Day In The Life of A Stay At Home Mom: How To Create A Great Schedule

Alessandra | Posted on May 1, 2023 |

In this blog I’m sharing an entire day in the life of a stay at home mom! If you’re a SAHM and you’re in need of routine and schedule ideas, then you’re gonna want to keep reading.

A day in the life of a stay at home mom is busy, demanding, overwhelming, fun, full of love, and always different! And despite what some people may think, it’s anything but boring, dull, and lazy. (Major eye roll!) In my opinion, being a stay at home mom is the best and most important job in the world. It’s crazy and emotional and never-ending but having the ability to stay home with my kids is a dream come true.

Hey! I’m Alessandra, a SAHM of 3 kids and I’ve been doing this about around 7 years now. I love being a stay at home mom and I know there are a million stereotypes around it, but in this blog I’m busting those stay at home mom myths and going all out with what I (and many other SAHMs) do all day long. Keep reading for my daily schedule you can download and print out at the end of this blog article, because it’s definitely great if you’re trying to get yourself into a great schedule!

*This blog contains affiliate links, you can learn more here. Thank you for your support!

What people think a day in the life of a stay at home moms looks like:

Play with our kids
Watch TV all day
Are lazy
Wear pajamas all the time
Take naps
Do whatever we please
Nothing

You know these are aren’t true at all (and I’m sure A LOT of other people do too) but these are stay at home mom myths we are just annoyed with hearing. We definitely don’t do nothing all day or have the time of our lives or sit at home bored. We have a million and one things to do all day, everyday.

What do stay at home moms do all day?

You know that quote “I don’t have a 9-5 job, I have a from the time eyes open to the time my eyes close job” ? Well even this isn’t true. Stay at home moms literally work 24/7. Even once our eyes are closed we open them every few hours through the night either because our kids wake up or the baby cries or irrational thoughts keep us up.

Here’s a list of all the things stay at home moms do all day. And I’m probably going to miss a few things, so if I do, feel free to comment at the end of this blog to let me know what I missed!

Keep the house tidy (even though that doesn’t even work often!)
Constant chores
Vacuum
Clean the bathroom
Mop
Dust
Laundry
Kiss boo-boos
Fix broken toys
Make meals & fetch constant snacks
Grocery shop
Run errands
Pay bills
Make beds
Clean bed sheets
Try to take care of ourselves
Forget to eat
Dress our kids
Get them ready for school
Breastfeed
Pack lunches
Play with our kids
Read books
Drink a lot of coffee
Go to play dates
Make appointments
Take care of sick kids
Try not to get sick
Teach our kids colors, numbers, letters, etc.
Sing nursery rhymes
And much, much more!

The list could honestly go on and on. So if you think stay at home moms have any time to leisurely watch her favorite TV show or catch up on shows, take a nap, or we ever feel bored, you’d be seriously wrong! Now, let’s dive into a stay at home mom’s daily schedule and what a day in her life looks like from the time she wakes up to the time she goes to bed!

Day In The Life of A Stay At Home Mom

Morning 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM

Alright, let’s start with a basic morning routine. I dive into my simple morning routine here, if you want more info because I’m being brief here.

My alarm goes off at 7:00 AM (I do not wake up before my kids!) I chug some water, take my vitamin, pour my coffee, start breakfast for my 2 big kids, who are 7 and 5 years old. While breakfast is cooking/they are eating, I put away the clean dishes from the dishwasher. I finish packing backpacks (lunch boxes are prepped the night before) and usually my third child is up by now, so I make her breakfast. My 2 big kids finish getting ready and then we are out to the bus stop just before 8:00.

Morning 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM

After my big kids are on the bus, I help my 2 year old finish breakfast, she gets dressed, I throw in a load of laundry, clean up the kitchen from breakfast, and I take my shower. After that I get dressed, put on some makeup and fix my hair. This can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 45 minutes depending on if it’s a hair wash day.😉My 2 year old daughter will play and watch TV while I get ready.

Once I’m ready, this is when we either run errands, go grocery shopping, or go out to do something fun like go to the library! Then I pick up my other daughter from kindergarten at 11:10 and we head back home.

Afternoon Routine

Afternoon 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM

At 11:30 when we get home from school, we have some lunch. After lunch I encourage my girls to play together or we get outside for a bit. I will do one chore at this point such as clean the bathroom or vacuum. Then tidy up a bit and work on some blog stuff. At 1:00 my toddler goes down for her nap. So we read some books and she goes right to sleep!

Afternoon 1:00 to 3:00 PM

While my toddler naps, I spend some quality with my other daughter, get some work done, blog, do Instagram stuff for my blog, and maybe even get a chance to read a chapter of my book! I also switch the laundry to the dryer at this point and clean up the kitchen from lunch. Is anyone else always cleaning their kitchen!?😜 Then at 3:00 I head to school to pickup my son who is in 2nd grade.

Honestly, how do people think stay at home moms do nothing all day?! I’m tired from just writing this! haha

Evening Routine

Evening 3:00 to 6:00 PM

Afternoons tend to get a bit crazy with all 3 kids being home and awake with the added “after school restraint collapse.” Luckily that hasn’t been as difficult this year as it was last year but it can still be tough. Read more detail about our after school routine here.

When I get home from picking up my son from school, I immediately unpack his backpack and lunchbox (or it will not get done – so just do it mama!) Then we chat about his day and either play outside or relax indoors. Either way, this is my wind-down time too to show my kids that relaxing is ok and we all need it! Sometimes I’ll even take this time to read a book while they watch a little TV.

Around 4:30 I start dinner and then we eat around 5:00. At dinner time we do not watch TV or have electronics at the table and we actually sit at the table to eat. During dinner time we talk about the best and worst part of our days. It’s a great way to connect as a family and hear about my kid’s school day.

After dinner my husband and I clean up the kitchen while our kids play. I also pack lunches for the next day, to help our morning go smoother. We don’t typically allow electronics after dinner/before bedtime. We’ve found that bedtime is a whole lot easier if they haven’t been watching TV. Then we can also spend some quality family time together as well! We might play a board game, take a walk, or just hang out.

Bedtime Routine

Bedtime 6:00-7:00

Once we’ve had dinner, the kitchen is cleaned up, and we’ve spent some time together we start the kid’s bedtime routine. First we do showers/baths. My number one tip if you have multiple kids is to stagger bathtimes, don’t give every kid a bath or shower in the same night because it’s crazy. LOL! Kids don’t need to be bathed everyday anyway, unless they are dirty from something in particular of course. Like in the summertime when we’re outside a whole lot more, my kids might need baths more often.

Anyway, after baths, my kids get their pajamas on, have a bedtime snack, and we read some books. Then they brush their teeth and we head to bed for lullabies, cuddles, and sleep! I highly recommend having a set bedtime and great bedtime routine for stay at home moms because it makes life SO much easier! You need bedtime as much as your kids do.😉

Nighttime Routine

Nighttime Routine 7:30-10:30

Now that your kids are in bed it’s time for some “me-time,” mama!! YAY, you’ve earned it, as you know a day in the life of a stay at home mom is no joke! At this time I finish up all the chores I missed for the day, I tidy up, fold the laundry, and set my coffee maker up so it automatically brews my coffee in the morning!

Once I get everything I need to get done, done – THEN I can do the things I want to do! Follow this mindset, it’s like a bribe, to help you get stuff done and then not feel guilty about doing something you want to do. This is my time to blog, catch up on TV shows, read, maybe exercise, spend time with my husband, etc. I’m definitely a night owl so I have time to do a lot of these things for myself every single day.

As promised at the beginning of this blog, here you can grab MY daily schedule that sets me up for success and keeps me motivated every day! Plus you’ll get a blank daily schedule template you can fill in yourself. Just sign up below and get started. I’m so proud of you for starting this journey to being the mama you always wanted to be.

Final Thoughts for a Day In the Life of A Stay At Home Mom

Wow, that was a lot! If you got this far, you’re amazing! And I know you are really ready to change the way you day goes. Make sure to sign up for my email list above! Moms do so, so much every day, that is no lie! Never think that you are not doing enough or ever say to yourself “I got nothing done today.” Some days will be better than others, but no matter what even if at the end of the day your house is a mess and the laundry isn’t finished, you did everything. The most important part of our job is being there, loving our kids, and taking the very best care of them! So if no one has told you lately. you’re doing great, mama!

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