tips for busy mums

I need to start this by saying I am no expert. I do not have my sh*t together and my ducks are most certainly not in a row (in fact, I don’t even know if all my ducks are here!). I am 100% winging it.

BUT!

I am winging it with 3 children. It wasn’t that long ago that I was self employed with 3 children under 5yrs.  They are, at the time of writing, now 8yrs, 6yrs & 3yrs so I’ve had a few years of picking up some tips and testing them out.

So here are the things I find to have the biggest impact on making all the juggling just that little bit easier:

1. The Organised Mum Method

Now, I know what some people will say. I know that housework isn’t everything and I don’t claim to have the most organsied home (but I would love that!). I certainly don’t subscribe to putting housework before everything else.

However, I do believe that for some people living within a clutter free, reasonably clean home is absolutely essential for their mental wellbeing. I am that person.

I cannot function properly if our home is chaotic, it makes me feel like my brain is spinning uncontrollably; I get angry, frustrated, overwhelmed and I can’t think straight. For me, having things lived in but tidy and calm (most of the time) is the only way I can juggle it all – it’s also worth remembering that this is where I welcome my lovely clients in to for their photos so it has an extra element of importance for me.

There is so much to this method that I could wirte about. There is a Bootcamp and a Clutter Buster for if things are a little out of control, but to be honest I didn’y ahev the time or energy to dedicate to those so just jumped staright in to the method itself and did a bit of these along the way.

What I love about this method is how it breaks everything down. I get overwhelmed really easily so having managable chunks is great for me. It also means that on days where everyone needs something and everything else needs to be done, I can still find time to do a couple of things off the list.

Each day is assigned to a room and you spend no more than 30 minutes doing the jobs in there.

One of the frustrations I have is that some people look at it as very prescriptive. Now it is in its raw sense. It has to be because, as a free resource, they aren’t going to sit a personalise a task list for each of us, are they? But if you take the method as it is intended, apply it to your own home, your own time contraints and circumstances, it really is an absolute winner!

I genuinely couldn’t manage my home without it.

2. Kerastraight

I have long hair. I’ve had short hair. I’ve had a mum bob. I’ve had it from my ears, to my backside. As I’ve had children I’ve battled between having it short so it’s quick to wash and dry and having it long so I can throw it up in a mum bun.

I was blessed with super thick hair however it was dry, frizzly, a mix of curls, wave and straight bits. All in all, it could not be left untamed if I wanted to feel any level of good about myself (yes, yes, I could also have learnt how to embrace it but actually, ultimately, I didn’t like it). It would take around an hour and a half to wash, dry and straighten it…time that frankly I don’t have.

I happened to meet Kerrie firsly as a client. I photographed both of her babies as newborns and for their cake smash sessions. Kerrie introduced me to the Kerstraight treatment that pumps proteins in to your hair transforming it from dry, frizzy and difficult to manage in to healthy, shiny repaired hair. It is an absolute game changer if you have ‘difficult’ hair.

Treatments are around every 4 months and although it takes a good few hours, I get to spend that time in Kerrie’s beautiful calm home salon….and she even teaches me all about Instagram whilst I’m there! Thanks Kerrie! Check out Hair Therapy at Home on insta for more info.

3. Clever Fox Planner

I’m a stationary geek. Love pretty pens, post its, notepads and most of all a good planner! I have tried so many! I’ve also trued ‘going digital’ but that just doesn’t do it for me.

I do have everything on my phone calendar app – in fact its a shared space so that both Hubster and I can add things. If it’s not on there it isn’t going to happen! My work diary syncs to it as well so I know which sessions are happening and when.

But there is just nothing quite like sitting down on a Sunday and writing the week’s appointments, jobs, school notes, work lists and everything I need to remember down in to a beautiful clean space. My current planner of choice is an hourly segmented Clever Fox Pro.

4. Erasable pens

Now this one links beautifully with my planner above. Frixion pens are just awesome. I have a colour allocated to different areas of my life: school, childrens clubs and activities, work, personal, household, birthdays etc. It means that I can visibly see which areas take up the most ‘time’ in my life (FYI its childrens clubs!). That info means I can see where and how I can make the most if any ‘dead’ time like sitting in the car outside swimming pools!

5. Gratitude, breathwork and grounding.

Ultimately being a working mum, a self employed working mum no less, is beyond challenging. It’s stressful and scary. To know that me and me alone is responsible for the success (or failure!) of my business, the business that helps keep our children fed and them enjoying a carefree life, is an extremely heavy load to carry. And given the impact of the last 2 years that is felt even more so at the moment.

My go-to to help with this feeling of general overwhelm is to practice gratitude, breathwork and grounding. Amongst the stress and the chaos, taking a few minutes to centre myself, reconnect with what’s around me and feel grateful is key to keeping overwhelm and anxiety in colntrol.