Tips to thrive as a SAHM is an essential tool box for every SAHM to access whenever she is feeling overwhelmed. It is filled with handy tools and exceptional ideas that help stay at home moms flourish and thrive and not just survive in their daily life.
A SAHM’s life is filled with responsibilities small & big and they have a lot to manage in their every day routine. And to say the least, it is an onerous task to keep going on day after day and still feel fulfilled & happy. I say this because, Stay at Home moms slip away from Self Care quite effortlessly & naturally.
So in this post, let us discuss in details some ideas & tips to thrive as a SAHM. If you are a SAHM struggling to find your ground, this would be a helpful post for you.
23 Tips to Thrive as a SAHM
For SAHM to thrive, working on some significant themes can ensure an enriching & fulfilling life. Few of these themes are Self Care, Self Development, Organisation of house & routines, Health – physical, mental, emotional, and a support system.
| 1. Make Rules & Routines |
| 2. Involve everyone in Chores |
| 3. Be appreciative |
| 4. Organise creative play dates for kids |
| 5. Teach Free Play to kids |
| 6. Plan your holidays ahead |
| 7. Be Technology Friendly |
| 8. Save Money |
| 9. Be efficient in Household management |
| 10. Value your time |
| 11. Organise your home |
| 12. Embace chaos |
| 13. Invest in Health |
| 14. Have your girl gang besides you |
| 15. Arrange Get togethers |
| 16. Indulge in DIY |
| 17. Use Natural Products |
| 18. Know your Ikigai |
| 19. Follow your hobbies |
| 20. Dress up |
| 21. Be aware |
| 22. Be connected to your tribe/community |
| 23. Make a choice to be happy |
Make Rules & Routines – Make Your Life Easier as a SAHM
This one tip is extremely important for a SAHM to stay happy and quirky. Having structured routines in place for herself and kids help in making her feel in control. Rules & Routines popularly get clarity & predictability that are known to make life easier.
Getting in place a well thought of morning routine is a good place to start if you are beginning your journey to thrive as a SAHM. If your are a mom to a baby, toddler or teen, a morning routine is helpful in keeping your sanity in place the entire day.
Get your Morning Routine templates & all other resources you need to create your very own morning routine here.
Involve Everyone in Chores – You Are Not a Super-Human SAHM
Having a clear mindset that the house belongs to everybody and everybody should contribute to making it work smoothly & effectively helps. If you have differing opinions on the subject in your house, sit and talk it over. getting everybody on the same page is essential to start delegating chores and responsibilities.
Handing over age-appropriate responsibilities to your kids work in your benefit in more ways than one. You can get help in your chores is the thinnest silver lining that you are seeing currently.
All these small chores and responsibilities to your kid convey much bigger ideas like belongingness & significance to kids. They see themselves as an important part of the family once they are responsible for some things in the house.
Be Appreciative & Lead the Happiness Culture in Your House, SAHM
This one is very impactful. Being genuinely appreciative of small things your kids and your partner do develops the culture of gratitude in your house. And it impacts everything from your mood to your overall wellbeing. We all can surely do with more of appreciation and compliments in our lives. 🙂
Organise creative playdates for kids
Organising play dates for your kids is a brilliant idea. It is not just a great enabler for kids to build in essential social skills but also helps you in catching the general pulse of your kids friend circle. For younger kids, it presents a great opportunity for you to develop new friendships with fellow moms.
Another benefit of having the play dates that your kids are enjoying & they love you for it all the more. Also while your kids are enjoying their fun time with their friends, you have a lot of time & mindshare up your sleeve to do things you enjoy.
Teach Free Play to Kids, and Catch Your Breath, Dear SAHM
This is another great tip for moms looking for your “Me Time”. Get your kid into a habit of free & unstructured play for some time everyday. This the time she is not playing with anything specific or following any rules. She is just being with her own self exploring the world while you keep a watch on her and catch up with your favourite book or enjoy your painting time.
Plan Your Holidays Ahead & Enjoy Life, SAHM
Another great tip to have a fulfilling life as a SAHM is to have frequent holidays. This is your time when you can be out and enjoy. However with being a SAHM financial constraints are very much the part of our journey. So planning your travel in advance is a great way if optimising travel costs.
Last year we travelled to Corbett National Park in December and I had planned my the travel way back in July. We stayed in a beautiful Resort & got an excellent deal which saved us upwards of 200 USD for a 3 night stay with kids. And this resort has got exceptional feedback by fellow travellers and now I am a part of them too.
Be Technology Friendly
Technology has penetrated deeply into all walks four lives. So it just can’t be ignored. It is imperative for SAHM to be tech friendly as it eases out everything from shopping to travel planning, from finding out play dates to serving healthy meals to kids.
I use lot of technology in my every day life & in a lot of interesting ways. If you have been following my previous posts too, you would know my morning walks are accompanied by listening to audio books, songs, podcasts and my health goals are tracked on my Apple Watch.
Apart from this I have a go to app for meditation & I do lot of online shopping through my favourite fashion shopping app. There are apps on my phone that help me organise my day and make my to do list. I use Kindle for reading books, An app for inter family organisation & shopping lists, and an app to declutter my mailboxes too.
Get in touch if you want any recommendations on tried and tested tech interfaces on any of these areas. You can write to me in comments section below this blog.
Be Efficient in Household Management
Since this is one of the primary responsibilities of a stay at home mom, going right on this one is very important for you to feel worthy & good. Managing the chores, food, laundry and groceries at home is very important for the smooth functioning of a household. Once you have these basics sorted and routinised, you can shift your focus on other things you would want to accomplish.
I took years initially to realise and accept the fact that the household is primarily my responsibility. Although, I do have a right to delegate & get things done from all the members I am the one who will be accountable for it.
But now I do understand the importance of managing the house well in order to get into things I love. So I have made my routine such that I finish off with my day chores till 10:30 am only to return back into the chores mode in the evening time. The rest of the day I have to focus on Mom chipper & other things of my interest.
Value Your Time to Be a Happy SAHM
Time is one resource which is limited resource so I urge you all SAHM to value your own Time. Be mindful on spending time the way you want by living a life by design and not by default. Also be vary of the company you keep and the time you spend on social media. And Be aware of where you are spending your time and what is the value you are creating in it.
Organise your home
” Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions – Barbara Hemphill” I read this lovely quote the other day & I can’t agree more to these words. Decluttering & organising your home gives you a sense of accomplishment, optimism and fulfilment.
Embrace Chaos to Be a Happy SAHM
“My house is chaos coz I am busy having fun with my kids.” – Kushal
For stay at home moms, having a clean and super organised house is definitely not your performance criteria. Your life is much more than a beautiful house you are maintaining.
Also being anxious about the mess kids are creating all the while makes you look like a not so fun mom in your kids eyes. Leave the perfectionism behind at times and dance to the groove. However do involve everyone in the clean up before you retire for the day on order to not wake up to the mess next morning.
I live by this rule everyday and just to let you put it on record, my house is not “Instagram worthy”. Having said that, no Instagram worthy house can ever match up with the fun & memories we create in our house.
Save Money
Saving Money is a great goal to have as a SAHM. All the ore since we are managing the house finances completely. Look out for coupons & deals online for anything you want to buy.
Also it’s a great idea to shop with your credit card as far as you are a balanced shopper and pay your bills on time.
I just encashed my annual credit card points for cash in my bank account and I can tell you that it can make you happy to see an additional sum in your account just because your shopped.
Another tip is that look out for annual shopping sales and plan your annual fashion & electronic shopping at these times. I know it sounds obvious but still many of us are not doing it. So start up with that and save up for some of your aspirational shopping.
Invest in Health, Enjoy Being a Fit SAHM
Having annualised health checkups, eating healthy, exercising & taking care of your mental & emotional health are few things that are essential to live a happy life. So get into the habit of investing n your health Dear SAHMs.
Have Your Girl Gang Besides You – They Are Your Pillars of Strength Dear SAHM
No lady can ever deny the fun they have with their girl gang and how essential it is to have one. For SAHM having your girl gang besides you as a rock solid support system is such a boon. However it becomes difficult at times to live up to the frequent meets/parties or get togethers. But it is still recommended to not give up your own friendships due to the lack of time with kids and family.
Arrange Get togethers
This is again a very important way of building your own social circle. Call people home, organise get togethers and spend time with people you like.
Indulge in DIY
DIYs are amazing ays to challenge yourself. Indulge in them to keep yourself away from boredom and routine.
I try to get into DIY whenever I do have sometime on hang. The last thing I worked on was a simple box created and painted to store my jewellery pieces.
Use Natural Products
Use chemical free & natural products and you are working to be contributing to your planet as well as your own good health.
Know Your Ikigai to Live a Meaningful Life, Dear SAHM
Your ikigai in the easiest terms is your reason for being. Getting connected to your ikigai definitely makes your life more meaningful and liveable. So try to find out your purpose for life and live in alignment with that true purpose.
Follow Your Hobbies
Take out some time to spend on things you love doing. this keeps you feeling calm, fulfilled and also ready for the world. It is often said to “Fill your bucket first in order to give others their share of love happiness & fulfilment.” And we SAHMs easily ignore our own buckets while trying to live for others. However try bringing in this change in your life and see how your life moves towards happiness.
Dress up Well – You Are What You Wear, Dear SAHM
There is no lack of explanations on how important dressing up well for the day is for SAHM. With focussing on looking your best, you also tell yourself that you are ready for life.
Be aware
Read, watch or discuss news & current affairs and be aware of what is happening all around you. It is as important for a SAHM to participate in issues that matter than it is for any other citizen of this planet.
Be Connected to Your Tribe/Community of SAHM
SAHM who thrive make a choice of getting connected to fellow women like them. So take that step to join a community class or a community online to voice what you want to. Meet up connect, support & talk of things that matter to your tribe.
With Mom chipper, we also intend to connect with our tribe of SAHM. Commenting with your ideas on posts, dropping us an email and sharing your thoughts, connecting with us on Social Media are few ways you can get connected to more like you & me.
Make a Choice to Be Happy, Dear SAHM
This sums it all up. Your happiness is in your own hands and it’s a choice that you make everyday to be happy or unhappy. Life presents trying times to everyone but what we make of that is what we decide in our head.
I am a SAHM & I am Important
So i hope you find some meaningful ideas & tips to thrive as a SAHM. However an additional tip that I want to offer is to have a mindset that tells you & makes you believe in it each moment that
“I am a SAHM & I am important”
SAHMs are likely to put themselves on a backseat and ignore their own voice from deep inside. They are happy providing & caring for everyone else that they end up ignoring their own needs and desires. However this is definitely not the right way nor a long lasting one. It is essential for SAHMs to believe that you are important & worthy enough to try out these tips and include some of these you want in your life.