Must Have Self-Care Hacks for Busy Moms

This should also be titled: How to shake off the grumps, and quickly!

I have a lot of grumpy days.

A lot.

I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety for a long time. And even though I currently have a wonderful support system and lots of coping methods, I still have lots of days where I struggle. It’s not directly related to the state of our world today, but it’s for sure somewhat related. It seems like life is normally hard, and life right now is even harder.

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The truth is that life with littles just isn’t easy on any given day. Life with littles with the world shut down definitely isn’t any easier. And I’m not someone who tries to make things harder than they need to be. I mean, we entertain ourselves by grabbing a bite to eat in the Chick-Fil-A drive thru, coloring with daubers, and letting the baby sit on the table so she feels like a big girl.

I often read articles that say as parents who have primary care of our little ones we need to take time for self-care. I see it everywhere! But self-care, who has time for that?! When I do have a little time one of my favorite things to do for mental self care used to be to leave the kiddos with my husband for a couple of hours, go to a coffee shop, and write. But that’s not possible right now. Nothing is open.

And honestly there are days that are so busy and full of the needs of little human beings that it is NOT possible to take an hour long bath, watch my favorite movie, or even go to the bathroom alone. It’s exhausting and mentally taxing. Here’s a pic of my view while I use the restroom lately… I think she’s pretty cute!

One day (of many days) recently I was having a super grumpy attitude and I just couldn’t shake it. I reached out and asked some of my favorite moms what they do to do a quick mental reset. The answers I got were amazing! Most could be accomplished in just a few minutes, but all were great ways to change your mental state, shake off the grumps, and have a better outlook for the rest of the day. Because all their suggestions were so encouraging, I wanted to share some of them with you.

Here’s a list of a few I heard and I also threw in some of my personal favorite things to do!

Go outside (even in the winter), take some deep breaths, and talk to God.
Call your mom, your dad, or a friend, just to talk.
Reach out to someone in need. It’s amazing how getting out of self helps your mood.
Drop off flowers or a treat for a friend to brighten their day.
Light a candle, make a hot cup of tea or coffee, and take a few deep breaths while you sip your drink.
Listen to positive radio – you can find KLOVE and Wayfm plus a lot of other positive radio stations online.
Take a hot shower.
Go for a drive, even with the kids. Going to the car wash or something to change the scenery will help everyone’s mood.
Go for a drive by yourself in silence or with your favorite music playing (if there’s someone available to watch the kids).
Do your hair and/or makeup and put on actual clothes.
Get out of the house for a walk/bike ride.
Stop. Make yourself stop whatever it is you’re doing. Sometimes a pause and a deep breath can get your head back on straight!
Give each one of your kids and/or your significant other a hug for 1 full minute. No cheating! Long hugs are so good for the soul!
Organize or clean something that’s been weighing on your mind.
Drink a glass of milk and eat a Luna bar! Then throw the kids in the stroller and go for a walk!
Grab yourself a jar of Nutella and a spoon. No shame!
Jam out to some music from high school and dance around.
Play “Just Dance” or Youtube “Just Dance” videos if you don’t have the game and dance along. The kids might not even know you’re not actually playing.
Bake something yummy.
Buy something for yourself online (if it’s in the budget). I personally like to browse Jane, or Etsy.
Let yourself cry.
Go get outside in nature – go for a walk / run / hike.
Have a quick dance party with the kids before bedtime. It can be one song or you can go all out!
Take a quick Sonic run to grab your favorite drink. Or go grab a Starbucks latte with the kids and get them a free “whipped cup.”
Walk away from social media for a while.

This pic is from the good ol’ days when we used to take kids into stores just for fun! The twins and their cousin enjoying a Starbucks whipped cup.

And still pretty quick but if you have a little more time:

Take a bath and play a game on your phone or read a book. Here’s a list of Amazon Best Sellers.
Put on a movie for the kids and go read in your room.
Take a nap.
Listen to a favorite podcast if you have the time. Risen Motherhood or Journeywomen come highly recommended.
I also recommend making life as simple as possible for yourself on those hard days. One of the ways we do that is by doing free grocery pickup – or you can sign up for a free trial of Walmart+ and get free grocery delivery (plus more) for 2 weeks!

This list is obviously not all inclusive- and if you can think of something I should add let me know! I am going to refer back to this list when I can’t think of something positive to do to change my attitude, and I’m hoping you’ll be able to as well. Sometimes when I’m a grump, I need a little bit of help to remember what I could or should be doing instead of grumping around.

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