My Daily Routine as a Stay at Home Mom (with school-age kids)

Today I’m sharing my daily routine as a stay at home mom of 3 school-aged kids! From drop-off to pick-up and everything in between. 

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You’re a stay at home mom, and your last child goes to school – now what?

Everybody seems to be asking:

“What are you going to do all day?”

“Are you going back to work?”

And to be honest, after a decade of being at home with my kids, I’m pretty used to hearing those questions (and I’m sure you are too!)

In case no one has told you, let me be the first to say: it’s okay to continue to be a stay at home mom, even when your last child starts school full-time. 

Just because the kids are in school, does not mean you need to “go back to work.” 

If your finances allow it, and you want to continue to stay home, there’s nothing wrong with that. 

The benefits of staying home continue on, even with kids in school:

• I am able to drop them off and pick them up
• We do not have family nearby to help
• I am able to be at home when each kid stays home sick
• And I am able to continue to take care of our family’s needs (which don’t stop just because the kids are in school)

Me being available as the “point person” in our family has been incredibly helpful in this season of motherhood, and (if you’re reading this), I’m assuming you feel the same!

Considering that our family lives very far from us, and my husband works full-time, plus he is back in school, trying to manage 2 full-time working-in-person parents, plus 3 kids and their busy schedules is simply not in the cards for us.

Of course I am also able to run my website and business on the side and contribute financially, which helps as well, and I feel that’s an important point to share. 

So if anything, what I hope you take away from this post, aside from the daily routine, is this: the work you’re doing matters and is important. 

There is something to be said for continuing to manage the home as a full-time job, and I think that needs to be celebrated and more widely accepted.

Being a stay at home mom is work, and it’s a job, whether the kids are home or at school, and that doesn’t get talked about often enough. 

So drop the mom guilt, and let’s do this! 

These are the produce saver containers I’ve used for years (pictured above).

What do stay at home moms do when kids go to school?

This is a loaded question, right 😀

I think the real question is, what don’t we do? 

Today I’m going to walk you step by step through my Daily Routine, home management systems, and other little tips that just make stay at home mom life easier. 

What we’re going to cover in this post:

1. Time blocking & weekly planning
2. Home management systems
3. Managing taskload 
4. Building in downtime 
5. Rhythms & routines

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My Daily Routine as a Stay at Home Mom with (school-age kids)

• Let’s take a look at a typical daily routine for stay at home moms using time-blocking.
• This method allows us to look at our day in “chunks” or blocks, which helps inform what needs to happen in each block.
• We all have different timing in our days, with different school times, errands, appointments, etc.
• So by using blocks, we can build our day by assigning specific tasks within each block.

Morning Drop-Off Block

If your kids take the bus to school, you can adjust this accordingly.

Personally I only get up about 10-15 minutes before my kids just to get myself dressed, put my contacts in, etc. 

I really wish I was a 5 AM person, but that’s just not for me. 

Here is the basic order of events for this block:

• Wake up and get ready
• Get the kids up and dressed
• Start laundry (see note below)
• Breakfast (grab my weekday breakfast ideas here)
• Finish packing lunches
• Pack up backpacks
• Leave for school 

Notes:

• Your level of involvement in the steps above obviously depends on the ages of your kids (and how quickly you have to go!)
• I like to pack lunches the night before and just add the crunchy part (like pretzels) in the morning
• Of course if you’re able to wake up earlier than everyone, that definitely gives you some peace and a jumpstart on the day – but if, like me, you only wake up even 10 minutes earlier, it’s better than nothing! 
• Laundry: this year we have developed a new daily laundry routine that fits better with our current schedule. Before leaving for work, my husband starts the washing machine, and when I get back from dropping off the kids, I switch it to the dryer. At night as part of our bedtime routine, we separate the laundry and the kids put their piles away. 

Over the years I have lived many different “laundry lives” – and my biggest takeaway is this: laundry in motion, stays in motion.

As crazy as it may sound, run the washer and dryer every day (and get the clothes put away daily).

It’s much easier to put away “one days” worth of laundry, rather than several days of piled up laundry. 

Keep the laundry cycle in motion, and follow a predictable schedule and you’ll find it’s really one less thing to think about. 

This is the grocery list / meal planner pad I use!

Admin Task Block

After the kids are dropped off, I immediately turn on my podcast and continue to drink my hot coffee from my Yeti mug on the drive home. 

This window of time is when I like to accomplish my “well I’m already in the car” tasks. 

This might include:

• Stopping for gas
• Swinging by the grocery store (Monday morning has become my new favorite shopping time – empty store, no kids with me, start off the week with a full fridge)
• Popping into Michael’s or Dollar Tree if the kids need supplies for a project or their teachers need something
• Dropping off bags at Goodwill (from all of my decluttering)
• Getting Starbucks

This is also a great time to meet up with another mom friend in the same phase of life and get breakfast, go for a walk or play tennis – sounds cliche, but, you’re allowed to live your life! 

Once I get home, my non-negotiables are:

• Throw the laundry in the dryer
• Clean off the counter from breakfast
• Walk the dogs/do a quick workout
• Make myself a real breakfast

If you are in the habit of getting up earlier, you can of course switch this around and do your workout first thing in the morning; this is just what works for me. 

I also let the dogs out back every morning before we leave, but I also like to take them on a long walk once I’m home so that they’ll relax most of the day. 

As far as admin tasks…

After breakfast, or typically while I’m eating, this is when I accomplish my main “high priority tasks”:

• Schedule/manage appointments
• Send emails
• Pay bills/balance budget
• Any miscellaneous home-related tasks

In the morning before the day gets away from me, I like to check off my top 3 high priority tasks. 

For example:

• Call pest control guy
• Send piano teacher an email
• Pay water bill

By identifying (and writing down) your top 3 tasks, you’re more likely to complete them and stop thinking about them nonstop. 

That’s also why I love using this weekly planner because it has space at the top of each day to write down your top 3. 

• Additionally, if you have a side-hustle, part-time job or anything else you’re working on, this “admin block” is a great time to get it done!
• Maybe you’re committed to decluttering and selling on Facebook Marketplace to earn extra money. 
• Be specific about your tasks! Write down: post 3 Marketplace listings daily and cross off as you go.

Mid-Day Reset

Alright, after working out, making phone calls, paying bills and doing various other admin things, it’s usually about lunchtime, or when the time starts moving faster toward school pickup!

During this mid-day block, I will typically:

• Make lunch for myself
• Load up the dishwasher from breakfast and lunch
• Pack after school snacks (if it’s an activity day)
• Prep dinner, if needed

Then, in the time before I leave for pickup, I make sure to give myself time to wrap things up, or a “buffer” before leaving the house.

We all hate feeling rushed, and I also don’t want to be working or cleaning right up until leaving the house.

1. So the last 30 to 45 minutes before pick-up, I stop whatever I’m doing and take a quick walk outside, make an iced coffee, read my book, do a quick reset of the kids’ rooms (AKA declutter when no one’s home), etc. 
2. It’s kind of like “me time” but maybe a little more productive.
3. I always think to myself: what do I need to accomplish now, so that when I walk in the door with the kids I’m not still trying to do XYZ from earlier, while also managing everything after school. 

You could of course watch TV, go grab lunch or a Starbucks iced coffee, walk around HomeGoods, whatever offers you a good reset before picking up the kids. 

And don’t feel guilty about taking “me time” at any point in your day as a stay at home mom.

This is the only 24/7 job and you need to be focused and clear-headed and yes, that means taking a break from the nonstop of it all, and letting yourself just be. 

Afternoon Block

On my way to pick up the kids from school I always listen to a podcast, bring an iced coffee, a little treat (like an Unreal peanut butter cup!), or a mom snack box if I wasn’t hungry for a full lunch. 

Some days we have activities right after school, and others we just go right home. 

Once we arrive home, a couple of things need to happen:

• Backpacks get emptied & hung up
• Papers from school go in my Command Center (see below)
• Lunchboxes get emptied and put into the sink
• Lunch bags go back into the cabinet, and ice packs back into the freezer

Love using this mini stainless steel snack box for my car line pickup snack.

Then the kids can get a snack, watch TV, play outside, and if they have homework that day I have them sit at the kitchen counter with their snack. 

After the initial after school cleanup and reset, I start cooking dinner.

Typically at this point, the kids are watching TV or playing.

Since we only have 1 TV in the house and 3 kids, our screentime plan is that each kid “gets one pick” – this has worked for us and I’ll continue to do it until it doesn’t work anymore. 

After this, we move into the dinner & bedtime block

This time of day can be so different for all of us.

It depends on what time your partner gets home from work, and if your kids have activities at night.

Generally our routine looks like:

• Dinner
• Clean up
• Walk the dogs
• Baths/showers
• Read
• Bed

I also have a full, detailed post on my Nightly Reset Routine that covers everything post-dinnertime. 

Weekly Planning 

Best for last!

Without my planner I’d be lost.

If you’ve tried using a paper planner before and had a hard time sticking with it, it’s probably helpful to try a different layout or system for using it.

And if you feel like you just can’t find a layout you like, try a Bullet Journal where you can design your own layout (sample idea shown below).

Left: weekly planner pad & command center | right: bullet journal supplies

Stay at Home Mom Planner tips:

1. Find a brand you enjoy using (I use this one)
2. If you’ve struggled with a horizontal planner, try a vertical or checklist layout
3. Leave your planner open on the counter where you’ll see it every day (rather than tucked away in a drawer)
4. Organize into sections such as: meal plan, appointments/events, home tasks, etc. 

We go in depth with setting up your planner and using it as the center of your home management system in my Stay at Home Mom Course, but here are a few tips to help you make the most of it:

1. Pick your top 3 high priority tasks for the day 
2. Break up your planner day into 3 sections: morning, afternoon, night
3. Use a highlighter to identify high priority tasks (like an important phone call or appointment)
4. Try a different color highlighter for certain categories or family member (sounds extra but can help depending on how busy things are!)
5. Write out your weekly meal plan in your planner or on a tear-out menu for the fridge

Here’s a look at my Daily Routine as a Stay at Home Mom (with kids in school) as just the time blocks:

What to Read Next

• My Sunday Meal Prep Plan
• Stay at Home Mom Morning Routine
• 7 Ways to Make Being a SAHM Easier
• How to Manage a Baby & Toddler as a SAHM
• My Sunday Reset Routine

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