How to Manage Chores and Still Run a Booming Home Business - Twins Mommy (2024)

Let’s get real here.

If you’re a mom who works from home and have small children, it’s hard getting all those daily and menial chores done, right?

I betcha you’re reading this and you have a load of dishes to put away. Or, you have dirty dishes in the sink from last night that need to get washed.

Every day chores pile up and for many of us, it’s up to the moms to take care of it. No one gets why your house is a wreck when you stay home all day.

You’re mommy friends look at you funny; your sister tsk-tsk when she sees your living room.

I don’t know about you, but having twins and running a home based business doesn’t leave much room to do chores.

So, what do you do?

I’ve been working at home for almost two years now, and have finally got my act together (well mostly. I’m still working on the whole time management thing).

My house doesn’t look like a day care anymore and I don’t have piles of laundry to put away!

Mamas, when that day happened, I smiled on the inside. If you’re struggling getting chores done while having to handle clients or blogging, here’s what I do to have a clutter-free home.

If you’re a stay-at-home-mom and want to start a blog I have an easy step-by-step tutorial on how to start a blog using SiteGround!

Before we get into the post, I’ve got a checklist to declutter your home and business to help you start using some of these tips from this post today!

Create a System

Now, I’m not one for to-do lists (I tried that and I couldn’t get it to work long term). I prefer checklists, goals and systems. If you can create a system that helps you stay on top of your tasks for the day, you won’t need to-do lists anymore.

For me, I have four systems in place:

• Morning system
• Upstairs system
• Downstairs system
• Evening system

Let’s go a little deeper:

1. Morning system

What does your morning look like? For me, I roll out of bed like a zombie and guzzle my first cup of coffee – while my twins fight over a fishing rod and scream “mommy” about a bazillion times.

Every. Morning. Without. Fail.

But, once I have my power juice in me – coffee – I begin my system. I check my email and respond to time-sensitive emails. I flag emails that I need to be dealt with later that day.

I then block out a time to check social media and update my profiles. From there I shut it down and focus on the house.

I vacuum and sweep; clean up the toys and make breakfast. While the kids eat, I:

• Empty the dishwasher
• Load up the dishwasher and run a load

After the kids eat, I change them and then I:

• Fold one load of laundry OR clean a bathroom
• Do kid-friendly activity

As long as I can do all these tasks, my day can run smoother. But, I’ve been known to “forget” to wash a load of dishes and that puts me back for three days (yes, we run the dishwasher hella lot).

But, having a system is helping me stay on top of my morning chores.

2. Upstairs System

I try to do one “spring cleaning” or bigger task upstairs. This can be house focused or business focused. Some tasks I’ve tackled so far include:

• Store clothes that don’t fit twins anymore
• Organize the pantry in the kitchen
• Organize the linen closet
• Sorted my inbox
• Catalogued my projects on my project management sheet
• Washed bed sheets

I find that if I do one big task a day or every other day, I don’t get bogged down with disorganization and clutter.

My upstairs system does frequently take a break when life gets in the say – appointments, exercising, having fun outside – but it’s okay if I skip a week or more.

3. Downstairs System

I work on the downstairs system once or twice a week. Since my husband is the only one that works downstairs, there aren’t many tasks to keep up with. I typically vacuum, wipe down the bathroom, dust and stock up on extra groceries.

Now that it’s getting warmer, there’s other menial tasks like running the de-humidifier and opening up the blinds and windows for fresh air that I add to the checklist.

4. Evening System

As the day winds down, I focus on getting supper on the table. This is the time when I clean up the kitchen, put a load in and sweep the kitchen floor. If I’m not completely exhausted by this time – rare – I’ll shake the rugs or organize the boot mat and coat hooks.

But, usually, I’m pretty tired and just like to relax and play games with the twins.

What I try to do is to find a flow and system for parts of my house to times within a day. If I can break up my day this way, I can see what needs to be done and it no longer feels overwhelming.

Focus on Three Tasks Per Day

Within my systems I have several tasks I try to accomplish. I try to make sure to only do no more than three a day since that’s really all I have time for.

So I might pick: vacuum entire house, put away a load of laundry, dust upstairs. I try to figure this out in the morning or after the twins have breakfast.

As work-at-home moms, oftentimes business can eat away at your day. Emails to answer, having to do research for a blog post to do or checking Facebook (my guilty pleasure).

But, I don’t feel so guilty hopping on the computer once my three big tasks are accomplished. I can set up an activity for my twins (they are loving camping right now) and hop on to do some business work for 20 minutes.

Put Your Business on Auto Pilot

Okay, maybe you can’t do this completely, but there are ways to run your business without you having to be there.

One easy way is to schedule your social media posting. I use Tailwind and am loving it. It’s actually helping me grow my blog!

Other ways to automate your business is to:

• Create an autoresponder email message for new people who email you
• Pre-screen a client by asking certain questions – like budget – on your contact form. This eliminates follow-up questions that can take time out of your day.

• Outsource some of your work. Maybe you could benefit from a VA or content writer. They can handle your inbox, blog, or Facebook group for example. If it means you can focus on income generating tasks, then hiring help makes sense.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

I’m the first to admit that I suck at time management. It can be 5 o’clock and I have no idea what to cook for dinner.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t have a clutter-free home! My twins are getting older and can now help me clean and learn to put their toys away.

It’s also a balancing act too. Some days I just can’t get all my chores in because I have client work I need to do. Other days, I can devote my morning to spring clean the closets and then take my twins to the park before lunch.

As long as there is a balance of some kind, don’t beat yourself up if your house is a mess for three days straight. It’s happened to me lots of times! 🙂

You too can be a BOSS MOM in your business and home!

Make sure to pick up the free checklist to declutter your home and business today.