Items I Use Every Day to Streamline the Work of Parenting - Vol. 1
I'm a Type A Mom of 3 and these items - which I never relied on before I had kids - are now indispensable in getting me through busy days!
As a Type A Mom of 3 kids I have tried many items to help make my days easier and more streamlined. As I reflect upon what items I use every day, I realize that there are many I did not use before becoming a parent that are now crucial to me getting through my days more efficiently! I thought I’d put together a list of items that have helped make the work of parenting easier for me during my 11+ years of parenting in the hopes that this list gives you ideas for what can make your days easier too! Also, I am titling this “Vol. 1” because this is just the first list of what items help my days - I decided to keep this list to 12 items so as not to overwhelm anyone but I will be writing more lists as time goes on!😊
The criteria I used to include items on this list are:
An item I use every day
An item that I did NOT use every day before I had kids
An item that I’ve used for more than 4 years
ITEMS
WIPES
I never even thought about wipes until I had my first kid, and now I am never without them! There are so many wipes available and needed at different stages of childhood… and without them I’d be running around looking for bathrooms to wash my kids’ hands all the time and wouldn’t be able to clean up messes as easily! There are diaper wipes for cleaning baby bottoms and kid hands and faces, hand sanitizing wipes for disinfecting all our hands after being in dirty places and/or before eating, wipes for disinfecting surfaces (picnic tables, traveling), saline “boogie wipes” for runny noses, flushable wipes for at home during potty training - the list feels endless!
CORK BACKED PLACEMATS
These cork backed placemats from Target are easy to clean (simply wipe them off!), and in addition to keeping the table clean from food, they provide a smooth surface upon which my kids can do homework or do art projects (our kitchen table has “bumpy” wood). They’re also great for keeping different art materials from leaking through a paper and staining our table!
LABELS
I never needed to label anything until I had kids! Now if I want to see a water bottle or lunchbox or sweatshirt or hat again after my kids leave the house - basically anything that isn’t attached to my kids - then they need to have a label in them! These labels from Mabel’s Labels have proven to be indestructible (aka don’t fall off after tons of dishwashing and laundering), easy to stick on, and my kids love all the different design and color choices they have! Using these labels means I don’t have to waste time or money replacing lost items…
IPAD CHARGING STATION
We keep this iPad charging station on our kitchen on the counter, and it’s been an amazing way to keep the devices organized and to make sure they’re always charging. It’s also easy for me to track who is using what device since I can see what’s missing from the charging station!
POST-IT NOTES
Before having kids, my memory seemed to be much stronger. Or, maybe it was that I had less to remember or was not as distracted from whatever I was doing so I had no trouble remember whatever task I’d set out to do? Whatever the reason, since kids and their needs often take over whatever task I was doing or needed to remember, I found myself forgetting to do things which was very frustrating! So, to help me remember things I write myself Post-it note reminders and stick them in obvious places! I loved Post-its before kids, but now they are an indispensable part of reminding me what needs to be done! Click here to see all the ways I love using them🥰
A BRIGHT COLORED PHONE CASE
A phone is an essential part of everyone’s day! When I need my phone and I’m with my kids my hands are usually full and my time limited, so when I need to find my phone I need to find it quickly! The best way I’ve found to do this is to have a bright colored phone case so I can easily spot it in any bag I’m using. Yes, I tried putting the phone in its own pocket of my bag but all bags are so different that I could never remember what pocket I put it in. But I’ve found that a bright colored case works for all bags!
PRINTER/SCANNER/COPIER IN ONE
I did not have a printer for years, and then once my oldest son was in preschool, all of a sudden I needed one all the time! To print school/camp/doctor forms and homework pages the kids need, to print different kid coloring/word search activities (Etsy has amazing inexpensive printable packs of activities to keep kids busy), to scan in different documents I want to save in a digital format, to make color copies of items (like our passports so we can leave a copy of them with a family member when we travel), and so much more! This printer/scanner/copier does black & white or color, and you can print via Bluetooth from your phone or laptop - I’ve had mine for years and love it!
WALL CALENDAR
Before kids I had no reason to put a calendar on the wall - it was all on my computer/on my phone. But now, in order to help the kids understand their schedule and what the week entails, I make sure to update our weekly calendar every Sunday and hang it in the kitchen where everyone can see it! Click here for how I set up our weekly calendar (which we call our Map of the Week).
LAUNDRY BASKET THAT I CAN CARRY OVER MY SHOULDER
This laundry basket is what I carry from room to room to gather the clothes and then I carry it downstairs to the laundry room. It’s also one of my kid’s laundry hampers - it fits perfectly inside the closet. The best part about carrying it around the house is that the handles fit over my shoulders and it’s lightweight and foldable yet carries a bunch of laundry! It’s also easy to fold into the bottom of a suitcase to bring on trips when I need a laundry hamper while traveling.
PLANETBOX LUNCHBOXES
I bought our first PlanetBox lunchbox when my son N(11) was 2 and we still have that exact one! We’ve added more because we have three kids now, and we’ve gotten different sizes of them for different needs (they work great for travel and picnic snacks), but they’ve all lasted years and we’ve never had to get rid of any of them! These are dishwasher safe (no scrubbing needed), easy for little hands to open and close, can be personalized with magnets and cute lunch sacks to carry them in, and I love that food doesn’t get squished by the time it’s traveled to school and the kids open them to eat from it. Worth the investment for sure!
VITAMIX BLENDER
When I started making baby food, I used my blender to blend the food. And now that my kids don’t need blended food, I use a blender to make my kids’ favorite muffins and smoothies. It’s definitely something that before kids I’d use once a month but now I use it at least once a day! This model has pre-programmed settings to easily make different kinds of food (no need to hold down a switch and wait - just choose what food you’re making), has a low profile so it fits under kitchen cabinets, and is dishwasher safe.
AN APPLE WATCH
The reason I love my Apple Watch is that it allows me to put away my phone - I don’t have to stare at it all day and wonder if I’m missing an important call or text (like from the nurse at school!). I set the watch to buzz whenever there is an incoming call or a text from important numbers, which means I can put my phone away and concentrate on whatever is happening in the moment (like running around at a park with a kid!). This way if something is important and I need to be reached then I will get a call, or a text from the numbers I set as important, and I don’t have to keep glancing at my phone all day long just to make sure I’m not missing something important - my wrist will buzz and I can quickly look at my watch to see what’s happening.
Those are some of the items that come to mind when I think of what I didn’t use often before I had kids but now that I’ve had kids I can’t live without! I hope some of those ideas help you too - thank you for reading!
❤️, Amanda, your Type A Mom friend
Other posts I’ve written that are related to this post are:
Most "Liked" Quick Type A Mom Tips
What’s Helping Me Get Through February