Self Care for Stay at Home Moms

Are you a mom struggling to stay at home? Self care for stay at home moms is vitally important to your success! Get self care ideas and other stay at home mom tips here.

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We moms spend a whole lot of time caring for everyone around us. What typically happens is we spend so much time caring for others that we forget to care for ourselves. Eventually, we are trying to pour from an empty vessel because we don’t take the time to fill ourselves up physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This is why self-care is a must, especially for stay at home moms.

Favorite Stay at Home Mom T’s

Self Care for Stay at Home Moms

Sometimes we think of self care as a long weekend or a night out or something that would take lots of planning and arranging child care. Those things are absolutely great when you can get them, but the most important self care practices are those you do on a daily basis. They are small actions that take no more than a few minutes, but they have a huge impact on your mind set and the way you show up as a mom.

20 Small Ways to Practice Self Care as a Stay at Home Mom in 15 Minutes or Less

Take a Short Break

Take just five minutes and walk away from all that is going on in your day. You can do this when your children are napping or, you can set a timer and ask them to play quietly for just a few minutes without you. Ask older children to monitor the younger children until the timer goes off. If you have only smaller children, make sure they are safely secured in a

Read a Book for 15 Minutes

Even if you are not a reader, reading a book will be good for you. The act of reading causes your mind to focus on the words instead of on what is going on around you. If you like to read, you can find more ways moms can make time for reading here.

Choose a Healthy Snack

Take time to eat a snack during the day. Sometimes our mom diet consists of the crumbs and leftovers off our kids’ plates. Plan time for you to have a snack, even if it’s with the kids but skip the goldfish crackers and cheerios, and have a healthy snack that you have chosen just for you. Choose something that will make you feel good and feel like you are taking care of you! Find Weight Loss Tips for Stay at Home Moms here.

Go Outside

Fresh air can do a lot to change our mood and help us refocus. If you can go outside alone, that’s perfect. If you have to take your children with you, do so, but make it as stress free on yourself as possible.

Do Five Minutes of Exercise

Doing three short five minute bursts of exercise during the day may not seem like much, but it adds up to 15 minutes of intentional movement. That is fifteen minutes more than nothing. You will be surprised at how much good just 15 minutes of exercise will do. If you are looking for other ways to exercise and loose weight as a stay at home mom, read this post.

Change the Scenery

Sometimes changing the scenery can bring your mind back into focus. Walk away from the house if it is overwhelming you. If it’s raining, take the kids to play in a different room. Do school outside if you homeschool. Bring everyone to your room and curl up on the bed to read a book.

Write in a Journal

Journaling is an amazing way to change your focus and clear your mind for just a few minutes. Set a timer and chose a journal topic to free write about for the set time.

Rub Lotion on Your Feet or Hands

Rubbing lotion on your hands hand feet is an amazing way to destress. Not only are you giving yourself a short massage, you can choose a lotion scent that will invigorate you. Doing something pampering for yourself also helps to change your mindset. It makes your brain think, “I am a person who takes care of myself.”

Use some Essential Oils

Many Essential Oils can have a calming effect. You can diffuse them throughout your day or apply them for various effects such as calming, hormone management, and other health benefits.

Learn to Breathe

I never thought of breathing as a method of self care, but I have recently learned that how we breath effects every body system we have. If are interested in breath work and how it can help you, I highly recommend James Nestor’s book Breath. You can find it here.

Take a Shower

Taking a shower is not only relaxing, but it can be detoxifying as well for your skin which can help your mood.

Go to Bed 15 Minutes Early

Getting plenty of sleep is one of the most important self care practices we can have as moms. Our bodies need sleep to function well the next day. Our bodies also need sleep for cellular repair to keep us in good health. It is always better to go to bed fifteen minutes earlier than to hit the snooze button for fifteen minutes in the morning.

Stretch for 5 Minutes

I like to spend the first five minutes I am awake stretching. If you can do this in bed without falling asleep, great. If not, get up on the floor to stretch. This wakes our muscles and begins the blood flow. You can actually use some targeted stretching techniques for any time of day for calming.

Declutter One Small Area

Decluttering one small area of your house like a drawer or maybe your bedside table will not only give you a sense of accomplishment, but it will provide some visual peace whenever you look at that area.

Write a Card to Someone

Writing a card is a simple act of kindness toward someone else that can be completed in 15 minutes or less. Doing something kind for someone else often gives us a sense of satisfaction.

Thought Download

Doing a thought download allows you to get all of your thoughts, the good and the bad out on paper where you can look at them objectively now or at another time. Many times, just the act of writing down our thoughts helps us to sort through them enough that it is relieving in many ways.

Listen to a Short Encouraging Podcast

Listening to a short but encouraging podcast for moms can often be the daily pick me up we need to keep on going and refocus. It always makes me feel better to know I have listened to something just for me.

Develop a Bedtime Routine

Developing a bedtime routine can be just as important for us moms as it is for babies. If we train our bodies and our minds with the same routine every night before bed, it can make going to sleep easier. It is also another 5 to 15 minutes just for you. If you need some help developing a routine, read this post about Stay at Home Mom Night Routines to get some ideas.

Develop a Morning Routine

Even if it’s only fifteen minutes, the first fifteen minutes of your day can set the tone for the rest of your day. In those fifteen minutes you can defeat the “I never have time for me” mentality. If you need ideas for your morning routine, read this post about How to Create a Morning Routine for Stay-at-Home Moms.

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