A Stay at Home Mom Schedule that Works + Stay at Home Mom Daily Schedule Template

Here is how to make a stay at home mom schedule that really works for busy moms. You can be an organized stay at home mom!

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Do you struggle to get it all done?  I know as a stay at home mom I have struggled with keeping the house relatively clean, cooking, laundry, homeschooling, building relationships with my family and friends, and taking care of myself.  

I wanted to have balance in my life, and get the things done that I knew I needed to do. But, I often fell short of my goals. I felt that I was failing. I was often late to appointments. Sometimes the housework got way behind. I woke up in the mornings and didn’t know where to start. I often felt frumpy, and not put together. I felt that things were out of control. I felt like I just couldn’t get it together.

I wondered how I could ever be an organized stay at home mom.

I have tried all kinds of different scheduling techniques over the years, and many of them I just couldn’t do very well. I tried schedules that had strict times for everything-like cook breakfast at 7:00. I felt pushed and couldn’t keep up with schedules that had very specific times for things.

I tried writing down long to do lists for each day, but that also felt very overwhelming and defeating.

I tried not writing lists and I ended up forgetting things that were important.

But, over the years I found things that really did work for a person like me. I now look put together when I go out, I arrive on time, and I don’t forget things. I accomplish my priorities, and everything gets done. I am not saying I never have a bad day, but for the most part I feel put together. And that is a wonderful feeling!

Here is my current stay at home mom schedule. You may not need this exact schedule, because everyone has some variations in their current life situation. But, it can help to see someone else’s schedule.

Also, this is an average day, but I don’t always do everything on these exact times. I do however, keep a structure to my day. I have sit down times (when I am at my desk), I have “running around” times which means I am busy cleaning the house or something that requires me to be up. Even when I do school (morning time) with the girls, I will often stand because I have been sitting for a while already that day.

My Stay at Home Mom Schedule

6:30-WAKE UP

I wake up around 6:30. For me personally, I sleep until I wake up. If I wake up too early, I will keep resting until I go back to sleep. I only set my alarm on days that I have an appointment to go to. The reason why I don’t worry about what time I get up on most days is because I always go to bed between 10 and 10:30 so that I will get enough sleep. Going to bed on time means that I will have slept around 8 hours by the time it is 6:30.

I have found that I am more productive and just feel better all around when I get enough sleep, and when I stay on a schedule. It is definitely worth it to get enough sleep! Busy moms need sleep.

6:35-ALONE TIME

I usually do my Bible time and read my emails. And of course, look at my planner so I will know what I am shooting for that day. If I am not going anywhere for the day, my planner, will have simply have my must do’s written on it.

I don’t set specific times for these things on my planner. But, I do have times during the day when I check my planner and work on some of the must do’s.

7:00-Heat up or Cook Breakfast

Most days I just heat up some leftovers in the toaster oven so that I will have a balanced clean eating meal. (My daughters usually eat later so I don’t heat theirs up yet.)

7:15-Continue Deskwork and Breakfast

I continue to work at my desk (blogging or other tasks), eat breakfast and read emails.

9:00-Chores

Around 9:00 or so, I am restless and ready to get moving. My daughters have already started their day. They are usually finishing a devotion, or cooking, or eating when I go and check on them. I make sure they know what the day holds. Then I start on chores-I either clean the house and/or get ready for the day. The girls are doing whatever they need to finish (usually breakfast). They enjoy chatting at this time and watching videos of animals or something they like.

10:00-Morning Time with the Girls (Homeschool)

We do some homeschool together at this time. I pick subjects that I want to do with them. Since, my girls are older they do many subjects on their own. But, I find it really helps set the tone for the day if we spend some time learning together in the morning. Sometimes, it is traditional subjects like history or literature. Other times, we cover manners or character.

11:00-Chore Time/school time for the Girls, To Do List for Me

The girls get started on their chores and school for the day. I start working down my to do list. I am often making phone calls, or planning my week, or paying bills. Sometimes, I buy things we need online.

12:00-Make Lunch

I assign someone to make lunch or I make it. If I haven’t already put on a load of laundry, I do that. I help my daughter with math if she needs it. My other daughter is usually doing art or writing or browsing Pinterest.

12:30-Lunch

We often eat lunch in front of our devices. We watch whatever we want during lunch.

1:30-Quiet Time

At this point, each of us spends time alone. The girls do whatever they want. Sometimes, my youngest will organize her stuffed animals or listen to Adventures in Odyssey. My oldest is often watching art videos or being creative in some way. Sometimes my girls read. I am often blogging or taking a blogging course. Sometimes I nap.

4:30-snack time

At this time, the girls eat a snack. Sometimes, I snack also. But, I am usually doing chores or finishing up my to do list.

5:00-Finishing Up for the Day

The girls and I are all working around this time. We are straightening the house, finishing up school, and preparing supper. Sometimes, we are taking showers or preparing for the next day (especially if we have to go somewhere the next morning.) Sometimes, I will talk to a friend around this time of day. Stay at home moms definitely need friends!

7:00-Supper

We eat supper and chill for a while. Sometimes we watch something together.

9:00-Get Ready for Bed

We straighten up our supper mess, and get ready for bed. We talk a lot during this time and straighten up some things (homeschooling and creativity can get messy!). Sometimes we sit on the bed and talk a while.

10:00-10:30-Sleep

I try hard to make sure we are in bed before 10:30, though it is hard with talkative girls in the house! 🙂

How to be an Organized Stay at Home Mom

A planner is an absolute must for people like me. I definitely need to write some things down. But, at the same time, I don’t like to write too much down. I like freedom to choose what I want to do and when I want to do it.

As I mentioned earlier, I do have a general structure to my day. So, I don’t write laundry on my planner because I generally put on one load a day (at one of my chore times). I also don’t write clean bathrooms because I know either I or one of the girls will do it during a designated chore time.

At the same time, I will be in trouble if I don’t write anything down! For example, if I hadn’t cleaned the bathrooms because we had been super busy and they were looking bad, I might write it down since now it is a priority and needs to be done today or very soon.

I also write my must do’s on my planner. These are things that need to be done on a certain day and/or a certain time. Here are some typical things that appear on my planner:

• Call the dentist to make an appointment
• Exercise
• Go outside (If I don’t do write this, we don’t go outside enough! Especially if it is going to be nice weather, or if we haven’t been outside in a few days, I make sure we get out.)
• Clean out the fridge
• Homeschool-Math (I don’t write all our subjects on my planner because I have a list for my daughter, so that she knows what to do. I do write things that are a priority for me though-like if I realize we need to get some extra math done.)

If I have a day when I have an appointment, my planner will be much more specific. This is because I am not naturally good at time. In order to be on time, I will write things like-

• 6:30-Shower
• 7:00-Eat Breakfast (and read emails)
• 7:40-Finish Getting Ready (and wake up the girls)
• 8:20-Pack Food and Get in Car (I always plan 10 minutes to get in the car-especially if I have to make sure the girls are getting in the car!)
• 9:00-Dr. Appt-bring insurance card

I also plan at least an extra 10 minutes of driving time so that I won’t be late. If my appointment is at 9:00 and it takes me twenty minutes to get there, I will plan on 30 minutes of driving time.

Tips for planning your Day

Here are my top tips for planning your day.

1. Always Prioritize the Laundry and the Kitchen

There are two areas you need to think about every day: the kitchen and the laundry. Trust me on this one. I used to clean out my closet and wear myself out, and then realize that we didn’t have clean clothes to wear. Or I would get hungry and realize that the kitchen was too messy to prepare food.

Learn from my mistake-If you are in doubt about what you need to prioritize for the day-think kitchen and laundry first.

As far as the kitchen, you don’t need to reorganize the cabinets or clean the microwave every day. But, make sure you make time for these three tasks:

• Wipe Counters
• Do Dishes
• Run Dishwasher

If you aren’t in the habit of doing these things everyday, I would add them to your planner. Now that I have a habit of working on the kitchen and laundry daily, I don’t need to write them on my planner. But, I would write it down if I was needing to start a new habit.

2. Make Sure to Fill In Specific Times First

On your daily schedule, fill in things that have a specific time first. Since I am a stay at home mom who homeschools, I don’t have tons of times that I have to keep up with, but I do have some.

Some things that might need a specific time written on your planner would be things like:

• Sports practices
• School pickups
• Doctor Appointments
• Cooking Times (when to start dinner)

3. Fill In the Rest Of the Schedule With Your Must do’s

This last step is best done after you have a routine going for the basics-meaning you have a plan for the kitchen and laundry and you are making your appointments on time. But, sometimes, you have some other things that cannot be forgotten even if you haven’t conquered the laundry and kitchen. Definitely write those things down, and do them as you can.

4. Don’t Forget to Plan Things for You

If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. It really is important to take care of you. It is hard to take care of a house and kids. If you are overwhelmed, frazzled, or just really tired, it is going to be hard to be the mom you want to be.

Make sure you have some downtime so that you can chill and feel refreshed. “Chilling” can be anything as long as it refreshes you and it is something you want to do. I like to do things on the computer like blogging, and I like to walk outside. But, your refreshment time may look totally different and that’s okay.

Stay at Home Mom Daily Schedule Template

Here is an example of what a page in my planner looks like. (If you scroll down you can grab a free stay at home mom daily schedule template like this one.)

I have used many different types of planners over the years, and I really like a planner with a vertical layout. This way I can write things from top to bottom in the order I am going to do them. As a visual person, this really helps me. Again, I don’t necessarily have strict times for each thing. But, I do know if I am going to do them during my quiet time at my desk or if it will be when I am running around doing chores.

I made a free printable stay at home mom daily schedule template. You can fill it in as detailed as you want. Write down whatever you need to remember or whatever new habits you are trying to form.

If you need ideas of what to clean each day, check out this free printable cleaning schedule.

If you love this weekly layout, you can print out as many as you need, or if you would rather buy a planner with a vertical layout, this one is similar to the one I use.

Click here or the graphic below to download the stay at home mom daily schedule template.

If you have any other questions about a how to be an organized stay at home mom, please comment below. Trust me when I say I understand what it is like to be frustrated and never feel that you can get it all done. I’m here to help! 🙂