In my (almost) seven years as a mom, I’ve worn several different labels. I’ve spent the bulk of my time as a stay at home mom, but there were seasons I worked outside the home as well. For the last 18 months or so, I’ve been a full time working mom. Even though my office is at home, the hours I put in are on par with what I’d be doing outside the home, so I happily claim the title of working mom.
I’m not here to argue which type of momming is hardest. They all present unique challenges, and it’s totally up to you to decide what’s best for your family in different seasons.
I will say this though.. in starting to work full time I’ve learned that there are some things that I just can’t do anymore. There are certain corners that need cutting and since I’ve decided to start cutting them, life has gotten a lot easier!
There’s a few things, you just have to STOP DOING if you are a working mom.
I’m super thankful to Sam’s Club for sponsoring our conversation about working mamas today!
Number one, is by far, worrying about what people think of you working. Our society has all these weird ideas about women working. Still.
I’ve been the victim of a few too many passive aggressive comments about moms who work, but after a year of it, they’ve started to roll off my shoulders a bit more. I know that I’ve made the best decision for my family, and that right now that means working full time at a job I LOVE. It also means letting go of working mom guilt, which has been pretty amazing.
After your guilt, there’s still more to let go of as a working mom, like….
Grocery shopping…sortof. Look, when you are working full time and momming full time and doing all these other things that come with the working mom life, you no longer have time for grocery shopping. No more extra time to browse the isles of a grocery store, slowly selecting what you need. Now, you need Sam’s Club Pick-Up Service. Hop online or on the handy Sam’s Club App and order the groceries, office supplies, or anything else you need. Then schedule a time to pick it all up!
If you aren’t yet a Sam’s Club member, you can become one through this link and get a $20 gift card AND a $20 coupon book, just for signing up!
I did this just yesterday to grab some essentials for the month. What’s extra awesome about using the pick up service at Sam’s Club is that I can buy in bulk. Macaroni and Cheese boxes by the dozen means a LOT fewer trips to the store.
Also, having everything I need for my office in the same place I pick up spaghetti sauce is just icing on the getting-stuff-done cake!
But really…there are STILL MORE things that you have to stop doing when you’re a working mom. Things like…
Meal planning – Gone are the days where you can spend a solid hour planning meals for the next week. It’s just not doable anymore. Try our 5 minute meal plan method. You spend that hour ONE TIME ever, and then you’ll just need 5 mins to keep it going every month. Magic.
Bathing the children every day – When my babies were born, there were a lot of people talking about how important it was to bathe kids every single day. Even babies! Thankfully science has caught up with a mother’s sanity and decided that it’s actually not good to bathe the kiddos every single day. So working mom, take that off your to-do list. Every couple of days is sufficient. It’s one less thing to feel guilty about!
Putting yourself last – I totally see the irony in having this be the last point of “things to stop doing when you are a working mom”, but I’m going with it. When you are a working mom you are pulled in one thousand different directions at all times. You have to give your best to work, to kids, to your partner, to everything!!! Just make sure you have enough “you” left to give yourself at the end of the day too. Maybe that means encouraging your toddler to play independently for 30 minutes or so while you take a shower. Maybe it means finding a hobby. Maybe it just means splurging for a fancy cup of coffee once in awhile. Whatever it is, do what you have to do to make time for yourself too. If you are saving time by doing grocery pick up and stopping with the daily bath nonsense, you should have more than enough time to spend on you too, and that means a much healthier and happy mama. And we all know a happy mama leads to a happier family!
Are there things you’ve had to stop doing since becoming a working mom? Tell me about them in the comments and share your best tricks for balancing everything! And don’t forget to sign up to be a Sam’s Club member so you can take advantage of the Sam’s Club Pick-Up Service while also earning that epic $20 gift card plus $20 coupon book!
Ashley Whisenant says
When my son was in the NICU he only got bathed every once every 3 days. They told it was because of his delicate, sensitive skin. So we kept that up when we brought him home. His skin never got dried out that way. Even now that he’s 3 we do every other day if he isn’t’ all sweaty and muddy because let’s face it, boys will be boys! I still need to try the Walmart and Sam’s grocery pickups. The times I have gone to do it, they didn’t have a pickup time convenient for us.
Dana Wood says
Great post!!! Giving up Mom guilt is hard but I realize I am much happier working. I do the grocery pick up and delivery service. I also have 6 weeks of menus that I rotate through. I also have a housekeeper to help with cleaning since my husband works. That way we can enjoy the weekends with the kids.
اجاره خودرو says
Thank you very much