Mom Hacks From a Mom of Three

I am by nature an organized planner. With each kid, though, I seem to lose a little bit of my old pre-kid “super type-A” personality. Don’t get me wrong, it is not a bad thing—kids have for sure taught me so many valuable lessons. I have also gained the need to be an “organized planner: Mom Edition.” Below are some of my tips and tricks, as well as products I have found that just make my life (and by association, my kids’ lives) easier! Happy hacking from one busy mom to another. 

• Mom Hacks for the Car
  • Hooks on the backs of the seats – I typically hook my purse & baby-wearing device on the ones behind my seat. I’ve also used them for umbrellas, jackets, and hats for the kids. 
  • A bucket for toys that is buckled into the middle seat between my boys. Let me prepare you: it keeps the bucket on the seat but there is no guarantee the toys stay in the bucket; ours inevitably always end up on the floor. 
  • A pack of wipes & a pumper of hand sanitizer at each door & in the trunk. 
  • Trunk organization: I have a large bucket of crapola [containing things like the to-go potty, extra clothes, and the restaurant bag of fun]. I also have a small container for diapers & wipes.
  • Snack bucket with the added bribery bag inside (ours contains jelly beans, gummies, and dum dums).
  • I always have a milk snob in my car; you never know when you need a car seat or high chair cover. Or maybe even a makeshift blanket. 
• Mom Hacks for Planning & Preparing 
  • Weekly alarms set for our routine activities. For example: on each school day I have alarms set for 8am, 8:30am, 1pm, & 1:35pm. I almost never need them to remind me, but I like knowing they are there in case I lose track of time to have to wake a sibling from a nap. 
  • Diapers and extra clothes, oh and extra diapers. I try to keep my purse stocked, but honestly, I don’t always remember. So thankfully my car diaper stash never lets me down. 
• Mom Hacks for the Home
  • Retractable clothesline. I used to use a drying rack that stayed out 24/7 in our room and I got tired of it taking up space. One day, I had a vision of a cord across my bathroom that I could pull out when needed and put away when I don’t! Thank you, Amazon, for making my dreams a reality. Bonus: I made one less step for myself in hanging the wet clothes on the hangers they live on for easy putting away.   
  • Plastic cutting boards lining the fridge shelves for easy clean up.
  • Buckets at every door of the house for shoes—keep those germs out!
  • This one is for those with babies: a “baby jail” and or play yard for those early months when they need to do tummy time or learn to roll over/sit up/crawl. We took it a step further with our second and bought a travel baby jail. One of the best decisions I made as a mom of two under 16 months. Douglas was contained and safe when we went to the park. I lucked out and found this bad boy at Walmart for $20, but I’d easily pay the $50 on Amazon for the peace of mind it brought. 
• Mom Hacks for Travel
  • I recently found and fell in love with the Binxy Baby shopping cart hammock. It makes shopping with three so much easier and I have more space in the cart (Target thanks me for my money time and time again)! 
  • Ebags/Travelwise packing cubes. When packing for a family of five, these are key. Make sure to stock up on the smaller sizes—I really use those the most. 
  • Trayblecloth for plane travel: cover up those dirty tray tables and pockets for snacks and entertainment…’nough said! 
  • If your baby is a pinky/paci/nunu kid, then clip those bad boys to the strap covers so you can easily reach back and plug it up! 
  • Bags in bags in bags…I take this to a crazy level. The more bags I have in my purse/bag the better. They each have a purpose and serve it darn well. Even my kids know which bag to get to meet their little needs. 

I sure do hope that some of these mom hacks make your days a little bit smoother, my friends, because we all know how long they can be. You’re doing a great job, mom!