🍳 Kitchen Hacks Every Mum Needs for Faster, Easier Meal Prep

Meal prep as a busy mum can feel like a never-ending cycle. Figuring out what to cook, prepping ingredients, cleaning up, and then doing it all over again.

With a few clever kitchen hacks, you can save time, reduce stress, and make mealtimes so much easier.

You're allowed to use shortcut ingredients if you want to. Pre-chopped veggies, microwave rice, pre-cooked chicken, and canned beans are lifesavers when you’re short on time. They cut down on prep work without sacrificing nutrition, so you can throw together a meal in minutes.

Batch cook when you can. If you’re making one meal, why not make two? Cook extra portions of pasta sauce, soup, or shredded chicken and freeze them for those nights when you don’t have the energy to start from scratch. Even just doubling the amount of rice or roasted veggies means less work later in the week.

Make your freezer your best friend. Freeze chopped onions, bell peppers, and even lemon slices to save time when cooking. Store smoothie ingredients in freezer bags so all you have to do is blend. You can even freeze pancake batter in muffin trays for easy, ready-to-go portions.

Use the one-pan cooking whenever possible. Sheet pan meals, stir-fries, and slow cooker recipes cut down on dishes and cooking time. Just toss everything in, let it cook, and enjoy a delicious meal with minimal cleanup.

Keep a go-to meal list for those nights when you don’t want to think. Write down five or six easy meals your family loves, like scrambled eggs and toast, tacos, or pasta with pesto. When you’re tired and uninspired, just pick something from the list and skip the meal-planning stress.

Clean as you go. Instead of waiting until after dinner to tackle a messy kitchen, wash a few dishes while the pasta boils, wipe down the counters while food is in the oven, and put ingredients away as you go. A little effort during cooking means way less to deal with later.

Most importantly, don’t be afraid to keep it simple. Not every meal needs to be gourmet. A sandwich, a quick salad, or a simple pasta dish is more than enough. Feeding your family doesn’t have to be complicated—it just has to be doable.

With a few smart shortcuts and a little planning, you can make mealtime quicker, easier, and way less stressful. Try a couple of these hacks and see how much time (and sanity) you save!

x Marissa

P.S. For meal planning templates and more, check out my House & Family Binder. It’s designed to simplify your kitchen routines and beyond.

💖 How to Actually Find Time for Yourself as a Busy Mum

Finding time for yourself as a busy mum can feel impossible.

You're caring for kids, keeping up with the house, working, driving, shopping, cooking, and everything in between.

The idea of self-care often gets pushed to the bottom of the list.

But you can’t pour from an empty cup. Taking time for yourself feels selfish but it's actually essential.

And it doesn’t have to be complicated.

The first step is letting go of the idea that self-care needs to be a big event. You don’t need an entire spa day or a weekend away (though that would be nice, feel free to do that too!). Sneak in small, meaningful moments whenever you can. Even five minutes of something that makes you feel good can make a difference.

Start with the tiny pockets of time that already exist in your day. When the kids have full tummies and are happy to play by themselves, drink your coffee slowly from your favourite mug and flip through a magazine. When they’re watching a show, do some deep breathing exercises and enjoy how much calmer you feel. If you’re waiting in the car at school pickup, pop in your earbuds and listen to feel-good music or a podcast that inspires or entertains you. These moments add up and we tend to forget to include them in our day.

Another game-changer is giving yourself permission to take breaks without guilt. So often, mums feel like they have to be doing something every second of the day. But rest is productive too. If the baby is napping, instead of rushing to do chores, take five minutes to sit down with a book, a cup of tea, or just some quiet. The washing will still be there later.

If you’re struggling to make self-care a habit, schedule it in just like you would for anything else. Block out a time - even 10 minutes - and protect it like an appointment. A solo walk, journaling, even scrolling your phone in a separate room without someone calling your name, counts.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Swap childcare with a friend, set a boundary with your partner, or let your kids know that “Mum’s quiet time” is non-negotiable. You deserve it, and when you take care of yourself, you’ll have more energy, patience, and joy to give to your family.

If you can't find hours of free time right now, you will soon, every year gets a little easier. In the meantime, a few small, intentional moments throughout the day can help you recharge, reset, and remind you that you matter too.

x Marissa

P.S. Need help organising your time? My House & Family Binder includes tools to help you carve out moments for yourself amidst the busyness.

⏰ The One-Minute Rule That Keeps Your Home Tidy

Keeping a tidy home when you have kids running around can feel like an impossible task.

The moment you clean one thing, another mess appears, and by the end of the day, you’re too exhausted to deal with it.

I use a simple rule that helps keep things under control without spending hours cleaning. It's called the One-Minute Rule and it's a game-changer for busy mums.

The idea is simple: if something takes less than a minute to do, do it immediately. Instead of letting small tasks pile up and turn into big messes, you tackle them as they come.

Honestly? I'm just too lazy to do bigger tidy ups, and this rule means I rarely have to.

Dropped socks on the floor? Pick them up and put them in the hamper. Empty cereal box on the counter? Toss it in the bin.Shoes kicked off at the door? Pop them back where they belong.

Wiping a quick spill, stacking dishes, fluffing a pillow—it all takes less than a minute, but these tiny actions add up to a home that feels naturally tidy. It's weird how obvious it seems to read that back, but I swear, until I made this a non negotiable in my day I would just leave that stuff for later and it piled up SO fast.

This rule isn’t just for you either. Kids can put their toys in a basket, place their plate in the sink, or hang up their school bag the moment they walk in the door. When everyone gets into the habit of handling little things right away, the house stays tidier without anyone feeling like they’re constantly cleaning.

The One-Minute Rule stops the overwhelm before it starts. Instead of looking at a messy house at the end of the day and wondering where to begin, you’ve already taken care of the small stuff. No need for perfection - you're more making tidiness effortless, one tiny action at a time.

Try it for a few days and see the difference. A tidier home, less stress, and no more feeling buried under mess just by doing the little things, right away. 

 x Marissa

P.S. Looking for more practical tips? My House & Family Binder is filled with resources to help you manage your home effortlessly.

💐 Your Simple Weekend Reset for a Fresh Start Every Week

Weekends should feel like a break, not just a chance to catch up on everything that didn’t get done during the week. But when you’re a busy mum, it can be hard to truly relax when there’s clutter everywhere, laundry piling up, and a to-do list that never seems to end.

That’s where a simple weekend reset comes in. A few small habits can set you up for a smoother, easier week ahead—without spending your whole weekend cleaning.

Start by tidying the high-traffic areas. Focus on the spaces you use the most—kitchen, living room, and entryway. A quick 10-minute tidy in each of these spots makes the whole house feel fresher without overwhelming you.

Next, tackle the laundry situation. If you can, do a load or two so Monday doesn’t start with an overflowing basket. Get the kids involved by having them help sort, fold, or put away their clothes—it doesn’t have to be perfect!

A simple meal plan for the week makes life so much easier. You don’t need to plan every single meal, but jotting down a few easy dinners and checking what’s in the fridge can help you avoid the midweek scramble of “What are we eating tonight?”. If you don't want to plan your own, ​feel free to use mine.​

Restock the essentials so you’re not running out of things midweek. A quick check of nappies, snacks, lunchbox items, and household basics like toilet paper means fewer last-minute trips to the shops.

Take a few minutes to reset your mindset too. Instead of feeling like the weekend got away from you, pause and do something just for you—whether it’s a quiet cup of tea, a quick walk, or even a few deep breaths before bed.

A simple weekend reset doesn't have to be done perfectly, you just want to give yourself a fresh start so you can head into the new week feeling lighter, calmer, and more in control. Try it out and see how much smoother your week feels!

x Marissa

P.S. For more tools to keep your home and family life organised, explore my House & Family Binder. It’s all about making life easier for busy mums like you.

☺️ The Lazy Mum’s Guide to Keeping a Clean House

If you love having a clean home but don’t love spending hours scrubbing, tidying, and folding, you’re in the right place. Keeping the house clean doesn’t have to be a never-ending chore. With a few lazy-mum-approved tricks, you can keep things looking fresh without putting in a ton of effort!

And before we go any further—let’s clear one thing up. Lazy is not a bad word. Being lazy doesn’t mean you don’t care. It doesn’t mean your home is a disaster. It means you’re choosing rest, efficiency, and balance over exhaustion and burnout.

You’re allowed to do things the easy way. You’re allowed to rest. You’re allowed to enjoy your life.

Now, let’s talk about how to keep your home tidy without spending every spare moment cleaning.

First, embrace the power of “good enough” cleaning. Perfection is overrated, especially when you have kids running around. Instead of deep-cleaning every corner, focus on what actually matters. Wipe down surfaces when they look dirty, do a quick vacuum of high-traffic areas, and let the rest go until you actually have time.

Next, make tidying automatic. Instead of dedicating an entire afternoon to picking up toys and clutter, do tiny clean-ups as you go. Put things away while you’re moving around the house, get the kids to do a quick pickup before meals, and make it a habit to clear surfaces at the end of the day. Little things add up and prevent big messes from building up.

One of the best lazy-mum tricks? Use the right tools. A cordless vacuum makes quick clean-ups a breeze, microfibre cloths work wonders on dusty surfaces, and multipurpose wipes handle sticky messes in seconds. Keep cleaning supplies where you use them—wipes in the bathroom, a dustpan in the kitchen—so you can clean as you go without making it a whole production.

Get your kids involved (without the battle). Make tidying fun by turning it into a game—who can pick up the most toys in one minute? Can they race the vacuum cleaner? If you can make it entertaining, they’re more likely to help without the usual complaints.

Most importantly, stop overcomplicating things. Not every dish has to be washed immediately, not every floor needs mopping daily, and the laundry can wait until you have a full load. Stick to the essentials, do the minimum required to keep things from getting overwhelming, and enjoy the extra time you’ve saved by not trying to be Supermum.

A clean house doesn’t have to mean constant effort. The key is finding shortcuts that work for you, making little habits part of your routine, and letting go of the pressure to have everything perfect all the time. Lazy mums know the secret: a little bit of effort in the right places makes a huge difference—and leaves more time for what really matters.

So go ahead, be "lazy." Rest. Have fun. Enjoy your kids. Your home will still be just fine.

x Marissa

P.S. Ready to simplify your home management even more? My House & Family Binder offers easy-to-use prints to keep everything organised without the overwhelm.