energy

Working outside the home is a juggling act. It requires moms to split themselves in a million directions.

Between homework, dinner and bedtime, it’s enough to make the stress levels of moms raise 100%.

Check out this list of 4 hacks to make school nights easier for working moms.

Pack lunches the night before or early in the morning

Before I started prepping everyone’s lunches the night before, I wasted several minutes in the morning packing lunches and making messes.

Then if some unexpected event happened (like it often does with children) I was thrown off.

I started pre-packing my kids snacks in snack boxes and bags, so in the morning I could easily throw one in the diaper bag or lunch box.

On occasion, I am too tired to get it all done in the evenings, so I rise early to finish whatever I didn’t get to the night before. Most of the time, this includes my husband’s lunch. His usually gets fixed in the morning!

Meal prep for the week during the weekend

This is one of the best ways I’ve found to make my life easier while I’m working during the week.

How many times have you come home after a long day of work and discovered that you’ve forgotten to take out something to cook, or you simply have no idea what you are going to feed your family?

Making a menu (weekly or monthly) helps you plan what you will cook during the week and helps remove the stress during the week.

Prepare a week’s worth of your children’s school clothes at a time

For my oldest, this is easy because she wears uniforms, so essentially she’s wearing the same combination of clothes daily.

I still practice washing clothes a few nights a week and on the weekends, then hanging all of my girls clothes on their closet door for the week.

This adds at least 10 minutes to my morning because I’m not hunting for clothes. Try it!

Wake up at least 30 minutes before your family

I commute 40 miles one way to work, so I have to rise early to make sure I get my kindergartener to school on time and I get myself to work on time.

After everyone is asleep at night, I usually have minimal energy to get anything done. I started waking up at hour (5:00 AM) before I wake up my daughter, and it has changed my life.

Anything that I didn’t get done the night (folding laundry, lunches, etc) I have time to squeeze it in before the chaos of the day begins.