How I Stay Organised as a Working Single Mum (Well, Most of the Time)
Because apparently, children expect feeding every single day.
I'm a single mum. I work full-time. I have a house to run, children to organise, bills to pay, meals to make, washing that seems to reproduce overnight, and approximately 4,000 things floating around in my head at any given moment.
And I've realised something about myself.
If I'm not organised, everything falls apart.
Not in a dramatic, the-house-is-on-fire sort of way. More in a "Why is there no food in the fridge, where's the school uniform, and how is it already 5pm?" sort of way.
For years, I've told myself I'll remember things.
Spoiler alert: I won't.
And I've finally accepted that my brain is not a filing cabinet. It's more like one of those kitchen junk drawers where you shove everything and hope for the best.
The danger of having a day off
Here's something I've discovered about myself.
If I wake up without a plan, I am absolutely capable of achieving nothing for an entire day.
I'll sit on the sofa, pick up my phone for a quick five-minute scroll, and suddenly I'm 47 videos deep into watching people organise their kitchen cupboards.
Meanwhile, my own kitchen cupboards look like they've been burgled.
Before I know it, it's nearly teatime, the kids are asking what's for dinner, there's nothing defrosted, and I've somehow wasted one of my precious days off.
And the worst part?
I haven't even enjoyed doing nothing because I've spent the whole day thinking about everything I should be doing.
Surely I can't be the only one?
That's why I've learnt that, for me, being organised isn't about having a perfect home or becoming one of those people who get up at 5am to journal.
Absolutely not. I'm staying in bed for as long as humanly possible.
It's about having a plan so I don't have to constantly think about the plan.
My Thursday night ritual (not as exciting as it sounds)
I work Monday to Thursday, which means Friday is my day off.
Now, you'd think I'd spend Friday relaxing, going for coffee or generally enjoying a peaceful child-free house.
Sometimes I do.
But Friday is also my opportunity to get things done without dragging the kids along.
And anyone who's ever taken children food shopping at the weekend knows exactly why that matters.
"Can we get this?"
"How much longer?"
"I'm hungry."
"Why do we have to go to Aldi?"
Because, my darling children, apparently we're all rather attached to eating.
So, every Thursday evening, I sit down and plan our meals.
I work out what we're having for dinner, what we already have in the cupboards and what needs going on the shopping list.
Then on Friday, while the kids are at school, I head to Aldi.
On my own.
In peace.
Without having to negotiate the purchase of seventeen snacks that weren't on the list.
It's a small routine, but honestly, it makes such a difference.
By Friday afternoon, the food shopping is done, the meals are planned, and I've removed one of the biggest daily headaches for the week ahead.
The dreaded "What's for dinner?"
I don't know why deciding what to have for dinner is so exhausting, but it is.
You make hundreds of decisions every day, then someone asks what's for dinner and suddenly your brain forgets every meal you've ever cooked.
"What do you fancy?"
"Don't know."
"Pasta?"
"No."
"Chicken?"
"No."
Right. Excellent. That's helpful.
This is exactly why I created What's for Dinner?, one of my digital planners at Useful Little Studio.
It's a four-week meal planner that helps you choose dinners from meals your family actually eats, keep track of your favourites and organise your shopping.
And for those of us who have recipes saved in seventeen different places, there's also Our Family Favourites, which keeps your recipes together and helps with weekly planning and ingredient shopping lists.
Neither product is about becoming a professional chef.
It's about getting to 5pm and already knowing what's happening.
Which, in my house, is practically a luxury.
Lists are the only reason I get anything done
I've accepted that I am a list person.
Not necessarily a complete everything on the list person.
Let's not get carried away.
But if I don't write down what needs doing, I will either forget it or keep putting it off because I don't know where to start.
The trick I've found is to stop making enormous lists.
Because writing "sort the house" on a to-do list is ridiculous.
What does that even mean?
Am I clearing one cupboard or emptying the loft? How long have I got? Do I need a skip?
No wonder I end up back on the sofa.
Now I'd much rather write something like "sort the kitchen junk drawer".
That's manageable.
I can do that in fifteen minutes, tick it off and actually feel like I've achieved something.
And if I manage three little jobs? Even better.
That's the thinking behind A Little Less Stuff, my home decluttering and reset planner.
It's designed around small jobs, keeping track of what stays and what goes, and actually getting unwanted stuff out of the house.
Because moving a bag of clothes from the bedroom to the hallway isn't really decluttering, is it?
It's just giving the clutter a new address.
Here's your challenge if you're currently scrolling on the sofa
If you're reading this while looking around your house thinking about everything you should be doing, here's what I suggest.
Give yourself fifteen minutes.
Not the whole afternoon. Not an entire weekend.
Just fifteen minutes.
Pick one little job.
Clear the kitchen counter. Sort a drawer. Put the washing away.
Whatever it is, choose something you can actually finish.
Put your phone down, get it done, then sit back down if you want to.
Start with one small thing
If you're feeling like there's always something you should be doing, don't try to organise your entire life in one evening.
Start with one thing.
Pick a day to plan your meals. Write down three jobs you'd like to get finished. Put school deadlines somewhere you'll actually look at them.
Find whatever works for you.
You don't need a perfect routine, a perfect house or a perfect family calendar.
You just need a way of making everyday life a little easier.
That's why I started Useful Little Studio.
Not because I've mastered being organised.
Quite the opposite.
I make practical tools for the everyday problems I know all too well, in the hope they make someone else's day a little easier too.
And I don't think getting organised should mean spending money before you've even started.
So alongside my full digital planners, I've created a growing collection of free resources for anyone who wants to give something a go.
Not ready for a full planner? Start with something free.
Take a look at my free downloads here.
Or explore my full range of planners and practical tools:
And if you take just one thing away from this blog, let it be this:
Plan the meals. Make the list.
Go to Aldi without the kids.
That last one alone is worth its weight in gold!
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