Remember when rocking your weekend meant staying out late, sleeping in late and basically doing a whole lot of nothing? Me too. Sadly, that is not the kind of rocking I’m referring to. This is more like rocking your mom jeans, but minus the fashion faux pas. The following is a compilation of trial and error solutions I’ve come up with that help me enjoy the weekend while also making sure we are prepared to have a great week. This is also my go-to mom life hack when I take one look at my calendar for the week and realize there is no possible way to pull this off unless I clone myself.

Meal Plan and Prep

Oh how I wish I would’ve done this more when my kids were babies and toddlers, but better late than never. Trust me friends, meal prep and planning on the weekends is your ticket to avoiding the complete chaos that erupts during unhappy hour. The best thing I’ve ever done is plan out our meals for the entire week and post them on the fridge so I know what to set out ahead of time. You can read about my meal planning system. In the last few months, we’ve switched to digital with our meal planning. You can check out this fantastic app called Paprika that we love. There are many other digital meal planning options out there.

In addition to planning, weekend meal prep is a game changer. I like to throw scheduled meals together ahead of time and freeze them. Doing this with a friend can make the process faster and less painful. Simply prepping some of the ingredients in your weekly meals in advance saves time. Pre-cook meats and chop vegetables to store in Ziploc bags. When our weeks are super busy, I can grab a meal from the freezer and know that we’ll have a healthy meal every night.

Schedule Your Week 

I stayed home when my kids were little and I felt like I had a good handle on things. Our schedule was pretty basic. Gymboree and story time didn’t stress me out. Now that our kids are older, there are a lot of moving parts. I sit down every weekend and spend some time blocking out everything in my planner including work, volunteer work, housework, and the kids’ schedules.

Even though those items are already in our shared digital calendars, I still need my planner to see where things overlap and to know when I’m going to need some backup or an alternate plan. It also helps me immensely if I write down fun outings or events so those don’t accidentally get squeezed out when the rubber meets the road. I personally love the Passion Planner that I’ve used for years. If you’re looking for other great planning tips, check out Brie’s article on Planning for Success.

Make Time for Rest

Weekend rest probably doesn’t look like it did before kids, but we can still find ways to restore our souls. While most of us don’t have the time or budget to indulge in elaborate self-care every weekend, we can make the most of the time we do have. Simple pleasures like reading a book, going for a walk or listening to an uplifting podcast, music or audiobook while we do tasks can offer a much-needed reprieve from the hectic pace of weekdays. Try designating one day of the weekend for rest and the other for work. Even a couple hours can make a big difference. If you haven’t yet, take a look at Elayne’s beautiful post with suggestions to Create Coziness of the Soul.

Make Time to Connect

The weekend was made for play. There’s no better use of our time then to reconnect with our spouses and our kids. Schedule something special with a child who could use some extra attention or hire a babysitter and go do something fun with your spouse. No matter how tired you are or how reluctant the kids are to see you go, getting out and spending time alone with your spouse is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your family. If you feel like you need some fresh ideas, take a look at these 20 Date Night Adventures in Colorado Springs. There’s something in there for everyone.

Tidy Up

Confession, I’d love to tell you that I’m one of those moms that can have fun all weekend and let the house go and it’s all good, but that would be a lie. Physical clutter is mental clutter to me and with four kids in the house all weekend the struggle is real. I don’t want to spend all day picking up, so we expect our kids to pick up after themselves. The rule in my house is if you’re not actively playing with it or using it, it needs to be put away. I make occasional exceptions for forts and elaborate games that would be difficult to recreate. I’m not totally heartless. If you’re not sure where to start with tidying up, Sarah has a great article on her Personal Quest To Live With Less.

In addition to clearing physical clutter, I like to use a small part of my weekend to get rid of actual mental clutter by checking off some of those small tasks that can get lost in the shuffle. Checking lunch accounts, getting a jump on homework, running errands, and going through my inbox all fall into this category. I notice when I don’t do these things on the weekends, I often feel behind during the week.

I’m looking forward to rocking my weekend old school when our kids leave the house in 9 years, but for now, this list helps me feel prepared for whatever the week may bring, focus on what matters and make time for the people I love best.

Do you have any ways you like to rock your weekend? I’d love to hear about them.