Many modern mums are both bringing up a family and working just to make ends meet.

The key to a successful work life balance, to me, is to have a routine and try to stick to it.

Other tips that come to mind are:-

Be realistic; you are only human and therefore can only achieve so much – be sensible and realistic about what you have the time for; delegate as much as possible, even the younger members of family can help out with simple household chores read more here

Should children be expected to do chores here

When I was working as a registered child minder from home, my husband ( who was a painter and decorator) and I shared chores, he did all the cooking of family meals;as he enjoyed cooking . We both cared for our 4 children, I did all the food shopping and most of the housework, the boys would dust and vacuum their bedrooms and strip their beds at the weekends to help out.

Try to get as much sleep as possible; everything seems worse if you are tired (this may be easier said than done, so take a nap if your child is napping and have a sit down or 40 winks when the children are doing quiet activities).

Prioritise what needs to be done; children won’t mind going to bed in  pyjamas that haven’t been ironed, but they will appreciate you spending time playing with them.

When I brought my washing in from the line I removed  any items that didn’t need to be ironed, i.e. towels, t-towels and underwear, taking these out of the ironing pile made it look more manageable.

Be organised: A friend once commented that I was boring because I seemed to be calm and in control of everything – I told her that I wasn’t boring, I was organised. I kept my diary open on my kitchen work top so I could see at a glance what was happening that week, having a calendar on the wall has the same advantage.

Get your clothes and children’s outfits sorted the night before, I put my son’s clothes over the upstairs banister the night before for them to dress themselves each morning. Also prepare packed lunches and school bags the night before to prevent a rush  in the morning and making everyone late for school and work.

Do your shopping on line; this saves travelling time and most supermarkets will deliver to your door.

Take any offers of help from friends and relations.

The most important thing is to stay calm. try to enjoy being a busy mum; it is the best vocation and your children will soon be grown and flown the nest – make the most of this time while you can.

R ember Superwoman doesn’t exist in the real world.

I would like to thank Jade Marie Ryan and Kirsty  Butland for letting me use their photos in this post.

As always questions and comments are welcome.

Until next time.

Karen

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