Learn how to create a stay at home mom schedule that works for you and your family. Get helpful tips from reading about my experience and even get a free printable schedule template.
Daily Routine of a Stay at Home Mom
There’s no job manual for being a stay at home mom. How can you possibly know what to do during the day?
Many stay at home moms create schedules to help them get through the day. The schedules mostly have to do with cleaning, cooking, organizing, and other chores needed to be done.
The problem with stay at home mom schedules found online is that they often are not a one-size-fit-all.
I remember over 10 years ago when I became a stay at home mom, how I thought I’d conquer the world with the schedules I found online, the ones that promised that I’d accomplish it all and still look fabulous at the end.
Yeah, not so much.
Those schedules often include too much, not giving you a chance to breathe until bedtime. And what about all of the natural interruptions that happen during the day, like taking the kids to school or going to the grocery store?
After a few months (maybe even years) of figuring this whole thing out, I decided on creating a loose schedule, one that met all of my daily to-do list needs while also giving me a chance to breathe during the day.
Read: Not a stay at home mom yet? How to Become a SAHM
Example Stay at Home Mom Schedule
This is what my daily stay at home mom schedule looks like now:
6:00 am: Wake up and enjoy coffee in peace
6:15 am: Go on a walk or a bike ride
7:00 am: Wake the kids up and start school routine
7:35 am: Drive kids to school
8:30 am: Clean up remnants of morning routine/ shop for groceries
9:30 am: Start laundry / play with youngest / other household chores
11:30 am: Lunch
12:00 pm: Do dishes / more laundry / work on blog
1:00 pm: Go for a walk or bike ride with youngest/ misc. activities
2:00 pm: Finish laundry/ prep for dinner
3:00 pm: Pick up kids from school
4:00 pm: Homework / make dinner
5:00 pm: Dinnertime
6:00 pm: Clean up kitchen from dinner / outside time / catch up with husband
7:00 pm: Kids shower / get ready for bed
8:00 pm: Kids in bed / catch up on TV / read
Of course, this schedule didn’t always look this way. When the kids were younger and I had more of them at home (currently three are in school), I also had to add in feeding, diapering, napping, etc to my daily routine. My days were pretty hectic while they were babies and toddlers!
I used the steps below to work out my schedule.
Make a Stay at Home Mom Schedule
Your schedule depends on a number of things, including:
- how many kids you have
- how old your kids are
- if any kids are in school
- the size of your home
- chores you want to complete daily
- daily interruptions
- if you work from home
- your energy levels
Your daily schedule is going to look different from other stay at home mom schedules, and that’s okay. The goal is to find or create a schedule that works for you and your family.
What you are able to accomplish in a day will vary based on the factors I listed above. If you are in the beginnings of stay at home mom life and/or have a new baby, your days are going to look vastly different than mine, at least for a while.
As you go on, your schedule can and will change as your circumstances change.
Daily Schedule for Stay at Home Mom
Start by mapping out the must dos of the day, like bringing the kids to the bus stop or making dinner.
For me, it was:
6:00 am Wake up / Me time
7:00 am Wake kids up / Breakfast
7:35 am Drive kids to school
11:30 am Lunch
3:00 pm Pick kids up
4:00 pm Homework / Make dinner
7:00 pm Kids get ready for bed
8:00 pm Kids in bed
Every day, those were/are my MUST dos. I had to get those tasks done in order for the rest of the day to move smoothly.
Once you’ve established those tasks, you can fill in the blanks with other necessary daily tasks.
How do you know what those other tasks are?
Make a list of everything else you’d like to try to accomplish in a day.
For me, one of my main things was laundry. I’ve tried to do laundry on just one or two days a week, but with a large family, it just didn’t work for me. On the days I didn’t do laundry, it would just pile up too much. I now try to do at least two loads of laundry a day to keep up with it.
In my typical day, I also do the dishes, vacuum and dust the living areas, declutter countertops, and more. Along with the usual household chores, I also try to spend time with my youngest kiddo, who doesn’t start Kindergarten until next school year.
I also try to fit in some “me” time, which mostly occurs first thing in the morning and after the kids are in bed. It’s important to have that time to myself in order for me to be a successful stay at home mom.
Once you have that list of tasks you’d like to accomplish, try to fit them in to your daily routine.
I added them in based on my energy levels (and how many cups of coffee I’ve had at that point…).
Since I tend to have more energy in the mornings, I try to do more of the household chores before lunch time. After lunch time, I try to complete tasks that don’t take up too much energy since I need to save it for when the other three kiddos come home and the afternoon chaos begins.
Expect the Unexpected
Learn to be flexible with your schedule.
The baby wants to nurse. The toddler needs to run to the potty. You have a migraine. There’s a doctor appointment. A friend needs help. A sick kid needs to be picked up from school.
Things are going to happen that may through your schedule out of whack. Expect these things. They’re a normal part of everyday life.
Learn to be flexible with your schedule. What you don’t accomplish in one day can always be done another time.
Adjust your schedule as needed.
As your kids grow up and become more independent, you’ll find that you have more time to get things done during the day. Adjust your schedule to these changes as needed.
You’ll find as the kids get older, you’ll have a few less things to accomplish since they can be helping out with the household chores more. Use that little bit of extra time either to complete a project you’ve been thinking about or for some bonus ‘me time’ for yourself.
What about the Weekends?
In our home, the weekends are mostly for relaxing and resting. My schedule is definitely more relaxed as well. Everyone’s home and we like to do things together as a family, including chores and fun stuff.
I still do at least one load of laundry and the dishes on the weekend so it doesn’t all get too backed up, but with everyone helping out to clean up after our weekend activities, it doesn’t get too crazy.
It’s up to you if you want to continue your schedule on the weekends. Remember, it’s all about doing what’s best for you and your family!
Printable Stay at Home Mom Schedule
Need some help setting your schedule up? Get this stay at home mom schedule printable to get started, available in my Resource Library. (Email subscribers: don’t forget that you have the password to this page in your emails!)
Sample Stay at Home Mom Routines
Get more ideas from these stay at home mom schedules!
- Learn how to actually do it all as a mom with this customizable block schedule. You can do this, Mama!
- If you need a realistic stay at home mom cleaning schedule that is easy to maintain, this is for you! Also includes a free printable to keep you on track.
- Plan your day ahead of time and keep track of yours and your family’s to do list for the day with this daily routine tracker printable. Perfect for stay at home moms to stay productive and get things done.
- Free printable SAHM schedule to help guide your day to being more peaceful and less high strung.
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