The Modern Mom
Think of this as your weekly break-room chat with your mom coworkers. Caroline covers what’s trending, what’s working in real life, and how modern moms are balancing ambition, chaos, and family, so you’ll never feel like you’re doing this mom thing alone.
The Modern Mom
THE SECRET TO STARTING ROUTINES THAT STICK
It’s your Monday Meeting, moms — clock in and lock in for a new week.
This week, Caroline breaks down the trending stories moms are talking about: Kim Kardashian’s $1 million beauty budget, the viral SKIMS “faux hair” debate, and why stroller workouts might actually be the smartest postpartum exercise.
Then, in this week’s Mom Hall of Fame, we’re drafting the ultimate fall sports mom must-haves, and wrapping up with a practical deep dive on how to finally start — or restart — your home routines without burning out by Wednesday.
Perfect for your Monday laundry reset or stroller walk, this episode is your dose of motivation, mom gossip, and mindset all in one.
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Find Caroline online:
Instagram: @themodernmompod and @caroline_dettman
Email: carolinethemodernmom@gmail.com
00:05
Good morning moms, today is October 20th, 2025. I am Caroline Dettman. This is The Modern Mom, and it is time to clock in and lock in for a fresh new week. But first, let's step into your Monday meeting. This is the break room brief, which is what we call Trending Topics to Chat About with the Mom Next to You in the Waiting Room at Dance. News in case you missed it while you were busy raising babies and shopping for milk. Kim Kardashian went on the Call Her Daddy podcast with Alex Cooper.
00:34
and admitted that she doesn't have, quote, a concept of what like certain simple things cost. She said, I'd like to know a little bit more about what like a milk carton costs. And it's kind of giving the episode of The Simple Life when Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie went shopping and were shocked that Walmart sold more than walls. Am I dating myself with that reference?
00:59
She also went on to say that she probably spends a million dollars per year on hair and makeup and no shade to Kim K, but I don't think I'm alone when I say that I am constantly buying my kids the next size up in shoes and clothing, but I myself am still wearing the same like three pairs of pants from 2019. So if Kim K can spend a million dollars a year on hair and makeup, I can probably buy myself a fourth pair of pants, maybe like as a reward for knowing how much carton of milk costs. Kim's
01:29
Skim's clothing line also released a new accessory recently, and I like to keep things carpool line friendly around here, but I'm going to paint you a picture. This accessory is called the faux hair micro string. It comes in 12 colors and it is being described on TikTok as stolen valor bush.
01:49
The most outrageous part to me is that each pair is $32 and that they are completely sold out. And in a little bit of a more safe for work topic to bring up with a new mom friend, is exercising with a stroller the perfect workout? A new study out of Penn State shows that using a jogging stroller reduces a vertical impact by eight to 17%.
02:12
which can help reduce common running injuries such as knee pain, stress fractures, and plantar fasciitis. This happens because we naturally lean into the handlebar as we move and distribute some of our weight onto the stroller. And a pelvic floor PT also weighed in on the study saying that leaning into the stroller engages the core and upper body, offering a full body workout while keeping your baby safe and nearby. So if you were listening to this while out on a stroller stroll,
02:39
know that you are doing the perfect thing for your body and your baby and therefore your family. And now that the fall weather is like solidly here, I feel like I could work in a little bit more walking to my daily routine. I used to walk like every morning before my kids woke up, but like I was talking about with Liz on last week's show, I feel like once something kind of leaves your routine, even if you only intend for it to be temporary, it's really hard to kind of bring it back.
03:06
I was walking every morning and then I stopped because it was just so darn hot this summer. And now that it's cool enough to be doing it again, I'm just not in the habit. It's not part of my morning routine right now. And I need to bring it back, but it's also getting darker in the mornings now. So I don't think walking outside is a viable option, but I do have a walking pad. And I feel like I could bring that out in the mornings and just get some steps in, get things moving before everyone's awake for the day.
03:35
Although once everyone's awake, everything, and I mean everything in my house is moving. I don't know. Another hot mom walk fad right now is of course the weighted vest. I feel like this was put into motion by Dr. Mary Claire Haver. And if you don't follow her, she is a women's health expert. I believe she's also an OBGYN and she advocates for the.
03:57
weighted vest walk, especially as moms enter their perimenopausal era. It's great for bone density and muscle strength, both of which you'll need to rely on as you age. But I feel like I do need to caveat that because my pelvic floor PT stressed and emphasized with me that you have to have a strong pelvic floor and core before you work into a weighted vest. So if you're listening to this and you're like early postpartum, don't immediately put on a weighted vest because you've heard it's good.
04:24
you need to work on the stability inside your core first and then you can add something. And also the perfect weighted vest is your baby. Baby wearing is great for core strength. And you don't have to worry about like increasing the weight because your baby will increase the weight for you. That might be the perfect exercise that keeps your body and your baby safe and nearby. And while we were on that topic in a now viral video, creators Maya and Hunter,
04:53
asked viewers to share whether or not they have their location shared with their partners and what generation they are, saying, everyone over the age of 35 thinks that sharing your location with your partner is a prison sentence, but everyone who's under 35 just thinks of it as a convenience or safety thing. Now this one I'm kind of curious about because my husband has an Android phone and I am Team Apple everything, so I don't even know if it's possible to share a location with him, but
05:22
Even if I could, I'm not like opposed to it. But literally tracking location between my husband and I is like, what room in the house are you in? Because he works from home, I'm always at home. And other than that, we go like three places. But I'm gonna put a poll on my Instagram stories. I want you to go over to Instagram. I'm caroline underscore detman or the modern mom pod. And I want to hear from you. I want to hear if you share your location with your spouse. And then on the following slide.
05:49
I'm gonna ask you what generation you are because if you're a millennial, I wanna know if you share your location or not. Because like, I think I have my mom's location and I don't think I have anyone else. And I feel like moms of older kids now are all using like Life360 or whatever to watch their kids. Like I know a couple moms whose oldest kids are teenagers and they use that to like watch their kids when they're out of the house. Just like, not like watch them, but just kind of keep tabs, make sure they are where they're supposed to be and they're not driving too fast.
06:18
And it just kind of makes me, I don't know, a little bit thankful that we didn't have that when we were growing up because there was no chance that if my parents life 360'd me that I would be where I said I was. um I'm sorry, I'm sorry to them, but ah I learned a lot of independence. I learned a lot of personal safety, I guess. I was accountable to myself and my own whereabouts and.
06:45
I just had to uh end up where I said I was for my parents to pick me up. So I don't know if being open to location sharing is truly a generational thing just because we didn't have it. And finally today, as a grand millennial slash coastal grand stan, I have to mention Diane Keaton's passing. Nancy Meyer's films, in my opinion, are some of the most cozy, comforting movies that there are. And Diane Keaton was in some of her best work.
07:13
in the Father of the Bride series and in Something's Gotta Give. Those movies plus the Family Stone and First Wives Club are just like the blueprint for comfort movies in my opinion. I know she lived a long and full life, but it is still a shame to see her pass. So this week when you find yourself faced with a situation where you're with a new mom, be it the waiting room at dancer gymnastics or at the playground or maybe even waiting for your kid at school pickup,
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Those are some great topics to strike up a conversation with them. Don't be afraid to reach out and start forming your own community. We always say we need the village, where is my village? And sometimes you've got to get that ball rolling. You've got to start making that village yourself. To have a village, you have to be a villager first. So take that step out of your comfort zone, put yourself out there and be a villager. And a great place to run into someone who might be your new mom BFF,
08:10
is at your kid's fall sports practice or game. And that leads us to today's Mom Hall of Fame, which is essentially a fantasy draft of all of our favorites of a certain category. Today's category is fall sports mom must haves. Leading off my top pick for this category would be a collapsible camp chair. You gotta have one unless you're like one of those moms who just stands the whole time and that's.
08:37
Kudos to you, but I need a comfy chair. I have just like the run of the mill standard folding camp chair, but if you are a cool mom, what I've noticed is that you'll need one of the rocking camp chairs. And they're made by the company GCI. I see them on Amazon and at Dick's Sporting Goods. I think I laughed a little bit the first time I saw one in action, but.
08:59
Now I'm super jealous because they look so comfortable. They even have ones that have like sunshades and they have ones that have like a side table that pops out. If you have one of those, I just know that you're a professional sports mom. I've even seen those little like pop tents, like they're made of like clear plastic, almost like the things that the people at the Chick-fil-A drive-through wear when it's raining. It's like a little plastic all weather tent that just
09:26
fits over just your chair and maybe like your bag to keep you warm and dry in case your kid is practicing in the rain. I don't have one of those. don't, this is probably gonna be one of those other things like the rocking camp chair that I look back on and like, man, that's something pretty cool. But right now I'm still in the chuckling about it phase. If you have one, please let me know if you like it because some things are just worth looking a little bit funny for the personal comfort and I'm getting to that.
09:55
point in life now where I really don't care what other people think about me as long as I'm happy with where I'm at. And one of those like solo sports mom tents might just be in my future. But if you do live somewhere that gets cold like I do, you might have my next pick, which would be something warm. I saw that Costco is carrying heated vests. They have like a little battery pack that you plug in in the pocket and you can switch it on. And then there's just like these panels on the front and the back that heat up to keep you warm.
10:25
And let me tell you, I am interested. Sign me up. I'd like, I would like a heated vest, please. I'm definitely getting one from my mom for Christmas because she's somebody who is always cold. And they were like under $50 at Costco. And that's like half of what they are charging on Amazon. So add to cart. I do also like my rechargeable hand warmers. Growing up, we always had the disposable hand warmers when we went skiing and like the disposable toe warmers, which are still, they're still like, don't, don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking those.
10:53
but the rechargeable ones, not only are they sustainable, but they get really warm and you can just pop them in your pocket and they do a really good job of like, you can keep your fingers warm in your pocket, but also the heat like seeps out of the pocket into your body. And it's a good thing to have for like those cold morning games. And my next pick is a big bag to hold everything. I know that a few years ago, the bog bag,
11:22
was like what everybody had for carrying their stuff around and I still use my bog bag religiously. Over the summer, I used it every single day, take my kids stuff to the pool. So in my family, we call it the pool bag, but I use it for just about everything. I load everything in it when I take my son to soccer. I don't use it for dance because I only have to bring like two things. But when you're carrying a bunch of stuff to and from sports, you really cannot beat a good bog bag. I know that the Yeti Camino was like,
11:51
coming for the bog bag amongst the cool moms recently, but I just, I can't get behind it. I can't get behind it. Is it insulated? Is it meant to be a cooler, but people are just using it as a sports bag? I like the bog bag because it's like a croc shoe material. Like if it gets wet or if it gets dirty, you can literally just hose it out, leave it out in the rain. It's like, it's pretty indestructible as far as I can tell. The Yeti Camino, I feel like,
12:21
Is it machine washable? Can you hose it out? I don't know. I feel like it's too delicate for this situation. Although I did see a mom with a Yeti Camino recently and she had a Labooboo on it and I was just like, I wanna be your friend, but I can't. I can't be your friend. I know that you are just way too cool for me. And regardless of the weather, you should always be wearing sunscreen. So my next pick is a good everyday.
12:47
In the summer and the spring, I wear the KOSAS Dream Beam sunscreen every single day as like face makeup, but even the light, they have two shades and even the lighter shade is too dark for me in the fall and the winter because I am just so pale. And also there's like a shimmer in it that I think is just too intense for the colder seasons. So this fall and winter, I'm gonna be trying the color science. I think it's the Flex sunscreen. I have seen everybody talking about this.
13:17
It's more opaque than the KOSAS and it comes in a wider variety of shades, which I think is going to work better for me. But it's got like SPF 50 and it's like the SPF plus plus whatever that's supposed to be like much better for your skin than regular sunscreen. I don't know. I need to look into it more obviously, but that is my pick. Sunscreen that doubles as face makeup, like a base, like a foundation and concealer.
13:43
Just put the one thing on, maybe like a little dab of Rare Beauty liquid blush on top of it, maybe a little mascara, you you're good to go. You don't need anything more than that. If you do, if you do go all out, you do full beat for your kid's soccer practice, I bow down to you. You are killing it, mom. But me, a little bit of sunscreen, maybe something with some color so that I don't look totally vampire-ish.
14:11
And I guess that's kind of on trend being before Halloween. Maybe I should lean in and embrace the paleness. Be a little seasonally appropriate. And my final pick is a wagon. We have the XL version of the Max Sports Wagon because it was at Costco and that will always be a running theme for me. If it's at Costco, I will get it at Costco. They do have the regular length Max Sports Wagon on Amazon, but
14:41
In my opinion, if you're getting a wagon, why limit yourself to the standard length? The XL version, I literally can put a cooler, my bog bag, and two, maybe three of my kids in a camp chair. You don't need more than that. I honestly don't even need to be pulling my kids in a wagon. They can walk, they're big, but they fit. And especially if I'm by myself with the kids, having a wagon that frees my hands up to do other things is just indispensable.
15:10
I used it in the summer to go to the pool, the splash pad, anything where I had more than just a bag to carry. And that way I'm not limiting myself to bringing just a sandwich for lunch for the kids. I can pack things in a cooler and I don't have to worry about lugging it around while I'm trying to keep up with the kids. I just have everything in the one wagon and that's it. Makes things a lot simpler.
15:35
And I guess as an honorable mention here, I will say that, and while we're on the topic of fall sports, this Mom Hack Monday is orange slices. I know that's gonna sound a little bit weird, but I have been cutting up orange slices to bring to my son's soccer game, and I have never seen a group of children eat a fruit so quickly. They are so stoked on these orange slices. And I cut them up initially thinking like, oh, this will be nice, but I don't think anyone's going to eat them.
16:05
They did, they devoured them. I have to add an extra orange every Saturday. I started out cutting up like maybe three or four oranges and now I'm cutting up like an entire bag from the grocery store and they eat them, they eat them. So I guess maybe if your kid is averse to eating fruits and vegetables but they play soccer, maybe introduce the orange slices to your kid's team and hope that the peer pressure will get them to eat oranges too but they're good for them.
16:31
the whole entire team devours them. If you wanna be a hero team mom, if you want your fruits and veggie averse child to eat a fruit or veggie, it's a win. But what I really wanted to talk to you about today is the number one question that I get. People see my online content about having routines surrounding taking care of my home and my family, and they want to know how do you get started? They'll say things to me like,
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these look great, but I don't know where to start. Or the age old having too many choices and just decision paralysis and not knowing where to begin having a routine. And whether that struggle comes from having ADHD like I do, or being overwhelmed with a to-do list a mile long, maybe you're not somebody who is just born organized and comes by it naturally, you don't have to have some sort of executive dysfunction to have a
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messy home or home life or just feel like you don't know where to get started having a routine. Like I mentioned, even if you do have a routine, once you get off of that routine, it's sometimes really hard to get started again. And the same can be said for starting from scratch. It's intimidating. You feel like, what if I do it wrong? know, like I go grocery shopping and do my errands on Thursday, but like, what if Wednesday work better for you? You know?
18:00
and you don't wanna get started with doing all your grocery shopping on Thursday if that's the wrong day for your routine. But my question to you is how will you know if you don't start? How do you know the things that you need to get done on Mondays if you don't make an attempt? Like I do a load of laundry every Monday. I don't do it over the weekend because I wanna spend time with my family. What if that doesn't work for you? What if you need to do your laundry on Saturdays because you work during the week?
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You don't know that until you've started. So if you are someone who needs to create from scratch a home system, a home routine, or if you just wanna revamp one that you already have, my number one tip for starting is obviously to just start, but spend that first week taking stock of what you are doing and know that
18:52
Everything is in flux, especially with growing kids. Fall sports are in full swing, so the things that I do on a daily basis are going to change when soccer ends. This is a season, everything changes, and you need to be open to the changes when they come. So spend that first week of trying a new routine. Don't take it too seriously. Feel it out, make sure it works for you, and know that
19:22
Nothing's set in stone. As long as the things that need to get done do get done, you're going to be fine. If you aren't planning on doing laundry on Wednesday, but you've got way too much laundry piled up to even consider waiting another day, do the laundry. Nothing is set in stone. You are the CEO of your home. You are the boss of your family.
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you set the tone for your home. You get to make these choices for your home routines. So after you've completed that first week of feeling things out, finding out what is a priority for you in your home, I would encourage you to sit down with a piece of paper and a pencil. You can do this like in your phone notes app, but if you're anything like me, you'll get a notification and you'll click through to it and suddenly you'll be five minutes removed from working on your routines. Just put the phone face down somewhere.
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get a piece of paper and a pencil and write down the things that you observed that you need to do on Monday. If you forget something and you remember it later, you can just go back and add it, but it's not a big deal. Just get down on the paper, the things that you need to get done on Monday in your home for the rest of your week to move smoothly. Now for me, because two of my kids are in school, Mondays are like literally my clock in, lock in for the week. I am CEO of my home and
20:41
when Monday comes around, my business starts. So the things on my Monday routine that are my non-negotiables have to get done are one load of clothes, laundry, because like I said, I don't do laundry over the weekend. It's not a priority for me. Priority is family time. And then I also on Mondays will tidy my house. I don't do this over the weekend. By Monday, my house usually looks like it. So full house tidy includes
21:10
dusting the surfaces, my high touch things get cleaned, like the windows. um My kids eat at the bar counter in my kitchen and there's a window right next to it and that's usually covered in finger smudges and we're gonna call it finger smudges. I know in my heart of hearts that it is probably like pancake syrup and something else, not just finger smudges. We're gonna call it finger smudges just for the sake of my sanity. That usually gets wiped down.
21:38
Same thing with my storm door glass window that gets wiped down as well. Bathroom mirrors get a wipe down from the accumulation of toothpaste and whatever else my kids are splashing on it during the week. The floors get cleaned very last, even though I know that as soon as everyone's home from school, they will be messy again. It's making a dent, as my mother would say. You make a dent in what needs to be done. We're not doing baseboards. Your mother-in-law is not coming over. No one's going to be examining the top of your bookcase.
22:08
We are just tidying on Monday. And again, this is what works for me. This might not work for you in your home. Your job is to figure out what does work for you on Monday. On Tuesdays, what works for me is I fill my gas tank all the way to the top. It doesn't matter if it's only halfway full. I like the security of having that. While I'm at the gas station at a minimum, I take the trash out of my car and I put it in the gas station trash while the tank is filling.
22:36
At a maximum, I'm going to the car wash, I'm washing the outside of my car, and I'm using their vacuum to clean the inside. That probably happens maybe once a month, maybe once a quarter, but it happens. I don't know if you follow DebtFreeMom on Instagram, but she has a saying. She says, care creates contentment. I am content with my home, I am content with my car. My car is very important to me. My car carries my entire family every single day, to and from activities, to and from school.
23:05
We are all in there all the time. It's very important to me that it is safe. I don't know if you know this, but in an accident, anything that's not secured in your car becomes a projectile and can hurt people. So if you're looking around your car right now and you're seeing random shoes or a box full of books or bags of trash from the drive-through, all of those things should either be secured or taken out of your car.
23:33
And I don't say that to scare you and I don't say that lightly, but your car is an extension of your home and an extension of your family. And you should be ensuring that it is doing its job safely, you know? Also on Tuesday, I clean out whatever bag it is that I'm using. Praise the Lord, my kids are out of diapers. So I no longer have to carry a diaper bag, but I do carry a bag when I leave the house, whether I'm by myself and it's just like a Lululemon crossbody.
24:02
or it's a full on outings bag, because we're going to the park and I have things like spare pants, hand wipes, hand sanitizer, bottles of water and snacks, those things. But also my kids will do things like throw a couple acorns in there or a cool looking rock. And if I don't go through my bag on Tuesday, I will be carrying those things for the next eight to 12 weeks. So on Tuesdays, I go through it. And my outings bag is a Land's End
24:31
canvas tote bag. This is a hot tip. Land's End says that it's not machine washable. I do. I machine wash it. I just don't put it in the dryer. I let it air dry. I wash it inside out. I think I used to wash it on like the hand wash slash gentle cycle, but I don't anymore. If it's really dirty, I'll throw a towel in with it for like some extra agitation, but I machine wash it. And Land's End, if you're listening, I'm sorry for blowing up your spot, but.
24:59
They are machine washable. Wednesdays, I do one load of clothing laundry. I go through the shelves in my kitchen, like my pantry shelves, and I kind of like take stock of what we have on hand. And using that, I will make a meal plan for the following week. And then I will also make my grocery list. And while I am taking stock of everything that I have on my shelves and in the fridge, I clean it out. If there's old leftovers in the fridge, I toss them. oh
25:29
If I have the time, I spend 10 minutes to wipe down the shelves in the fridge. I consolidate boxes on the pantry shelves, those kind of things that again, if you don't do them now, it'll be a few weeks before it gets done. And I meal plan on Wednesdays because on Thursdays, that is when I do my errands and grocery shopping. And I make my grocery list based off of my meal plan and.
25:53
I am one of those people who needs the grocery list in the grocery store. And not only do I need the list, but I need the list to be organized by aisle. And let me tell you, my grocery store, I have a bone to pick with them because they recently redid all of their aisles. And I literally had people messaging me on Instagram saying, market basket changed their aisles, Caroline. I thought of you when I saw it and I'm sorry to tell you. Like people know this about me. People know.
26:22
that I shop at the same grocery store, even though you guys are all telling me to go shop at Aldi, if you shop at Aldi, will you tell me if it's truly worth it? Because for me, it would be an extra like 15 minutes each way on my drive. And I don't, I'm intimidated. I don't know what's there. Am I going to have to like scrap half of my grocery list because they don't have what I want? Or are they gonna have like Aldi brand of the things that I want? I don't know.
26:52
I'm looking for a one-stop shop and I pretty much get that at the store that I go to. So anyways, tangent over. I organize my grocery list by aisle so that I can check things off as I go. I use the app AnyList to make my grocery list because like I mentioned, my husband has an Android phone, but we can both contribute to it. I know that if you use the reminders app on the iPhone, it will group your items by category. Obviously not by aisle because
27:21
The robots, they're not ready to take over entirely. They don't know the layout of your grocery store unless you tell them. In any list, you can tell Predictive AI your grocery store layout and it'll sort your list like that. And around here, Friday is known as Family Fun Friday. We have cereal for breakfast. We'll have something fun like pizza for dinner. And after dinner, we'll do something like watch a movie as a family or play a game.
27:47
Right now, my daughter has softball on Fridays, so I have to kind of like work around that. I don't wanna have Family Fun Friday without her and my husband. So we're really leaning hard into Cereal Friday right now and pizza for dinner because she'll eat that before she goes. But we're in a season right now. When that season is over, we will go back to having family movie night or family game night. You know what works best for your family and your schedule. Also on Friday, I do another load of clothing laundry.
28:15
And when I say that, that includes drying and putting it away. And I hate to say that because I know that there are lots of you out there that are like me where the actual switching of the laundry from machine to machine and folding and putting it away is the hardest part. The actual like putting it in, like putting it in the machine and adding the soap, that's actually kind of fun. I like doing that. It's the folding and the putting away that I do not enjoy. I used to put on a show
28:45
while I folded my laundry and like nothing ever goes quicker than when you're watching Desperate Housewives. But my kids are old enough now where they're cognizant and I can't be watching Desperate Housewives at 11 a.m. anymore. It's just it's the season that we're in. My kids are not yet old enough to be ignoring what I'm doing. They're very interested in what I'm doing and they should not be interested in whatever it is that is entertaining me. And finally, I also
29:09
all of the living areas for the weekend so that they can be adequately destroyed by my feral children over the next two days. And when I say tidy, I just mean like I should be able to walk through the playroom without stepping on toys or not mopping the floors or anything. We're just making sure that things are put away because on the weekend, one of the most important parts of my weekly routine is that Saturday is a standing date night with my husband and we only go out
29:37
outside of the house for date night probably once a month. But every week on Saturday, we have a date night, whether it's at home or it's outside of the home. It is really important to us for staying connected as a couple and having that teamwork outside of being mom and dad that we have the time together on Saturdays. So we'll get takeout for dinner. Right now we're watching Saturday Night Live, but a lot of times we'll watch a movie.
30:07
But the important thing is, is that we're doing adult things as adults. Like we put the kids to bed and then that's, we're not mom and dad. We clock out for the weekend on Saturday, only on Saturday nights. I'm still mom during the day. Other important weekend routine items is that I review our family calendar for the week ahead to make sure that I have everything that we need ready to go. I also change sheets, do sheets and towels, laundry, and that is.
30:34
the only laundry that I do on the weekend. And then I also do self care. I do an everything shower on Saturdays before date night. That is like my personal date night. do everything possible, everything possible in the shower, deep condition, shave every inch of my body. Like that is when all of that gets done. Even if that's the only time during the week where I get a full, you know, double cleanse condition that.
31:01
it happens on Saturday. That is a non-negotiable for me. So that is the very basis of my schedule. And I came up with that after one of those weeks of introspection where I really just lived my life for a week and took stock of all of the things that have to get done to make my home and my family run smoothly. And I sat down with a piece of paper and a pencil and I wrote down on each day in an ideal world, what could I do on that day as a favor for my future self?
31:31
What can I do on Wednesday to set myself up for a successful rest of the week? And that's what I came up with. So I hope that hearing about how I created my system of routines kind of inspires you to get the ball rolling in your own home. I know that being faced with the seemingly overwhelming task of creating a system of home routines, like what on earth could possibly sound more intimidating than, hey,
31:59
come up with a system of home routines that take care of everything that you need to do in your house for your family. That is incredibly overwhelming. And yet it is something that is probably the most important part of our job description as moms who run homes. I've said it before, and I will say it a million times, that I really thought that this gig was something that I could just wing it.
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and every week would look different and I would just do things as they popped up and they came along. And that system worked for me probably the first month of having one kid. By the time I had two kids, I knew that that system wasn't working because it wasn't a system. And by the time I had three kids, I had to have a solid system of routines in place because otherwise nothing.
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As a mom who runs your home, you cannot be behind the eight ball. You have to be the eight ball. You have to be what creates the inertia in your home to get things done. So that was an incredibly long-winded answer to how do you get started making a home routine. And if you have a question for the Modern Mom mailbag, you can DM me on Instagram at the Modern Mom pod, or you can send me a text.
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At the top of the show notes for this episode, there is a link that says, send us a text. You tap it and it will open in your messaging app. You can send me your thoughts and questions and I would love to include them on a future episode. If you have additional thoughts about the show, don't forget to follow, rate and review The Modern Mom wherever you listen. You can even leave a text review in addition to your five stars and let me know specifically what you're enjoying about the show.
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This kind of review really helps more moms find our community. And that wraps up our show for today. I know we kind of covered a lot of ground here, but remember to give yourself some grace, give yourself some time, be gentle with yourself. The same way that you parent your children, you should also be treating yourself. You wouldn't expect your kids to reinvent the wheel and create an entire new system for taking care of their chores and homework in one day.
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give yourself the same space and grace. If you need to listen to the episode again, it will be here in perpetuity. And if you have specific questions, you know how to find me. Until next week, clock in, walk in, and get it done.