aren’t going anywhere it wouldn’t really matter. Just curious if you get a morning shower or do you end up doing an evening or other time of day one. I’m dealing with young children where I feel like I can’t shower unless they are sleeping or being watched by someone. Thanks for Your post!
Yes yes Sara! I am sure to someone outside this season of life, getting a shower seems like a matter of course, but this is something I really struggled with when my second was born. How do you take a shower when you have a baby and a toddler who need your constant attention? I definitely had a period of time when I didn’t manage it nearly as often as I would have liked, but like you say, we weren’t going anywhere too often anyway. I finally started making it a priority though for some much needed self-care. As soon as we tuck the kids in at night, I got straight for the shower and leave my wonderful husband to deal if the kids need anything. It’s 15 minutes, but does so much to help me feel like myself. I don’t think I could manage it in the morning once he goes to work though. Someday! :)
Hi Shannon, I was a complete night owl and mornings were pretty much get up and do whatever seemed to need to be done. Over the last 60 days I have been a ‘Morning Person’ and love it. Im actually up about 2 hrs before the kids and have a really in depth 1hr routine that revolves around doing things for me.
Wake up 5am, wash my face and brush teeth. Meditate, visualisation, affirmations, reading, journalling. When my 2 boys wake up I do my Yoga which can be really interesting when the boys feel the need to give me some resistance training lol, but we end my exercise by switching on the music channel and dancing around for a few songs. It really gives the boys a good start to the day AND I feel like no mater what goes on for the rest of the day I can handle it because I have had that specific time in the mornings to priorities myself. There’s just something that really excites me about knowing that this morning space is all about me.
Everything else gets done during the day, or it doesn’t lol. I’ve gotten use to a small amount of chaos during the day just because my morning is so peaceful. Its really helped in my patients and ability to parent more effectively.
Thanks for sharing your morning :)
This is great. It is simple and specific and doesn’t feel overwhelming like some lists do. Thanks for sharing!
I have struggled with battling to keep a routine for years. Now it’s just me and my husband at home with our two sons grown and left. And after all this time, I have eventually learned how to keep a morning routine.
I so wish I had access to this advice from you and other bloggers that I’ve been following lately when my sons were small. It would have made life so much easier. But back then the internet was just starting and owning a computer was not on the ‘need’ list.
Thank you so much, I’ve bookmarked your site and following on facebook too.
Lydia, I too am a stay at home wife. Our 2 boys are grown and out of the house. I have struggled with routines especially meal plans and planning out a week. I try to keep my house picked up and clutter free daily since it is a large home. I would love any tips or advice that you have.
This is a great post! I’ve always had a morning routine even when my babies were little I would do the early morning feed then bath him & while he was sleeping till the next feed I would do all the morning chores.
Now we are empty nesters, just me & hubby I still have set things I do everyday & I’ve always made the beds & dressed properly including hair & most of the time makeup. I just think it makes me feel better & I can answer the door confidently ?
I know this post is old but I wanted to let you know how awesome it is to see someone else who have to just put simple things on their routine. My kids are early risers and morning is usually a very busy time! I’m going to try your routine tomorrow and see how it goes. Thanks for sharing it!
This post popped up in my Pinterest feed as I sit in my PJs (yes it is midnight but I actually wore them all day sigh) trying to drag myself to bed. I was hoping for a magical answer I’ve been missing but instead was encouraged by your note at the bottom. I have a 22 month old and a 9 month old and I just cannot. Routine is the only way ANYTHING ever happens around here but even that seems hit and miss. I identified with previous comments about struggling to get a shower. My 9 month old is not consistently sleeping well at night yet (we are working on it!) so I am desperate for a nap whenever I can carefully arrange both their naptimes together. Which means whatever happens MUST be done when they are awake or after bed for the night. I feel so frustrated most of the time because things get gross and need cleaning and I can’t keep up. Thanks for your kind words! So many posts like yours end up with a tone like someone else mentioned, if you stop playing on Facebook and do stuff you can get it all done when I rarely get to a computer. One day!
You have no idea how much I needed to hear this.
For the past two years, I’ve been struggling with depression, anxiety, and discontent with my situation. I have two children and I stay home with them, and although I love and take care of my kids, it is not apparent from my house. This routine seems doable, and would at least remove the food particles that have taken up residence in my carpet, and clean my very dirty kitchen.
Thank you for this. It’s exactly what I needed.
Thank you for this! I’ve been a stay at home mom for 11 years, and have consistently struggled with routines, though I thrive when I have one in place! My youngest just started kindergarten, so you would think I could get it all done while he is gone, but we recently got placed with 4 month old twins and I am back to survival mode. A shower shouldn’t be a treat, but these days it is. I love that you spoke of grace, and allowing ourselves these times in our life when it feels impossible to have it all together. I know that or lives are constantly changing seasons, and with small steps like a morning routine we can begin to take care of ourselves. Thank you!
Thank you so much. I am a stay at home mom recently laid off, I needed this to help get me out of my rut. I get dressed an hour before my husband comes home from work and rarely have the laundry done. I am starting tomorrow morning. I have two girls and my oldest is four and always helpful. My 9 month old is pretty good playin in here chair while I do some chores. Anywsy, thank you so much for writing and posting this. I am looking for a stay home job so this will be great to start before working.
Yes what you have said is great, I try to do most of this. One extra, I load all my machines, dishwasher, dryer and washing machine before work and empty at the end of my day. This keeps my family of 5 somewhat organized.
While I’m 63, and both of my children are no longer living, I do wish I’d had a routine such as this when Jay was alive (my daughter died just before she would have been born). Now, I work midnight shift, and I’m getting ready to retire in eleven months. I’m having major surgery six months before I retire, and will segue right into retirement afterward, so having a routine to follow will help a lot. I’m going to be a work-at-home woman after I retire, and will need to get into a proper routine.
I just wanted to say- this is the best morning routine blog post I’ve read! I love your added level of grace. I’ve struggled with CFS and other immune issues, so that added clause was very refreshing. I was excited when I looked at the picture of your framed schedule and saw that you homeschool. Then I was even more excited when I saw CC on the list :) Thanks for the wonderful printable!
I sure do miss being a stay at home mom. Enjoy the time
Thank you for posting this. I am just wondering if this is more feasible with toddler and up. I have an infant and really wish I could develop a routine but my baby doesn’t have a good routine yet so everything revolves around her currently.
I am 48 years old, my kids are 23,21,19 and 16 years old. Due to undiagnosed adhd, (I was finally diagnosed just over a year ago) I feel like I have been flying by the seat of my pants my whole life! More so since having children. I feel like I could have done a much better job being a mom had I known I wasn’t just an unorganized disaster. I wish I could go back and do it right!
I think I had a light bulb moment reading this – use my morning coffee as an incentive to get things done first thing. It is painfully obvious that coffee first is not working! Thanks for inspiring me!
Morning routine starts the night before – I completely agree with you & Crystal. My coffee is already made for tomorrow… but I could always use improvement. Thanks for the encouragement.
Shannon, Thank you so much for sharing this, your morning routine and the note about not pushing yourself. I have complications from years of breast cancer, chemo, mastectomy, reconstruction, infection during the expansion process and scare of my body rejecting it altogether, and several surgeries after that, not to mention the depression, anxiety, etc. that come with such trauma. I deal with chronic pain on a daily basis and feel inadequate when I read cleaning blogs with baseboard wiping in the WEEKLY schedule!
The fact you took the time to share that, made me feel normal and gave me back my sense of adequacy, even on my worst days. I have the utmost respect for you. Thank you so much!
I can’t tell you what an encouragement your coffee comment was. Having had well established morning routines (and indeed throughout the day routines) in the past, it all got shot to pieces when my health went down. I truly understand what an achievement you have made here, and am encouraged to follow in your footsteps, being kind to myself too. Why have I never thought of scheduling in a reward rest?? Be richly blessed, even as you are blessing your family and others.
Hi C! Thank you! I’m so happy this was an encouragement to you! When in doubt coffee makes everything better! LOL! ;) Your sweet comment has circled back the blessing for me as I’m going through a rough time with my healthy right now. I really need the reminder to be kind to myself.
Thank you for adding something about your chronic fatigue syndrome, it was really encouraging. I have been having health problems and fatigue for the past several months, and everything is just hard. Can you say more about what you did to get through it? Thanks so much!
Hi Ali! I’m so sorry to hear about your health struggles and fatigue. I have thought about sharing more about my fatigue, but I’ve been putting it off because I really have not tamed it yet. I have had some good times (like when I wrote this post) and some really hard ones (like right now). I’m working with a great naturopath now who understands adrenal fatigue, hormone imbalances, etc and is very supportive. But it’s still a long road. More than anything it’s been about learning to accept where I am and doing the best I’m able at the moment. I do have a post with some basics for fighting fatigue naturally that did help me make some improvements. I hope you’ll be feeling better soon! :)
Great plan! I applaud you for sharing your morning. Learning how to bring order into our homes blesses our whole family. I see your planner includes a spot for “what’s for dinner” – Bravo! I’ve raised (& home schooled) 2 great kids and know (with the Lord’s help) structure enables you to accomplish much. Press on!
Thank you for the encouraging words K! :)
Wow, you struck a chord with this blog. Well done. I like your routine template. When I was the stay at home parent, I decided I would not leave the bedroom until the bed was made, otherwise I would not come back to do it. Getting into a made bed in the evening is much nicer, so the discipline pays off.
I love that you have brought to light the importance of a morning routine. When my oldest was 3mo-8mo we lived in a tipi. The only way to keep my spirits up was to be productive in the morning. I won’t go into it cause it was unconventional to say the least. We have since “upgraded” to a shitty rental in south east austin. (Really gehtto but the only place we could find that would rent to a family with a pit bull and can still barely afford it.) now I wake up, make the bed, put the coffee on, water the garden and potted plants, feed and water the chickens, sit with my coffee and smoke a cigarette while i play my silly games. Kids wake up, feed them while doin dishes, put the livin room back together and if I feel up for it I might sweep.
For me, if I don’t make the bed or water the garden my whole day is ruint. I will of course still feed the chickens but it’ll be much later and I’m more than likely to git a peck or two from the rooster. I would deserve it however because I was lazy that day and didn’t git to it. That is my physical reminder that starting early is important. And just good for the soul. :)
I want you to know just how much your article made me feel a relief of stress in beating myself up everyday about being a good mom and homemaker! I have suffered from fibromyalgia with chronic fatigue syndrome and sleep apnea for going on nine years. Today, after reading your article, was the first day I told myself, ” good job mom”! Because that’s just what I’m doing, a good job! It may not be the best job in the world but it happens to be the best I can do for days when I have an extreme flare of my chronic conditions. I am going to give your routine a try and hope that my life turns around as good as yours did!! Once again, thank you!
I really enjoyed reading this! I recently resigned to be home with my three children after hustling them around for seven years. I am now wanting to slow life down and enjoy what we made. You write very well and it’s very comforting to read.
I read this at the right time! Thank you so much! I’m a single mom with a 11 month old n I’ve been having difficulty with the routines. Definitely something to try..I felt so good after reading this that I ended up finishing most of the things I had to today! Good to hear everything’s working for you :)
Thank uu! Very helpful
I have been doing this routine for 21 years. I find that I cannot function or concentrate if my bed isnt made. And I feel lost if I dont have a shower/ makeup/ and dressed before 9am. So I rush to get these done first. Then I feel energized to get on with the morning. Feeling productive. Love the smell of rich coffee sweeping my kitchen by 8am. It helps my children so much to have a routine. I see the effect on them the most. Making the bed, in my opinion, is the most important. It fights away the stay at home blues. Its my number one.
Why only a sahm routine? I have the similar and I work… my routine is like this:
6am – up, shower, dress
6:45 – get kid clothes together
7am – wake up and dress 3 kids, then breakfast. I do dishes while they eat. Then I get lunches packed. I do laundry right after and fold clothes in the living room while engaging the toddler. After that, kids brush teeth while I sit and eat and have a coffee . Shoes on and we are out the door by 8:40am.
I used to have a set schedule when my son started eating solid foods three times a day. I’m not sure what happened, but that schedule is gone! The new “schedule” works better for him actually, but I’m still lost in the abyss haha. I will definitely be trying this out and trying tomorrow morning. I also think I’m going to start the 14-day course! Thank you for sharing!!
These are some wonderful tips. I don’t fully agree about the PJ’s part, but that’s only because I’m more productive in my PJ’s (because I’m a night owl by nature.) However, I can also see the VALUE behind getting dressed (if for no other reason than to be a good example for my kids that they need to get dressed.)
I also need to get on the bandwagon of making my bed. It’s ironic because I was teaching my daughter how to make her bed this morning since she turned 5 today, and it’s time for her to start taking on more responsibility than she’s already had. It amazed me how much better her room looked to me just because it was made. It made me kick myself for not having my own bed made.
How did you overcome chronic fatigue? It’s hard to keep a routine when all you want to do is rest. I am so tired for two weeks out of the month. I know we need a routine though. I would love to know how you got your fatigue under control.
Oh I am so sorry you’re going through this Casey! I really need to update this post with a link to my most recent health update. I was ultimately diagnosed with POTS Syndrome. I can’t say that I’ve really mastered my fatigue, but I just try to stick to my routine as much as possible and plan in rest time. I lay down for about half an hour in the morning and I rest while my kids do their naptime/rest time in the afternoon. I am sure more rest time would be good for me, but with two little ones at home it just isn’t possible for me right now.
Awesome tips for us WAHMs! Thanks so much for sharing!!
This is great! I used to have a good morning routine, and now that my youngest (youngest of five! ????) is three I’m really working on getting back into it. This really motivated me to get up and make my bed this morning! ???? I have definitely had a few years of feeling like I just can’t keep up with it, but I know it’s possible and I thank you for the encouragement! God bless! ❤️
My daughter has POTS. She has just started a new treatment that is actually helping her. It’s twice a week IV infusions of 25g vitamin C and 2000mg glutathione. Your G6 pd levels must be ok before doing this treatment. It seems to help for several days after each IV.
Hi Carrie! I’m so sorry that your daughter has POTS. That’s very exciting that she has found something that is helping! I have heard of the Vitamin C infusions but not the glutathione. Do you have any links you could share with more information? Which specialist prescribes this treatment? Thanks for sharing!
I was literally just feeling like a failure at some WAHM thing and keeping on top of everything. I gave up and flicked over to pintetest where this was the first pin I saw. Thank you! I so needed this xx
I am so sorry you’ve been struggling but so very happy you found your way to this post. That just makes my day. I hope it will be an encouragement to you!
I love how you include coffee. Including something you like and is easy into the morning routine is important. Great content. I’ve added your page as one of the best on my site.
I wish I could make the bed by 6:30, but my husband is usually still in it until 7:15 or so! Hoping that when I start staying home, my husband will be able to get up early so we can do a morning exercise routine too!
Mad props to doing all of those BEFORE coffee. I struggle to walk to the coffee pot some mornings. I can’t count how many times I’ve brewed coffee only to realize I never dumped yesterday’s grounds (or i did and put an empty filter in). I am finally starting to make a routine for myself but I feel like coffee has to be first.
I love the ideas here, but my struggle is getting caught up to the point I can do a shorter routine. Currently I can spend over and hour working on dishes alone, and then my son is up and I fall behind again. Any advice?
I am a mom of one toddler.i live at my parents house and It seems like I can’t make any routine here.bcz I feel dependent here.i don’t know what I have to do..
so wish I saw this some years back
hi guys, am from India. I am a single mom of a naughty little cupid. and an unemployed who lives in the support of my parents.actually am mentally drained and feel helpless in all means. am strong enough to fight the world but when it comes to my baby am little emotional. I often write a perfect morning routine but never follow it. actually my divorce in process. I couldnt focus. please do help me to find a routine and kick my badass a GO to conquer success.
I did have “make coffee” on my list for several years. My coffee pot had a time so it was on my evening list. I would wake up to the smell of just brewed coffee every morning :-)
That change with the K-cup machine, but it just moved to the morning routine.
Teh routines are what keep teh house functional.
Oh, and what really helps my before supper routine is having a quick protein snack at the start (a bite of cheese, small glass of milk, etc). Seems the biggest problem with my evening routine used to be my afternoon blood sugar drop. That little snack keeps me level, sane, and on track.
Betty this is such wise advice. I find that afternoon blood sugar drop often gets me too.
Hi,
I happened upon this and am grateful. I use to work and then stayed home with kids. I’ve always felt inept at home, because there is no”set” standard to know what needs to be done and to guide standards. How I judge a well maintained home and how someone else does can be completely different. That ambiguity is my nemesis. I constantly judge myself based on everyone else’s perfect home with completely clear counters and nothing out of place. So no matter how hard I try, I end up feeling like I’m always failing somewhere. That led me to gradually begin to stay in my PJs all day while kids were at school, no motivation to get out of house, and giving up on trying to keep up a house because there was always something I didn’t get to and had a hard time me knowing how to prioritize.
To me all things were equally important because they were all connected to taking care of my home and family.
I’m starting to see the clutter build and I have zero get up and go motivation to do anything. I don’t feel any better about myself and I don’t know how to feel like a functional, purposeful, successful wife/mother. I’m going to give this 5 things a shot and hopefully it gets me to feeling better about myself.
When I worked I had no choice but to just get up and go, because I had a “start time”, that’s not the case at home. I could sit all day and do nothing… There’s no start time per se!! Except when you need to get kids out for school. That’s it…no other reason that you need to do something by a set time.
How do you/others get around that lack of a “required” time to get going? I mean if you’re not up at 6:20 what’s the worse that could happen?? That’s the problem where my head is at. A mess🤯🤯
The link for your routine templet is broken for both of them :(
Hi Sam, I just double checked and they were both working for me. I wonder if it’s because your browser is blocking the form when it pops up? I’ll add you manually and send it your way now just in case.