1. DON’T BUY MORE, SWAP MORE
I came up with this one long before having kids LOl This is simply about nurturing, disciplining & decluttering. Daniel & I are religious when it comes to not buying new toys for our children often, we’ll do it like once in a blue moon. In our opinion, it encourages good habits for everyone; the girls not throwing tantrums when they don’t get what they want or acting like complete spoiled brats + makes life easier for us as less toys means less mess. The minute the girls show no interest for certain toys/books I just swap them for different ones & repeat the cycle to prevent boredom. I usually find them for free online or at a ridiculously low price. Works well, good as new, it’s a win win for everyone.
2. FREE KIDS WORKSHOPS + INDOOR PLAYGROUNDS
Want to burn your kid’s energy nice, neat & free? Did you know that there are free DIY workshops for kids at Bunnings every weekend from about 10:30am – 2pm, you’re welcome. Also, here’s a friendly reminder that playgrounds at fast food restaurants + Bunnings are free too. We’re pretty lucky that about 90% of these playgrounds all near home are either newly built/renovated so everything is super clean which is essential cause we all know some of them can be quite gross. Often, I would just take the girls to the play area without buying anything. Daniel use to feel awkward about it, but until there is a policy or sign that says we must purchase food in order to use the playgrounds at fast food restaurants then.. judge all you want cause I don’t give a damn. I don’t think we’re breaking any rules/laws. So whatever makes our life easier + keep the kids happy at the same time works fine for me.
3. SHOWER WHEN THE KIDS ARE DOWN
A peaceful, uninterrupted & enjoyable shower is the goal here. I started doing this when Daniel was away for work & I had to care for a newborn & a toddler alone. Kept hearing phantom cries so showering was always rushed & beyond relaxing. It has become a habit of mine now to shower when the girls are down. This way I can continue to unwind & relax after my shower; free from mum duties.
4. FREEZING COOKED FOOD FOR FUTURE MEALS
It’s like creating a whole section of your own convenience foods. This is probably an Asian thing, but I always feel like I cook for a party when I make noodle soup dishes; the portion is always huge. I’ll cook a large pot of crab noodle soup then pack/store them away in the freezer for future meals on busier days where I simply have little-no time.
5. PLAN YOUR DAY THE NIGHT BEFORE
Don’t you just feel like you’re forever in a constant battle against time? I use to be very unorganised & always behind tasks, I hated it. Ain’t no mum got time for wasting time so creating & prioristising my to-do list is something I do every night. It lets me plan ahead of time so that I can avoid running out of time. Here’s an example of today’s list; it gives me an outline of what needs to be done during given times. Sometimes I don’t I get to finish everything I set out for myself, but that’s ok. I never sacrifice “me time” for other tasks otherwise it’ll drive me nuts.
6. WAKE UP 10MINS EARLIER
Brush my teeth, toilet, get dressed, prepare the girls bags, warm up milk for girls, done done done! The girls can be fussy AF some mornings so waking myself up before the alarm saves us from potential chaos.
7. “ME TIME” WHEN THE KIDS ARE DOWN
Unless I can’t keep my eyes open, I never give up my “me time”. After putting the girls to bed at night I would spend 30mins – 2hrs (with Daniel or just myself) snacking on the sofa or catching up on a TV series.. just anything relaxing to help me unwind before going to bed . I spend the entire day, everyday thinking about others so of course I deserve a bit of time for myself.
8. MEAL PLAN
If you haven’t already noticed from my story uploads, I cook dinner around lunch – prevening time. This is my strategy to save time + avoid stress when it comes to actual dinner time with the family. Just like a daily to-do list I also plan meals for the week to minimise grocery trips, especially for certain stores that are further away from home.
9. HAVE BACK-UP ESSENTIALS IN THE CAR
I feel like it’s a mum thing for me to forget things now & it’ll always be the smallest, yet significant things. So I now have these in the car & it has saved us a lot of trouble;
○ Cash ○ Plastic bags (for rubbish or grocery runs) ○ Wet wipes ○ Comforters ○ Snacks ○ Sunscreen ○ Hair ties
10. SNACKS UPON PICK-UP
I don’t know about your kids, but our girls are like on starvation mode whenever at pick-up time. Although, the distance between daycare & home is very short, trust that it can feel very long when “hangry” strikes. We always prepare 2 containers filled with snacks for both the girls to nibble on on the ride home. It keeps them happy & it gives me just enough time to set the table, heat up their dinner etc.
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