controlled chaos

During my maternity leave, I’ve been spending some time experimenting with things that help add more efficiency and joy to our family life — cheap thrills, you could say. The time has given me the gift of being more observant to what drives streamlined bed time routines, where household stress originates from, and so forth. Admittedly, I’ve been following Dana Mom to 4 on TikTok, who has shared some simple “Mom hacks” that I’ve slowly deployed. Some of which are so basic and brilliant. For example, why have I not thought of leaving the toothbrush and hairbrush downstairs for the morning school routine? It’s a simple strategy that saves me from yelling up the stairs nine times (or more) to brush said teeth and hair.

An accidental “hack” I’ve started is setting the family dinner table early on in the day, and even right after breakfast, an act I think I can sustain before zipping to the office or a morning workout when my daily demands pick up. It’s a very simple low lift practice that surprisingly makes me feel more mentally prepared for the early evening chaos and is one less thing to worry about in the midst of the witching hour. An added plus is that it’s simply delightful for my husband to come home to after his busy day (no, I am not calling myself a Trad Wife). We’re certainly not striving for perfection with the tablescape, there are some nights I’ve resorted to paper napkins (!) and I always use our daily dinnerware. However it’s amazing what it can do to be ready for action in this season of life — it’s a prepared shot of zen. My nearly six-year-old son has even created place cards for everyone he enjoys setting as part of this ritual. Now I just need to figure out how to get him to eat a piece of asparagus…