Hacks that make everything easier

[gbaxter]

What are some hacks you find makes parenting easier?

I have an 11 month old and am due my second in 4 weeks, though i class myself as a very organised person in general, i'd like to know other peoples ways of making parenting life just that little bit easier/smarter. Hoping to add as many into my daily routine post baby number 2!

Bump

Only tidy once a day, when the kids are in bed

The fewer toys the better. Seriously.

My 3 year old has brio train tracks and trains, a basket of Duplo, a basket of magnetic tiles, a den building kit, a torch, some vehicles, some small plastic animals, Yoto mini player, a doctors kit, few teddies and lots of books. He has a swing in the garden and a bike and scooter but we have no other toys in the house. It means everything is a breeze to clean up and he can actually help to tidy up at the end of the day. He likes to play with real life things, like build a den for a house and take things from the kitchen in to play at cooking. He'll happily play with some pots and pans, wooden spoons, some apples and oranges, monkey nuts, empty jars etc and pretend he's making dinner.

Go out as much as possible. Everyone is happier when you spend lots of time out in the fresh air.

Always stock the changing bag so you can grab it as you go out the door.

Put most of the toys away and rotate the ones which are 'out'.

Remove as much clutter from the house as possible.

Always have a charity bag on the go. As soon as anything is too small, not needed etc etc, put it in the bag and regularly take the bag to the charity shop.

Agree with @catsnore. Make it the first thing you do when you walk in the door. Stock the bag. Nappies. Snacks. Clean clothes. Never leave it till tomorrow.

Always work ahead when you can. Silly things. Put dirty clothes straight in washer. Have powder in. Same with dishwasher.

Find a show you love and save it for feedings in the middle of the night. My husband and I each found our own and would watch it on our phones with the brightness down and airpods as to not bother the baby. It helped sooo much! It made waking up for night feedings less stressful as you're looking forward to finding out what happens next, or at least have something to keep you sane while you're exhausted.

If you're pumping, try to get one that doesn't need to be plugged in. You can sit anywhere or move around and it makes it easier to do it as needed, rather than having to be attached to the wall/outlet.

Whatever's happening always make sure to cut yourself some slack! It's okay to pop the tv on and take a breather or grab dinner from McDonald's every now and then. It doesn't mean it's a forever thing, it's a getting through the day thing. And some days it's more important to make it through the day than it is to think big picture 😌 You can always get back to being the perfect parent or perfect family another day!

Ooh, great thread! I love a ‘hack’. My biggest win has been automating as much as possible - deliveries for toilet roll, nappies, laundry tablets etc, and meal boxes (like HelloFresh) which gets rid of the constant stress of meal planning and shopping. I naturally incline to ‘get ahead’ a bit like @haje says. BUT! For my particular personality it’s actually an expression of anxiety, always racing against myself! So with second child now here I’m actually experimenting with lowering my expectations, allowing for ‘failures’ and doing less. It’s uncomfortable but interesting! So, I guess the hack is to let things go 😂

Don't expect yourself to change and work when you work best.

I'm not a morning person, never have been and having a child hasn't changed that. We are screwed if I've left everything until morning, I have to sort things out for the week on a Sunday evening and for the day the night before.

Online shopping is a lifesaver for us and we make use of subscribe and save on Amazon for some essentials too - my daughters multi vitamins arrive once a month for example and her hair conditioner every 2 months. It reduces my mental load

Yy to fewer toys. But other than that - there are no hacks, it’s difficult, it gets easier.