25 Items that Made Parenting Easier in '25
As I reflect on 2025, these are the items that made my daily parenting tasks easier. Hope they help you spend less time on the work of parenting in 2026 so you can spend more time on the joy of itš„°
Well, this last week was a whirlwind that was simultaneously super slow and super fast. Thatās how it always is in the week between the end of school and Christmas Day, right?! Iām sure you know what I meanā¦
We spent the week of Christmas with my parents, and my sister, her husband and their 4-year-old on a ski trip to Idaho where, for the first time, instead of all of us skiing all day every day, only one of us skied for one day! The weather was so warm and wet, and it was RAINING which made for terrible ski conditionsā¦ It was raining so much that the resort canceled their annual Christmas Eve ice skating show and parade of skiers down the mountain which was such a bummer! But they still lit off fireworks like usual which was especially lucky for us because every year we host a Christmas Eve party for our friends and family to watch those fireworks. The party went great and despite the weather, it was really fun to gather.
This year it seemed that as soon as Christmas ended, I switched my POV to reflecting on 2025 and getting excited about a fresh year ahead. Maybe it was the rush of the last week of school events and then packing and leaving town right away for our Christmas trip, or maybe it was prepping Christmas gifts while prepping and then hosting a Christmas Eve party, or maybe it was that I was getting cabin fever because no one could ski so there was a lot of free time, but as soon as Christmas dinner ended I felt really ready to be done with Christmas! Iām now fully focused on jumping into a new year and setting intentions for a successful year ahead.
As I reflect on 2025, the area I thought about that is applicable to this Substack about parenting is what items have helped me with parenting this year. I decided to make the subject of this weekās article ā25 Items that Made Parenting Easier in ā25ā because if something helped me, then maybe it will help you too!
Iāve organized this article into subject buckets to hopefully help you quickly find what you needš
HOUSE ITEMS
We spend so much time at home, and each year I learn about new items that help my parenting through a lot of trial and error. The below items are both what Iāve discovered this year and what has worked for us for years.
Portable desk: my kids love using this laptop desk for their homework when they want to sit on the floor or on my bed ā itās been really helpful when my older son wants to be near us while doing his homework but Iām busy helping my younger two kids with bathtime
Cork backed placemats: in addition to being great placemats, these create a smooth writing surface on our bumpy kitchen table which keeps homework looking nice, and they also stop pens from bleeding through to the table!
Center of table spinning pen holder: this keeps homework supplies accessible yet organized on our kitchen table, and I love how it spins so each kid can find what they need no matter where theyāre sitting
Laundry basket that is tall and foldable and has handles that go over my shoulder: I carry it around room to room to gather laundry and bring it to the machine, and I leave it in A(6)ās closet to use as his laundry hamper when Iām not carrying it room to room
Ruggable rug: this summer we replaced our living room rug with a Ruggable rug and not only is it stylish and feels plush on bare feet, but I have no stress over anything messing it up because itās washable - that makes me a lot calmer when kids are hanging out or running around the living room! Lots of patterns and sizes available AND the site is up to 30% off until Jan 4!
BAGS
One thing I know is that as a parent you can never guess whatās coming nextā¦ so a way I help myself is by bringing a bag filled with items I may need for wherever I take my kids. These are the bags that I used most often this year for parenting outings!
Clare V bag: this bag is my favorite for being stylish yet durable enough to bring on a big kid playdate, itās both crossbody or over the shoulder, and it fits two water bottles and my other items too!
LL Bean zip top: the MVP that is always on a list of items that help me with parenting ā especially useful is getting the long handles and the zip top closure - itās washable, durable, lightweight, and can be personalized in different colors and with monograms
Patagonia backpack: this has tons of different sizes of pockets in it (including a padded area for laptops) which makes it great for carrying a lot of things in an organized way - I use this for travel, for Disneyland and theme parks, for indoor play spaces, and any time I need to have hands free but carry a lot of stuff!
SLEEP
As I know you know, sleep is extremely important to everyone, but especially to parents! These are the items that help me get as much rest as I can so I can have energy to keep up with everyone.
Petite Plume PJs: I upgraded from my Target pjs to these Pima cotton pjs and love how soft they are, and that they have pockets!
Magnesium bath salts: I use Ancient Minerals for me and the kids, and they relax us so much and give us great rest - when I need something more intense, I use Flewd bath saltsā āinsomniaā pack
Bath oil: Osea makes a relaxing Vagus nerve bath oil that is clean and really helpful for sleep. Use code TYPEAMOM25 for 25% off
Eye mask: when I wake up in the middle of the night and put on an eye mask somehow I have a much easier time falling back to sleep!
BOOKS
Iāve found that getting hooked on a book helps me stay off my phone which in turn helps me stay a more balanced and calmer parent. I especially like reading book series because reading about characters and a world I already know makes it easy to pick up a book and keep reading instead of scrolling. Big bonus is I get hard copies of books and model reading to my kids which makes them want to pick up books too!
Sorry not sorry about Sarah J Mass: she is the leading āromantasyā queen, and I liked her Throne of Glass series the most (I really enjoyed the ACOTAR series but am still working through the Crescent City series)
Hunger Games series: my oldest son N(11) read this series this summer and asked me to read it with him, and that was so fun ā it definitely helped me keep him busy, kept me from scrolling, and bonded us which was really special
Lists from Zibbyās Bookshop: these lists always give me great ideas for what to read next when Iām not immersed in a series!
FOOD/PANTRY DELIVERY APPS
I consider food/pantry delivery apps part of my āmodern day villageā because they help me save so much time!
Instacart: I use this grocery delivery service every week ā it saves me so much time, and I am so grateful to live where they deliver
Hungry Root: I love this meal and grocery shipping service because it suggests recipes and then provides all elements needed to make those recipes and that takes some of the mental load of figuring out whatās for dinner off my plate! (pun intended lol)
Grove Collaborative: this company has so many clean items and I love to order bubble bath for the kids, Osea products for me, and tons of supplements from Beekeeper Naturals and many other natural brands for us all to stay healthy ā something I as a parent definitely want! Use code TYPEAMOM25 for 25% off
ORGANIZING ITEMS
I could talk about organizing family schedules, suitcases, and how I set reminders for myself for hoursš These are the items that helped me keep all of us, and our things, organized in 2025.
Wall calendar: every Sunday I fill out a wall calendar that says what the kids are doing that week, and I list the dinners for each night ā keeping us organized and informed like this has been so helpful to us all!
Mabelās Labels: I cannot live without these durable labels ā they are on all my kids water bottles, sweatshirts, jackets, lunchboxes and bags ā and they were on every item I sent with my daughter to sleepaway camp and all the items came home!
Packing cubes: we travel often and use packing cubes every time ā for longer trips I organize them by type of clothing and place them into each kidās suitcase, and for shorter trips I pack a cube per person and place them into one big suitcase for us all
Color-coded suitcases: each kid has their own color suitcase which helps me keep their packing organized, helps me easily see whether or not we have all the bags with us both at check-in and baggage claim, and it calms my kids to easily spot their own bag so they know their items have arrived
Sharpies and Post-it Notes: I use these daily ā notes to myself, notes to my kids, reminders to teachers ā I keep them in my car, in our kitchen, on my desk ā can never have too many of them!
Tech device charging station: this sits near our kitchen table and it is where all family iPads live ā it keeps them charged, I can easily track when one needs to be checked out and used, and it keeps the cords and devices for 5 people neat and tidy!
Storage bins: I use these simple storage bins to store kid artwork, hand-me-down clothes for my kids, holiday dĆ©cor, the underbed size to store wrapping paper ā love how they easily stack and snap shut
There were many other items that helped me with both how I show up to parenting and how I get parenting tasks done efficiently in 2025, but these stand out the most right now as I reflect. I hope this list gives you some ideas for how to make parenting in 2026 easier for you!
Also, as the year comes to an end, I want to thank you for reading and supporting Type A Momās Trusted Tips. I appreciate you so much! I hope that in 2026 I can provide even more value, so please reply to this email or comment below with topics I can research or speak to in upcoming articles that you think will help all of us spend less time on the work of parenting and more time on the joy of parentingš„°
ā¤ļø, Amanda, your Type A Mom friend
PS: If youāre looking for ways to kick-off your 2026 a bit more organized, these are my top articles to help with that!
