How to Tame the Chaos
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Pampers at Sam’s Club. The opinions and text are all mine.
Thank you to Pampers for sponsoring this post.
You probably started the year off with a plan. When your goals were fresh, you were determined to start strong. This is the point in the year when you are probably starting to taper off. Life gets in the way of all the things you want to do and chaos may be starting to settle in again, especially when you have young kids at home. Don’t be discouraged! We have some ways you can tame the chaos in 2018 and keep your life running smoothly with kids.
We all have goals we want to accomplish this year, even if we haven’t formally written them down (but do that for sure!). I’m a big fan of resolutions and goal-setting.
This year I’m helping my kids set a few goals each, or in some cases, setting goals for them. My twins are working on potty training this year and they aren’t really thrilled about it. They like their diapers a bit too much. 
As a mom of 6, I know how easily you can get distracted from a goal. On a smaller scale, that’s how each day goes around here. I start the morning with a solid plan, determined to get some stuff done. By mid-morning, I’ve been distracted by twin toddlers asking for glasses of milk, kids calling from school saying they’ve forgotten something, and dishes in the sink that I just have to tackle right that moment.
By the time I get back on track, I’m exhausted, and my plan for the day doesn’t seem quite as appealing.
We have some tried and true tricks to help you tame the chaos and help your days go as smoothly as possible this year.
Go in to each day with a plan.
Having a plan is the biggest help to me. As a work at home mom of 6, people are always asking me how I get anything done. This is the answer. I have a written plan for each day. I very rarely get everything done on my list or on my schedule but by having everything in writing, I get more done than I would have otherwise.
I check my plan for the day each morning, make sure I’m not forgetting any appointments or activities, add anything to my to-do list that I forgot or that didn’t get finished yesterday, and get to work.
Do your best to prioritize the things on your daily plan by order of most importance, that way, even if you don’t get everything done, you’ll hit the big stuff.
Don’t multi-task
I know. I know. You are sitting there going “but if I don’t multi-task, how am I going to get everything done????”.
You’ll get more done if you don’t multi-task. Focus on one thing at a time. Finish it faster. Move on to the next thing you need to do.
This is important, not only for helping you get more done in a day, but this is super important for your kids. Young kids do not want to be worked into your schedule. They don’t want to be multi-tasked.
When they feel like you aren’t seeing them they’ll act up. Then you’ll have chaos (which is what we are trying to avoid). You’ll keep everyone happier if you focus on the task at hand. If you are feeding your kids breakfast, feed your kids breakfast. Talk with them as you cook. Ask them what they want to do for the day. Let them tell you about the things that are important to them.
There’s time for the things on your to-do list later and your kids will be more likely to let you get something done if they’ve had a bit of your attention.
Repeat after me. Delegate. Delegate. Delegate.
I use the same techniques that I do in my work at home mom life as I do in my personal life: If something can be delegated, it probably should. Delegating smaller tasks that take up too much time can leave you time for the important tasks that only you can do.
In my house, this looks like this:
I don’t unload the dishwasher.
I don’t take out the trash.
My kids have to clean up their own bedrooms and fold their own clothes.
Each member of my family is responsible for a “zone” in our home and I don’t touch it if the work isn’t done.
By delegating some of the things I don’t have to do, I save time (and mental energy) for the things I should do. For me, this means I have time to work at home, plan healthy dinners, cook, and cuddle kids.
My kids, on the other hand, get to learn responsibility and take pride in our home because they are helping to keep it running.
Don’t run out of Essentials.
There’s nothing that throws a wrench in your day like running out of something you need. We all do this. Just the other day I realized I didn’t have what I needed for dinner. A late afternoon run to the grocery store was not in my schedule. I ended up frustrated and dinner was late.
Sometimes stuff just comes up, but for most things, a bit of planning can help keep us stocked in the things we need. For grocery essentials, what has helped me is keeping a menu planned well in advanced. I like to do the full month at a time, but if I can’t do that, I aim for 2 weeks. I bought a basic calendar (they are super cheap this time of year) to hang in my kitchen and we just write down the meals we are having each day. My kids are free to add stuff they want to have for dinner and I have a menu to work off of to make sure I have the groceries I need at least a week in advance.
In our house, with 2 kids in diapers (changing that is one of my resolutions for 2018), making sure we don’t run out of diapers is essential. I try and keep at least an extra package of diapers in the house because there’s nothing worse than getting to the end of a package of diapers and realizing that’s all you have left in the house.
With twins, we go through diapers twice as quickly too, so we get through a package surprisingly fast.
Diapers don’t go bad, like groceries do, either, so you can easily keep a month’s supply on hand and you’ll know that they are there when you need them.
The nice thing about stocking up on diapers, is you can shop the deals and save quite a bit of money. With twins, this has definitely been part of how we have saved money.
Right now, you can get an instant $10 off when you buy 2 Pampers products at Sam’s Club, making it easy to keep your babies comfortable and dry. Buy a few extra boxes and you’ll be stocked up for a bit and you’ll have some extra monty to put towards something fun. That’s such a great deal!
Stock up on the things you know you’ll need and you’ll give yourself some breathing room in your schedule.
