The Lazy Mom’s Guide to the Only Things You NEED to Do Every Day

The Lazy Mom’s Guide to the Only Things You NEED to DO Every Day

I’m a lazy mom. I’m not ashamed to admit it. I’d much rather be building up our vacation fund or working on a post, than cleaning the dishes after breakfast or doing the 90th load of laundry this week.

While I was pinching every penny and working, I was neglecting my job as a wife and mom.

I realized that by not keeping up on my house, I was wasting time and money. If time is money, I was just wasting tons of money all over the place.

But here was the problem: I’m not Martha Stewart (is she still relevant?). My house will NEVER be spotless, shiny, tidy, meticulously decorated, and white. I’ve accepted that, but finding a list of things that you NEED to do in the house is just… depressing! I don’t need to be shamed for not having the time to dust every surface 4 times a day. I needed a system that worked for me.

After fighting my role at home for a while (a long, LONG while), I found my routine for the only things that I need to do each day to keep my house functioning and to help me maintain my sanity. I even made up my one-chore-a-day schedule that you can use!

Without further ado, my fellow lazy mom, here is the only 5 things that you need to do each day to stay on top of the mess, impress your mother-in-law, & still take a nap.

1. Do at least one load of laundry every day

Staying on top of laundry is so important! Laundry adds up. Not knowing what clothes you have or what clothes are dirty can lead to the “I have nothing to wear” conundrum. Which can ultimately lead to unnecessary spending.

Staying on top of laundry helps make sure that you never have to spend an entire weekend doing 98 loads of laundry! And then you never have to worry about the pile of laundry that’s just sitting there if our mother-in-law stops by unexpectedly.

2. Prep and make dinner

If you can do nothing more in a day, at least prep dinner. My crockpot saves my life at least twice a week when I’m super busy. The kids always need food so if I’m super swamped in a day, having a crockpot with dinner all set saves my life (because I’m pretty sure that my kids would start gnawing on my arm if they didn’t have dinner).

There are definitely days when, by dinner time, all I have the energy to do is dish something out. I don’t have the time or energy to cook and clean a full meal. This can be dangerous when there are so many different and delicious options for takeout. Knowing that when I come home, there will be a crockpot full of healthy food for all of us all set and ready to go saves me a lot of trouble and money. 

3. Clear out clutter

Throw out the junk at the end of each day. That tiny little pile of junk mail that just came today can quickly turn into a mountain. Seeing clutter drives me nuts, but I have a bad habit of not noticing it until I’m at a breaking point. Staying on top of the clutter every day makes it much more manageable and saved a lot of sanity in the long run

4. Do the dishes at least once a day

I clean sink is a happy sink! Get into the habit of immediately putting your dishes into the dishwasher the second that you’re done with them. Get your whole family on board with this! The less dishes in the sink at the end of the day the easier for you when you are super exhausted and ready to start winding down at the end of the day.

5. Stay alive!

Life is hard enough. Sometimes staying alive truly is enough. Are you alive? Are the kids alive? Yes? Then you did just fine. So what if they’re still in their PJs 6 p.m.? There’s always tomorrow to get back on track.

An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. Staying on top of household chores and other responsibilities really helps to make sure that you are maximizing your time and energy and make sure that you are not wasting any money. The more efficiently your house runs, the happier that you will be in the long run!

What do you do each day to keep your house running smoothly?