SAHM Daily Routine

When I was SAHM and my kids were still at home:

7:00am-wake up. Coffee and paper while kids sleep.

7:30-8:00am-kids wake up. Feed the kids and dress the kids. Have a shower and do some housework while kids play or watch some tv.

10:00am-morning outing. Playgroup, park, library, grocery shopping, errands, museum, zoo etc.

12:00pm-home for lunch. Feed the kids and clean up the dishes.

1:00pm-afternoon outing. Same sort of things as morning outing, but more likely to go swimming or do outdoor activities so the kids will nap well after.

3:00pm-home for nap/quiet time. This is when I prepared supper and did the majority of my housework.

5:00pm-supper.

6:00pm-evening activity. A drop in at the Y, trip to the playground or soccer.

8:00pm-home. Reading, playing, bathing, getting ready for bed.

9:30-10:00pm-bedtime for the kids.

11:00pm-my bedtime.

never had much use for regimented schedules myself. but then, i never got to be a SAHM either. i THINK that if i did, i'd structure each day according to that day's individual needs. if the house needed to be shaved and sanitized, i'd focus on that. if the sun was shining and a hike and a swim took priority, i'd roll with it.
i know spontaneity isn't always available, and many aren't psychologically inclined to it. but other than a to-do list when i find things are spiraling out of control, and to help me prioritize, i always be a go-with-the-flow girl.
:) khairete
S. (the anti-fly-lady)

I don't have a daily routine with my son. If I have to run errands I prefer to go in the morning. I clean while we are inside. My son is 3 and loves to help empty the dish washer and put the clothes in the dryer. We live in Florida so we are outside for a few hours everyday. He eats when hes hungry. Some days I say the hell with cleaning, I'm playing all day. Things don't have to be perfect. My son is only going to be small for so long. Enjoy it.

I'm a SAHM but my kids are older and in school. But they are out of school next week for the summer so while one is at the Boys and Girls Club I will be hanging with my oldest whose 15. My kids are teens and have chores so they do quite a bit so I don't have to do everything myself. We have a 6 bedroom house so it's a lot but I have been busy downsizing to make things easier. We will be doing a LOT of that this summer now that I'm getting over bronchitis the last 7 weeks. I have ADD so I think if I had a list or schedule it would stress me out if I didn't stick to it. I know it helps a lot of people but I'm a more go with the flow kind of personality. I figure as long as everyone is fed and clean and I'm not embarrassed if someone stops by unexpectedly then it's been a successful day. lol

I wake, meditate in bed for 10-15 minutes, and then make tea and surf the net for 30 minutes, and then I so 30-60 minutes of household paperwork, bills, etc. I then work out before breakfast. If kids are awake, they play on tablets or computers until breakfast at 8:30.

We usually go somewhere around 9:30-10. Lunch at 11:30. A short reading time, then quiet time/ videos for 1.5 hours. Then snack, and outside we go. Sometimes we'll do a painting project or something, but afternoons are about bike and the park.

We frequently do a short, grocery shop before going to the park about once a week. I do my big errands on the weekend when hubby's home to watch the kids. Saturday morning they get as much media time as they wNt, and I do yard work-mow lawn, weed, etc.

As to my little housekeeping details. I usually spend 60 minutes every morning-during breakfast- doing household stuff...laundry, lunch prep, dinner prep. I just make myself a smoothie and the drink while I work. I then do a second of housework during quiet time, and then one more before or after dinner. I fly lady, but I like a clean, orderly house, and with three kids under 7, I spend a lot of time on housework.

Depends on the age of your kids. If they're super little we would eat breakfast and get out to do something, the park for example. They would play, have a snack and come home for a nap. Then we'd play until lunch Then another nap then stuff around the house including prep for dinner etc. Baths before Dad got home so we could focus on him when he got there. Ate. Read books. Bed.

Many years back I sat down and broke up the chores I needed to do for the week and then broke those down into am and pm duties. Laundry, vacuuming of rooms, meals, bathroom, naps, fresh air (walks or stroller around neighborhood) and whatever else.

I even did a meal planner for the month as that is how hubby got paid back then. The chart had five weeks on it and if I had something extra I could pull from the "bonus" week and put it in the regular line up. I made bread twice a week and any and all cookies and such.

I got my schedule going so well that I had time to sew and do things I wanted and still keep a house and run errands and be part of the local wives group.

It can be done but time management is what is needed and you have to allow for some flexibility in the chart. If you don't do laundry on Tues, Thurs or Sat you do it on Sun or Mon to make up to get back on schedule.

If things don't work out like you want on your list you tweak them until they do.

Wow I never thought of how much I did back then until now. And when baby was learning to walk and crawl on the floor, I mopped the floor every night so that she could be down there and eat off of them if needed. My son was a bit older and went to preschool weekdays.

You can do it.

the other S.

my kids are 3 and 4

8am-wake up (i let them sleep in if they need it)
breakfast then 30 min of learning time (age appropriate stuff)
free play for the kids and cleaning time for me (if its nice we are outside.)
12 - lunch.
books/movie and quiet time.(napping is optional)
outside/ free play again
daddy comes home and its project time (while mommy makes dinner)
dinner
game time (outside weather permitting or board games inside)
bedtime routine starts at 8 and includes quick bath, brush teeth read 2 books, sing 3 songs and kisses then lights out

one day a week the kids go to story time at the library and then to grandmas so i can get the groceries.
another day of the week we plan playdates
and on a different day we drive to a bigger park (we have a small park within walking distance but once a week we go to a bigger buiser one)
and weekends we do things like visit the aquarium, the zoo, take the boat out, go fishing, take a hike, or something as a family

Are you looking for times, like up at 7, breakfast by 8, etc? On school days, DD has to be in school by 9:15 and I shoot for being there by 9. She has to be up by 8, usually earlier. If she's off for the day, we often don't have much planned. I work. She plays. If we are both off, we have breakfast around 8, lunch around 12, dinner around 6 or 7 and bath and bed 8-9. When she was little there were some naps involved. These days if I have errands, I'll run them in the afternoon if she's with me or at lunchtime if she's not. I don't set aside specific time for cleaning. Just now I put in some laundry and a load of dishes while she ate breakfast and I drank my coffee. Ended up vacuuming the whole livingroom the other day because I noticed cat hair tumbleweeds. We do a deeper clean 2x a month when our wonderful cleaning lady comes over. I play with DD most of the time when she asks, when her HW is done and we're not doing other things. She also enjoys spending time with her dad, so they might go biking or puttering in the yard or whatever while I do something else. By the time DD arrived, we had 2 older kids and she just needed to fit into what was going on and that hasn't changed much.

It depnds upon the age of your kids? Are they in school?
If not, this is what I did when ty were younger:
-wake before kids to grab my cup of coffee before they awoke
-quick body shower (or shower w/hair night before when hubby got home
from work
-grab a quick pc of toast w/peanut butter
-toss in a load of laundry
-get kids up, relax w/them for a bit
-give them breakfast
-take them in jog stroller for walk
-get them dressed, pack snacks, run an errand or two end up at mall for
play in the kid area (indoor mall during inclement area)
-OR take them to library for reading time (nice quiet enviroment or mom)
-OR take them to park to play & have picnic lunch packed
-home for nap time. During naps I clean (when they were toddlers w/2 naps
I'd take the first nap to finish laundry, do housework, dishes, make dinner ahead of time etc). 2nd nap
was for me to rest!!!!!
-I get things ready night before like my clothe, their clothes, plan my next
day.
-when hubby got home we'd eat dinner,talk about our day, let him rest/unwind for an hour then I'd leave for an hour to go for a walk, gym or do
uninterrupted grocey shopping.Then once in awhile I'd go to the library if still open to "hide out" ;)
-the slow cooker as m friend!!!!!!! In a.m. set it & forget it!
-everything got easier as hey got older

Well, I'm not the kids playmates so that's out. I get up, start chores I need to do on a daily basis like meals, then see what I have on the calendar for the day. We did stuff at the local library several times per week when the kids were smaller. Like reading/story time, free movies, arts and crafts, and guest performances.

I took the kids to Mother's Day Out a day or two a week so I'd be able to make my personal doc appointments and do things with my friends without the kids, like a lunch out once per week.

I did what I needed or wanted to do. If I wanted to watch TV all day I did. It's my life and I get to choose. The kids played in their rooms and came out when they were hungry or wanted something.

I think some mom's do need guidance on how to spend their days. They think what they want isn't important and that it's entirely about the kids and how to entertain them. Kids don't need that. Kids need to play. They learn all about the world around them by playing.

Google kids learn through playing and phrases like that so you can pull up some sites that have good information. So go do your things and let the kiddos play as much as they can.

It depends on what is going on. I don't think I've ever had a fixed schedule or routine - my main focus when they were little was to care for my babies/kids. That was what I did - all day. Chores and errands were usually done in the evenings or on weekends, or when someone would watch them.

I think the only thing I ever made sure was started was supper (early on) then that left the rest of the day freed up.

I never really played with my kids - rather it was like running a daycare. They'd get out the blocks and play for a while with those - it would usually turn into building a city or something. I'd stick the little ones in the middle so they could watch from their bouncy seat and be entertained. Then you'd go outside for a while - play on swings, or take a walk to the park (get your exercise in). Meet up with a mom there .. socialize. Bring a small snack ... come home, maybe make lunch while they all watched a short short, eat, nap ...

Afternoons similar. Probably outside at some point - more play. Supper had been started so usually just throw a salad together. I always stuck kids in bath together when little, and they would play ... clean for when dad got home.

I guess we tried (and still do) to use our time together to just hang out. I never was a huge planner and we didn't do tons of play dates or museum visits. That was more a family thing on weekends. It was more just laid back fun. Teddy bear picnic in backyard. That sort of thing. Just impromptu neighbors coming over. It was pretty flexible.

We always put the dishwasher on overnight. I'd throw a load in and my husband and I would fold it together while watching our night time show.

I have always just cleaned as I go. If something is spilled on the floor - I sweep. Usually after each meal (pretty messy eaters). So lots and lots of clean ups during the day (wipe the counter, etc.) - big cleans were on weekends or if kids weren't home.

Maybe it's different if you have a few kids .. because I was chasing them most times. I have about 5 meals I can make easily that were simple and healthy. I didn't have to be super organized, so much as we made it super easy. I didn't want to have to think.

Now that they are older - they help out with everything. Errands have turned into one-on-one time - a child wants to come to library with us. Or to hardware store. I have one who likes to help with the grocery shop. And all our kids do the chores now, with supervision and help. That's how they earn their allowance. Which is good, because I'm older and more tired now :)

I teach, so I am usually SAHM during the summers. We do have a routine of sorts, but it is very fluid and will change based upon weather or the whims of the family. This is generally what we do:

6-7 AM - wake up - My son is an early riser, usually by 6:15 at the latest. It doesn't matter if he goes to bed at 7:30 pm or 10 pm, his internal clock wakes him early. My daughter will sleep a little later, so he usually just does something quiet.

7:30 - breakfast and some TV or ipad time while I do the things I need to do (pay bills, etc). We also start any laundry we need to.

8:30 ish - family chores (we have a chore list, kind of Fly Lady style, where we do one chore per day and then a pick up of the kitchen, so we don't have to spend an entire day cleaning) When the kids finish they can have free play until everyone is done.

9:00 ish - we will run errands. If our errands involve stores that get busy, we often will switch this and do it before chores. It just depends on what needs to be done for the day.

10 ish - gym. The kids go to Kid's Club and I get my sanity in.

noon - lunch

After lunch - "school" - my kids do a school worksheet (math for my son, age 7, and writing for my daughter, age 5). We also read during this time. I agree with lots of others who bash e on this that summer is for fun, but as a teacher I also see the ramifications of no "practice" at the skills they have learned in school. I don't ask them to do hours of stuff every day, just a few minutes to keep them from losing everything.

2 ish - by this time we are usually at the pool and stay there until we head home for dinner, between 5 and 5:30. If the weather isn't cooperating we do something crafty, play a game, the kids will have playtime, or screen time.

6 ish - dinner, then normal bedtime routines (showers, shows, stories, songs, bed).

We also have time for whatever activities the kids have. They both are in gymnastics, my son is in an art class, my daughter is in dance, and we go to the library at least once a week. It just varies based on what we have going on, and on rainy days. I know lost of people aren't fans of schedules during the summer, but for us it works. :)

When my second was younger:
Get my first on the bus to school.
Finish breakfast with the younger child.
About an hour later head to toddler program (usually at 9:30 or 10am was when they started) such as Music and Movement, Library Storytime, Mom Club, Meeting friend at the park, Mommy n me yoga, the pool, preschool gymnastics, free toddler art class, or whatever we were into at the time.
Tuesday and Thursday mornings instead of a baby/toddler activity I would drop her off at Childcare at the YMCA while I did an exercise class.
Come home for lunch.
Naptime for child. I cleaned, did laundry, etc.
Older child home from school.
Homework and snack time.
Playtime for younger child.
Then time to start dinner.

When my youngest started preschool I would take her 9-noon for MWF. During this time I would exercise at the YMCA, walk the dog, clean, or get groceries.
Then I started working part time so I went to work MWF during this morning time.
Lunch at home
Then afternoons were for meeting up with a friend, hitting the pool or environmental center.
Home in time for my oldest to get off the bus.
Then it was snack, homework, cleaning and getting dinner ready.

Now my youngest is in preschool 5 days a week (for the 5 year olds who don't make the cut off for kindergarten). She goes 8:30 to noon. AFter my son gets on the bus I take her to preschool. I then go walk the dog, do my part time work on the laptop at home, then I may clean or exercise or run and get groceries. The afternoon is much the same as above.

I wake up and hour or more before the kids and shower and sit and drink my coffee while checking the news/email. Then I wake the kids up.

I'm a clean as I go kind of person, so things hardly ever pile up. Kid toys may get messy for a few days until I tell them to pick up. But the kitchen/bathrooms/floors/laundry are getting cleaned a bit every day after meals/baths/etc. Now my oldest child also can help with some things. He has some chores he does around the house like vacuuming. So, it's never really overwhelming.