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. 
    • 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!

 

Julie Janes
Julie is a NOLA girl at heart who is setting down roots in Texas. She is married to her high school sweetie, Christopher. They are raising their sweet boys Harrison (Oct. 2014) & Douglas (Feb 2016) and their baby girl Colette (Dec. 2017). We cant forget their crazy GSP puppy Liuzza. They live in McKinney and spend their weekends yelling "Geaux Tigers & Who Dat" wherever they are!. Julie lives for play dates, mom dates, friends, and family. She can be seen watching her DVR'd shows (even if it takes days to get through one show), reading the same book for months, playing outside with her kids, taking nice relaxing bubble baths with a warmish cup of tea, cooking her newest pinned dinners, starting 17 different crafty projects and just enjoying what life has to offer.