One question I get asked is “How do you find time to fit it all in?”

Really, I don’t.

I just pick and choose and make decisions to say no more than I say yes. For me, it really all comes back to my mission statement–what my purpose in life is and weighing all opportunities in light of that.

Homemaking and keeping my house managed do not come easily to me, but like anything, I’ve gotten better with practice! Right now, these are the best home management and life management resources I’ve found.  They are helping me organize time with God and family, staying up with laundry, plugging away at homeschooling, making meals, limiting my blogging, and keeping everything else that seems to pop up in life under control!

1) Homemaking Binder

My favorite home management helper is my Homemaking Binder. You can find out what a homemaking binder is and how I use it here. You can also still get my printables for free when you become an email subscriber!

 

2) Motivated Moms Chore Planner

For several years I used the Motivated Moms Chore Planner. I’m using the app version right now (available from the iTunes store or from Amazon), but I still kind of think I like the print version better. It’s more motivating to me to check off a printed list…than to cross them off on the app! I’m just a pencil/paper kind of girl!  Find out more about the Motivated Moms planner here.

(Want something a little prettier?  There is a free weekly chore schedule from The Confident Mom.  You can add on the rest of the homemaking binder printables for a small price.)

 

3) eMeals

I’ve been using eMeals for a few months. I really like it and it was definitely helpful when I first started eating Paleo (they have a ton of specific menus like gluten-free, Paleo, classic, diet, and more). If you like trying new meals or have a hard time coming up with your own recipes, it may work for you. Also, it’s nice that they have specific stores you can pick from and detailed shopping lists for each week. You can find my review of eMeals here.

 

4) Plan to Eat Online Menu Planning

Lately, I’ve gone back to using more of my own menu plans–especially since I’m doing the Whole30. I think I’ve been living in the dark or something, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Plan to Eat! After reading about it on a few other blogs, I decided to give it a try. You can try it free for 30-days, but I went ahead and purchased a subscription. I still have a ways to go to get it set up, but I love how easy it is to add recipes from various websites and blogs. It is also so simple to drag and drop your menu ideas. Plus, I can plan for every single meal and a shopping list will be generated! I’m still working on figuring it all out, but I’ll share a full review after I’ve been using it for a while. In the meantime, I’ve been using my written planner to track my meals (see #1 above).

 

5) Blogging Binder

Blogging is definitely something that takes up quite a bit of time for me. I’ve found these four blogging planners to be so helpful! I just printed out the pages I liked and knew I would use. Then, I added them to a binder.

 

6) Homeschool Binder

I love my Well-Planned Day binder (I picked it up when it was a steal for $4.99)! All of my homeschool papers are in there…just not very organized yet!  I have also been using the Well-Planned Day planner to record lesson plans and keep track of school goals!

Those are just a few things I’m using to help manage my household more efficiently. I’m learning new things every single day…maybe at some point this messy mom will become an expert! Probably after all the kids are out of the house… 😉