If you’ve been following a long recently you will know I have been struggling with “mum brain”.

Its like a foggy, mess of forgetfulness that gets worse with each child you have I think.

I am extremely forgetful, I feel constantly frazzled and overwhelmed with so many things to do but never enough time or my lack of memory that makes me forget what I had to do in the first place. None of this has been great for my anxiety which has been at a all time high.

Over the last few weeks I have been working on some simple things that have been helping me feel less stress and more in control and I want to share them with you.

9 Simple things to organise your “mum brain” plus a downloadable “mum brain daily planner”.

1. MAKE YOUR BEDS FIRST

   This is a simple thing we can all do to feel more organised. I always make sure the beds are made as soon as we are out of them. It’s simple and sounds like nothing but it feels like you set your day up right when you do it first up,

2. WRITE IT DOWN

   Don’t rely on your brain to remember because if you’re like me – it won’t. Have a note pad or your checklist handy (or use your notes on your phone if you’re more digital) and anytime something comes up or pops in to your head that you need or want, a good idea, appointments you make or anything else to do then jot it down and come back later to categorise into where and when you need to do it.

3. PRACTICE PUTTING THINGS IN A PLACE

   I can’t even tell you how many times I cant find my phone, my wallet, my keys because I sit them down and forget where. I have been practicing making sure these important items have specific spots I put them down around the house. For my phone for example I have places chargers in key areas around the house so when I put my phone down I put it on one of them first. My bag is in a specific cupboard and my keys are in a specific bowl.

4. KEEP THE CLUTTER ZONES CLUTTER FREE

   Theres always places that tend to attract clutter – the kitchen bench, the hall way stand, entry way table, your side table etc. Keeping these cleared and organised daily can help to feel less overwhelmed and help you to lose less.

5. MEAL PREP

   Meal prepping especially your lunches saves so much time and makes life so much more simple plus means Mama is well nourished which can also reduce that brain fog and forgetfulness. We meal prep on Sunday evenings for our lunches and again on Wednesday night if we make something we don’t want to freeze. I am always sharing my meal prep on my insta so keep an eye out.

   The other thing we have been doing is HELLO FRESH meal kits which means less time meal planning and less groceries each week.

6. CREATE DAILY TASKS LISTS

   This one has been the biggest key for me. I have always had a daily work task list but since I have been so overwhelmed I have started writing out and catagorising everything I need to get done for myself, the kids, work and home/errands as well as tracking Remi’s nap times (as she is a cat napper Im trying to help her sleep more in the day) and her feed times for both solids and breastfeeding so I can keep track of how much she is eating and what foods she’s trying.

   I promised I would share my checklist once I got it all streamlined so HERE IT IS:

   DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE CHECKLIST HERE

7. GO TO BED ORGANISED

Simply sorting out and organising yourself for the next morning before you go to bed at night is a HUGE help to keeping you organised and less overwhelmed for the day. Before I go to bed at night I have a checklist of things I need to do before I lay down to sleep some of these include:

• Checking the dishwasher – either packing or unpacking

• Cleaning the kitchen

• Packing daycare bag

• Packing Nappy Bag

• Taking my supplements

• Checking washing machine to make sure I haven’t left washed clothes in there wet

• Tidying the living space

• Writing my to do lists for the next day

• Packing lunches/snacks for Millie

8. CLEAR WORKSPACE

Having a clear workspace can help with your productivity so much. I like to have just my note pad, checklist and monthly desk planner on my desk as well as a phone charger. Cluttered desks mean cluttered thoughts and less productivity. Ill share my workspace at another time but if yours is cluttered I highly recommend clearing it NOW!

9. DELEGATING AND OUTSOURCING

I definitely feel Mums are the worst at this because we want to do it all but outsourcing some help and delegating tasks to other family members can reduce the mental load and stress massively. Some ideas include hiring a cleaner once a fortnight, asking your husband or partner to take over certain home chores, giving the kids chores to complete, paying someone to do your ironing if you can’t get on top of it, hiring a gardener, ordering your groceries online or click and collect, ordering in ready made meals, hiring a baby sitter so you can get some work done if you work from home or hiring a VA or PA for a few hours per week.

SOME OTHER THINGS IM WORKING ON….

Filing important documents and receipts digitally by using pics and storing on computer, unsubscribing from useless emails, decluttering my wardrobe of things I no longer wear, decluttering the kids toys and introducing toy rotation. All these I will cover in another blog post or two later.