Micro Habits for Mums: Simple Habits That Make the Day Feel Easier
- Feb 7
- 10 min read
There’s this myth that “stay-at-home mum” means you’re… home… and therefore somehow relaxed?
LOL.
I’m home, yes — but I’m also running a house, planing meals (or at least deciding what we're going to eat and when), doing the invisible admin of family life, writing on this page and still working in our business. And while Leonardo has headed into full-time school this year (how?!), Massimo is still in my full-time care for the next two years… which means my day is basically a series of interruptions held together by snacks.
I’m not naturally an “on top of it” person (hello neurodivergence). I’m more of a “one small inconvenience away from spiralling” person. So I’ve built these micro-habits — tiny, low-effort things — that keep me steady. Not perfect. Not Instagram–worthy. Just enough structure to stop the day from swallowing me whole.
Here are the ones that genuinely keep my life in order.
I wake up before the kids (even if it’s not glamorous)
The boys’ alarms go off at 7:00am, and they’re rarely up before that (with the exeption of this morning — cue my giant sigh when I had moseyed into the kitchen at 6.10am, turned on the kettle to make my matcha, and BOOM... Leonardo walks into the kitchen rubbing his eyes).
So I try to get up an hour earlier.
Not to meditate in a linen robe while journalling my intentions (love that for other people). I get up early because it gives me a head start before the “Muuuum!” soundtrack begins.
Even 30–60 minutes of “no one needs anything from me” time can be the difference between:
starting the day calm-ish, or
starting the day already behind, already annoyed, already bargaining with the universe by 7:12am.
This isn’t about productivity. It’s about nervous system management. It’s about giving myself a tiny buffer so I’m not instantly reacting to everyone else’s needs.
Feet hit the floor = I don’t go back to bed (I make it, and get my sh*t into gear)
I don't know about you, but my morning wakeup's are not insta–worthy in the slightest.
I open my eyes, stretch a little under the comfort of my sheets and then plant my feet down to get up and out of bed (usually to run to the toilet – a little thanks to my boys for destroying my pelvic floor). After that point, I have two options;
Climb back into bed or
Get my butt into gear and start the day
And while the temptation of a warm comfy bed and an extra 20 minute of sleep is there... “Just lie down for a sec”... “You’ve earned it"... “You can start after one more scroll”... If I do go back in, it’s over. The bed wins. And suddenly I’m back in slow morning mode (which is nice on weekends, but on weekdays it’s a one-way ticket to chaos).
Instead, I make my bed straight away (so the tempation goes away – because who is messing up a pretty bed just to tuck back into it), go to the bathroom, wash my face, and get changed for the day.
It’s not a full transformation montage. It’s just a tiny signal to my brain: “We’re up. We’re moving. We’re doing the day.” And weirdly, that small sequence catapults me into better stead for the day – even when I’m tired, even when I’d rather not.
I do a “kitchen reset” at night (future me deserves rights)
I wan't to preface this by saying I was raised to be a "good little Italian girl" that can't go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink, however.... after having kids, that CBF feeling at the end of the day hits different.
It's the kind of exhaustion that makes me want to melt into the lounge straight after dinner and ignore everyone around me – all just to try and regain a little sense of self.
But the reality of that is, that if I give into that feeling, the next morning is a shit-show and I start the day on the back foot, already annoyed.
Now I try to do a kitchen reset as soon as we've eaten dinner, before we start to get the kids ready for bed. Every family member does their part and we smash it out together in less than 10 minutes;
plates brought up by the littles (then they go and play for a bit)
dishwasher loaded and put on
big items washed up, dried and put away (the ones that didn't fit into the dishwasher)
benches cleared
lunchboxes grouped together
sink not full of doom
Not because I’m a domestic goddess. Not because I'm a Super-mum. Because waking up to a semi-clear space makes the entire morning feel lighter. This is the habit that says: tomorrow can start gently.
And yes! You bet your butt that the first thing I do in the morning when I walk into the kitchen is make my coffee (or matcha when im in the mood) and empty the dishwasher for the day ahead.
This way you can make your breakfast and pack the lunchboxes (stacking the new dirty dishes as you go) head out the door and later, come back to a clean space afterwards. For me there's no better feeling (except maybe taking your bra off at the end of a long day).
I put one load of washing on early (so laundry doesn’t become a whole thing)
Laundry is sneaky. Ignore it for two days and suddenly it’s a physical manifestation of your mental load.
So I try to do this: one load early.
Not “wash, dry, fold, iron, put away everything.” Just start the cycle – Because once it’s running, I’ve already won half the battle.
One load. Early. That’s it. It's also helps get things going – as once I've got the wheels in motion – I end up putting the load that's just finished in the dryer (or hanging them), and then adding another load in the washer (while im there) and before I've realised it... that laudry pile has significantly reduced and we've all got clean socks and jocks.
The magic pairing of the 10-minute tidy and my ONE RULE... Don't put it down, put it away.
I’m not here to pretend my house stays tidy. I have children. Real ones. With sticky hands and big emotions.
But I swear a 10-minute tidy is magic.
Not a deep clean. Not “organise the pantry.” Just the visual stuff in the most used spaces that makes your brain feel noisy:
toys into a basket (or in our case the playroom – our dedicated play space where toys are contained)
cushions back on the couch (with a little fluff and chop)
obvious rubbish gone, and
counters cleared of clutter
It’s the difference between “I can breathe in here” and “why does my environment feel like a threat?” 😅
Over time however I have come to learn that the magic hack isn't in the 10 minute tidy alone, but in the rule of... Dont put it down... Put it away.
The fastest way to add to your mental load is having visual clutter that creates a longer to-do list than necessary. The quickest way to combat this is to get into the habit of putting somehting away when you're finished with it... As soon as you've finished with it.
I can't tell you the amount of times I've thought to myself, "I wont put this away just yet becasue I might need it again"... and then procceded to never actually go back to that item. Then that item just sits there waiting to be put away for a week.
News flash - Nobody is gong to do it for you, so just do it the first time...
And if you happen to need that item again in the next five minutes (which is highly unlikely), you just go and grab it.... If you don't need it again – congratulations! You've already done the hard part.
Bonus points for putting things where they actually belong, instead of just shoving things in a hidden spot to get them out of your line-of-sight... You've just avoided emptying the house to find the screwdriver, or your keys!
I repeat meals (because decision fatigue is real)
If I had to decide what to cook from scratch every night, I would simply… not.
So I keep a rotation of “default meals” centred around the same shopping list (proteins, vegetables and dairy aisles with the addition of canned fish, legumes, bread and eggs) week-in-week-out, that I know my family will eat and I can make without thinking.
Nothing fancy. Just reliable:
a few chicken dishes
a few bbq options
a few mince meat options (a spag bol, a san choy bao or a taco/burrito night), and
toasties-for-dinner with a side of potato crisps for the nights that I'm trully wrecked (and before you judge, toasties and crisps was an option for late night room service from the hotel we stayed at in Melbourne, and we've kept it going every time we make toasties - try it for yourself and then comment)
Repeating meals doesn’t make you boring. It makes you efficient.
It also frees up brain space for literally everything else you’re carrying (and has been the catalyst for change with my 22kg and Ilija's 14kg weight loss journey thus far - they say abs are made in the kitchen and they're not wrong). So yeah, we might have the same salmon in the airfryer, chicken tenders on the bbq and some kind of minced meat dish each week, but my mind is clearer, our bodies are less tired and we genuinely feel good from the inside out.
We do a 'room-to-room' power hour on the weekend (before we sit and chill)
This is our weekend reset — the one that makes the rest of Saturday/Sunday feel easier.
We set a timer for an hour, crank the music loud, and go room-to-room like a little two-person cleaning tornado. The rule is simple: we don’t stop in one space to do a deep clean or get distracted — we just tick off what’s visible and make it better as we move.
Think:
toys back where they belong
Beds stripped and made again (not every weekend, I'm not that good)
cushions straightened, blankets folded
benches cleared
rubbish + random bits binned
a quick surface wipe where it needs it
Clothes that have been piling on the chair/ end of the bed in for a wash or put away (I am a serial culprit of trying on four different outfits before deciding what to wear and then my bed wears the failed options till I put them away).
Nothing fancy. Just the stuff that makes your brain feel calmer when you look around.
And honestly? It’s not just about the house. It’s the vibe.
We’re moving, we’re chatting, we’re debriefing the week that was, and casually plotting the weekend and the week ahead — like a mini “life meeting” but with bangers playing and our hands busy.
Then when we finally sit down to chill, it actually feels like a break… not just collapsing into mess and unfinished jobs. Also: it’s weirdly satisfying watching the house look 80% better in 60 minutes. Highly recommend.
I keep running lists (so my brain isn’t 43 tabs open)
The mental load isn’t just “things to do.” It’s remembering the things to do while also keeping everyone alive and emotionally regulated.
So I keep lists — the reminders app on my phone is loaded with them — and I dump everything in there:
groceries — Ilija and I have had this same shared list since 2018 and each week we untick what we need before heading out and then re-tick as we go down aisles. We both have access to it so if one needs to go without the other, we're on top of it.
the week's to do — calls to make, errands to run, stuff to organise
business tasks — marketing to schedule, invoices to go out, contractors to be paid... It really never ends... But ticking stuff off and having this list be shared between Ilija and I helps keep each other on track and accountable.
random “don’t forget” stuff (Inevitable).
Then I choose three priorities for the day.
Not twelve. Not a fantasy list. Three. Because the goal isn’t to do it all — it’s to do enough that the day feels successful.
This is my actual groceries list (that we've had since 2018). I recently updated it as you can now do sub–sections with apple reminders (sorry if you're some other brand) and it's now even more functional (which I love).
Shoes on = brain on (weird but effective)
This one is so annoying because it works.
If I stay in slippers or barefoot, my body thinks we’re still in lounge mode. The second I put shoes on (most of the time it's my sneakers or choc crocs), it’s like my brain goes: “Oh, we’re doing things today.”
It’s not about fashion. It’s about momentum.
Shoes on, quick jobs get done. Shoes off, I sit down “for a minute” and try to chill for five (while Massimo inevitably climbs something he shouldn’t be climbing).
I set phone boundaries that protect my mood
My phone is helpful. And also: it ruins my life if I let it.
So I try to have a couple of simple rules:
no doom-scrolling first thing (I’m fragile in the morning, ok)
notifications off (Texts and calls. Yes. Any other app. No. If it's urgent people will know how to reach me).
if I’m feeling bored or edgy, I don’t “just quickly check” social media — because that’s how my mood gets hijacked (I also don't use socials to 'research' becuase i end up rabbit-holing).
I have muted coloured apps – If you dont already know, apple can alow you to change the colour of your apps. Mine are all a soft muted chocolate brown that is very aestheticllay pleasing, but also is not distracting. I go in check my bits and get out with ease.
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is protect your nervous system from unnecessary input.
Less noise = easier day.
Why micro-habits work (especially for mums)
Our days are unpredictable — kids, schedules, moods, mess… all of it.
Micro-habits are little anchors. They’re quick, repeatable actions that keep the day feeling lighter and more organised, even when it’s busy.
You don’t need a perfect routine. You just need a few reliable defaults that help you feel steady.
And if you’re in a season where you’re parenting small kids while also running a household and trying to be a functioning adult? Small habits aren’t “small.” They’re the difference between coping and thriving.
The takeaway
These habits won’t give you a perfect life.But they will give you a smoother morning, a calmer environment, and fewer moments of “why do I feel like I’m drowning at 11am?”
They’re not rules. They’re supports.And you’re allowed to use supports.
Because you’re not lazy — you’re carrying a lot.
And you deserve an easier day.
💙💚
Mama Interrupted.
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