Sanity Savers for Moms

7 Simple Solutions to a More Joy-filled Life

Attaining sanity in the midst of motherhood sometimes seems like an impossible task. Motherhood by definition is often a bit chaotic. There are so many balls we are juggling everyday, it seems almost inevitable that a few of those balls will drop. The question is which ones.

I went through a season I refer to as my “dark days.” I felt like I hit rock bottom–and there was no life saver in sight. I was struggling to keep it together. I had horrible postpartum depression, marriage stress, extreme exhaustion from a major move and two babies, no local friends, no church–and no doors or heat in our new house. Ugh! Everything that could have gone wrong, kept going wrong.

It was during those hard times that I realized that something had to give, so I learned to quickly prioritize everything we were doing. This is also the point at which I learned that I could not survive any longer without order.

So, I read just about every article or book that I could get my hands on about organizing. I asked all my organized friends for advice and tips for those tough-to-stay-clean areas. Do you know what I discovered? I had a real knack for figuring out how to simplify what I was learning. I call it “gleaning and tweaking.” I learned to “glean” from the information I was reading and getting from others and “tweak” it to make it simpler and a better fit for our family.

In Sanity Savers for Moms, I'll share with you my secrets to how I manage my family of seven–while managing to keep a smile on my face (most days). There are still days that are long and hard, and sometimes I lose my patience. No amount of planning will eliminate all chaos. However, in this book I walk you through seven “Sanity Savers” I use to find sanity in that chaos.

I broke down all the key components of my life that I felt were robbing me of joy:

Crazy mornings ==> Sanity Saver #1 Eliminate the Morning Mayhem!
Our days had no structure ==> Sanity Saver #2 Create Routines!
Not enough time for praying or time in the Word ==> Sanity Saver #3 Keep Your Knees Dirty!
Too much busyness and chaos ==> Sanity Saver #4 Simplify!
Dinnertime was beyond stressful ==> Sanity Saver #5 Your Crock Pot & Freezer are Your Best Friends!
No time for me to catch my breath or finish a thought ==> Sanity Saver #6 Schedule “Quiet” Time!
Our family “unity” struggling ==> Sanity Saver #7 Have Fun!

Here's a few tidbits…

Start before you fail, so you don’t fail before you start! — Sanity Saver #1

Time “on our knees” is the only way to make it through the overwhelming seasons that life and motherhood can bring. — Sanity Saver #3

Meal planning is my secret to getting my hungry crew fed. Meal planning that includes crock pot meals and freezer meals is my secret to sanity! — Sanity Saver #5

Fun isn’t always spontaneous! It’s great when it happens this way, but I’ve found that I have to be very intentional about planning fun into our lives. — Sanity Saver #7

As an extra bonus, I created tons of great printables at the back of this book to help you put all my strategies and tips to work in your home! I'm really excited to share my popular “handy-dandy” meal planner with you in the book, too. I hope you love these printables.

Because I'm a closet book nerd, I've created one great page filled with all the links, books, websites, and more that I refer to in the book. You can actually access this Resource Page now and check out some of the fun suggestions I give for these resources.

As I mentioned above, I've been doing a lot of research on how to bring more sanity to our family. The tips I share in my book are the accumulation of years of “gleaning and tweaking.” These are tried-and-true changes that you can make to bring about a more joy-filled environment in your heart, in your life, and in your home.

This book really is a MUST for every mom who has ever felt a bit overwhelmed. I want you to know…
* How to find time for what matters most—and how to figure out what that is!
* How to simplify what you are doing so you can accomplish more—and maximize your joy!
* How to be intentional with planning “Family Fun” into your day—along with a bunch of a great ideas to get you started!

I pray that this little book will bless you and help to equip you with a few tools to bring you a little extra joy and sanity.