By Lauren Jimeson, Disney Baby
With two little ones in school, Macks at home with me all day, and trying to manage a full-time job from home, I am always looking for ways that I can make things easier on me throughout the day. Our schedule is pretty concrete, so I try to stick to that to make our day go more smooth, but there are also more things that I do to make my life as a mom easier.
1. Keep a changing station in the room you spend the most time in.
We spend most of our time in the living room downstairs. After a couple of days in our new house I was so tired of going up and down the stairs to change Macks’ diapers, so I set up a cabinet in the living room that has diapers, wipes, and a portable changing pad for easy access when he needs a diaper change downstairs.
2. Keep snacks handy at all times using reusable bags.
I love these reusable bags from Bumkins. They come in a variety of sizes so that I can fill them with different snacks for all of my kids. I’ll fill up a couple at the beginning of the day and keep them in my purse so that whenever one of my girls tells me they are hungry, I don’t have to stop and get them something. I just pull out the bag and hand it over.
3. Have toys in a place that they frequent often.
Macks loves to open up cabinets and drawers in the kitchen. I’ve childproofed everything but one cabinet and drawer and I’ve filled those with containers and toys that he can play with while I am in the kitchen. He feels accomplished because he’s opening and closing things and pulling them out and I am able to get things done because he is occupied.
4. Have a bag of necessities that stays in the car.
We’ve only owned a car for about six months since moving from the city and it didn’t take me long to learn that I needed to have a bag in the car that just stayed in there. It’s full of all of my necessities while we are out and about. I have a soft and warm blanket, like this Winnie the Pooh fleece blanket. It’s filled with diapers and wipes, his favorite Mickey Mouse toy to keep Macks entertained, and baby food pouches in case he gets hungry.
5. Write it down.
Because I have so much going on all of the time, I keep a pen and paper nearby or in my purse at all times so that when I think of something that I need to do or something that worked throughout the day, I write it down. I go back to that list each night and catch up and check things off of that list.
What do you do to make parenting easier?
Image : Getty