SAHM Schedule Hacks You Need To Simplify Your Life

Alessandra | Posted on July 10, 2025 |

As a stay at home mom of 3, get my best SAHM schedule hacks in this blog to help you flow through your day seamlessly so you can enjoy it!

A SAHM schedule can help you manage your days when you’re home with babies, toddlers, and even big kids. Schedules help lessen chaos and provide structure and stability to your child’s everyday life. But you might be wondering how to create a schedule or maybe you’ve tried and it just didn’t work out. If that’s the case, you’re in the right place! If being a stay at home mom feels like you’re juggling 27 things at once while refereeing a wrestling match in your living room, then you’ll want to keep reading for my best SAHM schedule hacks!

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What Do Stay At Home Moms Do All Day?

Well, I’m so glad you asked. There’s laundry, meals, tantrums, errands, kissing boo-boos, cleaning and more. Plus on top of all that we’re somehow also expected to “soak up every moment.” Between the melt downs, vacuuming, endless laundry, cuddles, and event planning the real question is what DON’T stay at home moms do? Am I right? Let’s dive into some hacks to help you with your SAHM schedule so you can do all the things you’re expected to do without feeling like you’re drowning. Because the truth is, you don’t need a rigid, minute-by-minute schedule to feel sane! You just need a few smart systems that actually work for stay at home mom life.

SAHM Schedule Hacks

Here’s to rhythms over rigid time-stamped schedules because you’re a mom, not a cruise ship director. And if you want your SAHM schedule to stick, you’re going to need it to work FOR you. Which means your schedule won’t look like any other stay at home mom’s schedule, because this is all about you and your family! So keep that in mind as you read these hacks (along with flexibility.) Below are 7 simple SAHM schedule hacks to help you bring structure to your day without losing your mind.

Be sure to let me know what hacks were the most helpful in the comment section at the end of this post! Plus, get a free daily schedule example to help you get started.

1. Use “Anchor Routines” Instead of a Full-Day Schedule

Like I mentioned before, your SAHM schedule should be a bit flexible so it works for you and your family. Forget trying to plan your entire day hour-by-hour. Instead, set 2–3 anchor points. Anchors are routines that stay consistent no matter what else happens.

Here’s an example:

Morning routine (eat breakfast, unload the dishwasher, clean up, get dressed)
Nap/quiet time (Read books, have quiet time or nap time in bedrooms)
After-dinner reset (clean up from the day before your bedtime routine)

These are all things that will stay the same 95% of the time and will give your day a natural rhythm without needing to micro-manage every moment. You can count on these anchors to stay consistent each day and give you that feeling of control stay at home moms so often need.

2. Time Block (the Mom-Friendly Way)

Time blocking your day can help you get more things done in less time. It isn’t about color-coded spreadsheets, it’s about efficiency! Just divide your day into loose “chunks” of time that make sense for you. Here are a few examples below:

Morning routine
Outing / activity (all at the same time so you’re not running in and out of the house multiple times a day)
Lunch + rest
Afternoon play / chores
Dinner + evening wind-down

This flexible framework gives your day structure and space to pivot when needed because toddlers are everything but predictable.

3. Prep Dinner in the Morning

If you haven’t tried this SAHM schedule hack, you’re missing out! It might sound wild, but this one hack will change your evenings. Do your dinner prep before noon. Chop veggies, throw ingredients in the crockpot, or just pick what you’re making and set out ingredients. Even just knowing what’s for dinner saves you from that 5 PM “what the heck am I making for dinner” panic spiral. Plus, that afternoon witching hour makes dinner prep pretty much unbearable. So if you have a plan, or part of dinner prepared, you’ll walk through your evening routine like an island breeze.

4. Themed Days (for You + the Kids)

Having a set day for certain things or “themed” days can be a fun way to work through the week. Plus the predictability is great for kids. Create a simple weekly rhythm that’s fun, while adding structure. Here are a few ideas:

Monday – Grocery shopping + meal planning day
Tuesday – Library or Park Day
Wednesday – Home Day (we all need a relaxing, do nothing day!)
Thursday – Errands Day (think pharmacy pick ups, Target runs, etc.)
Friday – Fun Day (playdate, outing, etc.)

Of course, you don’t have to stick to this rigidly, but having a loose plan can help reduce decision fatigue and like I said, gives your kids some predictability. They will begin to look forward to each special day too!

5. Set a 5-Minute Reset Timer Each Hour

If you haven’t realized it already, timers can become a stay at home moms best friend. Having a reset timer for each hour (or every 2 to 3 hours if that works better) can help you keep up with cleaning and messes. Since clutter can be a huge stressor for moms, I’ve found it’s easier to keep up with it and clean small messes than big ones at the end of the day or week. So, instead of waiting until bedtime to clean up, try this:

Set a 5-minute timer every hour or two and do a quick reset. This means tidy the toys, wipe a counter, toss in a load of laundry. It keeps mess manageable without you feeling like you clean all day.

6. Use a Visual Schedule for the Kids

Kids LOVE to help out and visuals help them succeed. If you want fewer meltdowns and less constant “what are we doing next?” questions, then try making a simple picture schedule for your kids. My morning routine printable is a great example so check it out!

Visual schedules are great for all kids, even toddlers can follow along if they see breakfast → play → lunch → nap, etc. This encourages more independence and builds self-esteem. It may even help give you fewer repetitive announcements, which is a huge win!

7. Schedule Mom Time Like It’s a Non-Negotiable

One of the most important things to add to your SAHM schedule is YOU TIME! Because YOU are not a robot and you deserve time for you. This is my very best hack for you, mama, so listen closely. Block out at least 30 minutes a day for something that fills up your proverbial cup. It can be drinking your coffee alone in the morning, reading, taking a walk/exercising, or even scrolling your phone guilt-free. No matter what it is, find time for you favorite hobby and make it a non-negotiable.

Yes, even if the dishes aren’t done, you should still do it! A rested mom is a better mom and that’s most important at the end of the day.

You Don’t Need a Perfect SAHM Schedule—You Just Need a Functional One

Stay at home mom life isn’t meant to be lived on a rigid timetable, that probably doesn’t work for most. But that doesn’t mean you should live in chaos either to the point where you’re so overwhelmed and burnt out that you don’t know what to do with yourself! You can find a happy medium and the simplicity you crave as a SAHM and I believe daily rhythms can help. Start with just one or two of these SAHM schedule hacks, and see how much lighter your day feels. Remember, your time is valuable and when your days run a little smoother and feel a bit simpler, you get to enjoy motherhood more, not just survive it!

Get start with your SAHM Schedule by getting this free download below!

Use the image below to save these SAHM schedule hacks to Pinterest so you can come back to them later!

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