10 Tips for How to Be a Happy Stay-at-Home Mom

Are you searching for how to be a happy stay-at-home mom? It’s an essential part of your’s and your family’s health. But, unfortunately, mom burnout is real and commonly happens with moms home all day with their little ones. Some moms take care of their families every minute and need a break. Other moms spend time in complete disorder and chaos and can’t seem to get anything done.

Does either of these scenarios resonate with you? As a mother of a sensory processing toddler, I think I identify with both. These ten tips are valuable for mothers serious about making the necessary changes in their lives to become much happier moms. Remember that happy moms equal happy kids.

1. Establish and Implement a Viable Routine

Routines are crucial to being a happy stay-at-home mom because, without them, pandemonium ensues. Additionally, routines get you up with a plan for your day. Remember,

A body in motion stays in motion.

Isaac Newton

Alternatively, a body that flops onto the couch will remain there and likely binge an afternoon’s worth of Netflix. We’ve all been there, I think? So how do you stop watching TV and start getting things done?

Establishing different routines makes it easier to be successful throughout the day. For example, having a morning routine for me and a separate one for my kids is helpful. Add an afternoon and evening routine and this parenting thing becomes straightforward and intentional. So what do you put on your routine?

First, knowing that information is significant and relevant to your family’s personal needs. For instance, the number of kids, their ages, and activities create different scheduling needs. On the other hand, basic needs such as drinking water and getting better sleep belong to every mom’s routine.

So if you need to schedule them to make sure they happen, then do so. Organizing your time will help you avoid the chaos of unscheduled time, which often leads to mom overload. Remember to give yourself grace because there will be good and bad days.

2. Prepare Healthier Home-Cooked Meals

Eating a proper diet to fuel you is essential for being happy overall. In addition, it ensures that you’re feeding your family healthy foods. So many foods are terrible for consumption, such as processed foods and sugary beverages. Creating a meal plan is a fantastic way of staying organized and focused on preparing healthier meals at home.

In addition, eating at home saves families substantial amounts of money. Pinterest is your best friend for finding healthy meals that are more than a simple salad. Follow my healthy home-cooked meals board for freshly updated recipes.

3. Create and Stick to a Budget

Want to know how to be a happy stay-at-home mom? Get your spending habits under control. One of the most significant stressors in life is financial hardship. So budgeting your money is critical for eliminating that stress. There are several budgeting apps to organize your finances.

Or, you can use a budget planner with an expense tracker and keep a hard copy for accountability. Choose whichever method is going to work for you realistically.

4. Exercise Regularly

Regular exercise is essential for producing the energy you need to be a happy stay-at-home mom. Or a functioning human being, for that matter. However, many don’t take time to enjoy the benefits of the dopamine and serotonin rushes that accompany working out. Instead, they weigh themselves with poor eating habits, leading to depleted energy and overall exhaustion.

Exercise is a necessary activity to produce the chemicals that feed your brain’s pleasure center. So put on your favorite yoga pants and find a workout that works for you. It’s the expert’s consensus that 30-minutes of exercise five days a week is optimal for health. Start slow in the beginning if it’s new to you, and push yourself as far as you can go. Then, when you need to, take a break.

5. Organize Your Household

Some organization is crucial for maintaining a happily run household. Do you have a managed home or a cluttered dwelling? Or do you have times where you experience both? Being consistently organized is not easy for everyone, but it’s relevant to happiness.

6. Decluttering Tips for How to be a Happy Stay-at-Home Mom

Clutter is the enemy of mental wellness and is an unfortunate psychological component for some people with disorders including depression and ADHD. Alternatively, many people’s clutter is due to a lack of time management and improper planning.

What works for one person may not for another concerning gaining control over the clutter. However, an organized household is achievable for everybody. So here are two methods that many people have embraced for organizing and minimalizing clutter.

The Marie Kondo Method

A change in mindset can help reduce the clutter in your life. The Marie Kondo Method is a unique way of tidying up to rid your life of clutter. Pick up each material possession and ask yourself,

Does this bring me joy?

If the answer is yes, keep it! If you hesitate, or it no longer brings you joy, then discard the possession. Gift, donate, and recycle what you can!

A Minimalist Lifestyle

Minimalism is a lifestyle of intentionality that seeks to own fewer possessions. Hence, an ideal mindset for preventing clutter. The Minimalism documentary is an inspiring look at people who have embraced this lifestyle.

7. Start a Mom Blog Business

If working outside of the home isn’t viable consider starting a mom business. Starting a blog has been the biggest how to be a happy stay-at-home mom endeavor I’ve experienced. It’s a fantastic creative outlet and can become a lucrative business if you work it.

I took Suzi Whitford’s popular Blog by Number Course and started making money through affiliate sales in less than one month. It’s fun watching people make purchases through your suggestions. It’s even more remarkable when you earn commissions on all purchases regardless of whether you suggested it or not.

The best part of the course is that it’s affordable, and she updates it regularly when things change. So you have lifetime access to new updates to keep your blog current and strong. Do you have an idea for a blog? Consider starting one to initiate a mom business or to develop a new hobby.

8. Entertain a Hobby

If blogging doesn’t interest you, then find another hobby. Do you already have a hobby you enjoy but don’t actively spend time doing? Set aside the time to indulge your passions and creativity. Otherwise, you’ll burn out quickly and everyone needs a sanity saver.

Ideas for Hobbies:

• Photography
• Furniture Restoration
• Sewing/Quilting
• Gardening
• Hiking
• Book Clubs
• Crafting/Scrapbooking

9. Spend Time Outside of the Home

Have more than a mom life because you are more than a mom! Finding a balance is crucial for happiness. When you’re home full-time you deny yourself balance. Do you have other mom friends who need to get out? Entertain those relationships and be each other’s network of support. Every mom needs mom friends.

Don’t forget to spend time with yourself. What does that look like for you? A shopping trip to Target or an espresso date with yourself? Everyone needs a break from their children, and that is okay—schedule time for you to be outside the home doing things you enjoy.

10. Self-Care Practices for How to be a Happy Stay-at-Home Mom

Practicing good self-care is essential for maintaining a happy mom life. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to find time, so it’s imperative that you make time. So what does self-care look like to you?

Self-care involves being mindful of your own needs and then caring for them. So it means different things to different people. Sometimes self-care can be taking care of basic needs like hygiene. Other times taking a little extra time to yourself or buying something you really want is self-care.

How to be a Happy Stay-at-Home Mom Ideas for Self-Care

• Social media fasts. Take a break. The longer, the better!
• Read a self-help book. Or get lost in a good piece of fiction.
• Do kegel exercises.
• Keep a gratitude journal.
• Sit outside in the sun.
• Give back by volunteering for an hour or two each month.
• Take a news break. Or better yet, ditch the news altogether.

Do you have additional tips for how to be a happy stay-at-home mom? Please add them to the comments below and hit that social share if you found this article helpful. Thanks! Those always make me smile.

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