Many people still have the myth in mind that the stay at home mom doesn't do anything. She just kind of picks up the house and enjoys time with the kids and spends her free time going shopping and to day spas. Ri-ight. That's probably hardly anything like what your day looks like as a stay-at-home mom. Chances are that you're busy from the moment you wake up (which is always too early) to the moment that you go to bed at night (which is never early enough). That's because you're busy managing the lives of everyone in the entire house; that's no easy task. And chances are in this modern world that you also probably work from home part-time as well. So how do you do it all?

Here are some tips for better home management:

• Structure and schedules. The biggest mistake that stay-at-home moms make is not creating a schedule for the home. This means a schedule of activities for the kids that are home with you as well as a schedule for when you're going to get things done. Many moms get it in their heads that they can get to the laundry, the dishes, the lunches, the dinners, the errands ... all later. Having no structure makes you put everything off until the last minute which creates stress. So sit down and make an actual schedule of what activities are going to happen when in your home on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. (Daily means knowing when everyone eats lunch, has nap time, play outside. Weekly is the days that you do laundry, run errands, attend play groups. Monthly is paying bills, planning holidays, etc.)
• Give responsibility to everyone else in the house. Just because you're the stay at home mom doesn't mean that you need to do it all yourself. Your kids should have chores because it helps build a sense of responsibility and the skills that they'll need to be adults. And if there's a spouse in the picture, he can chip in with certain things to even though he's gone all day. His work at the office isn't any harder than your work at home.
• Don't forget those spa days. No, you're not one of those mythical women who gets to spend all day at boutiques and day spas. But you should act like one every now and then. The best way to effectively manage your home is to make sure that you're in tip top form and that means occasionally spoiling yourself. Get the spouse to take one day off per month to stay with the kids or hire a bi-weekly nanny to come in so you can go out. Don't feel guilty; good management starts with a good home manager.
• Budget. That doesn't sound like fun but it's one of the best things that you can do to feel happier in your home. Money problems cause stress which ups the stress in all other areas of the house. Create and stick to a budget in all areas of your home so that you don't have to deal with these problems.

To effectively manage your home, you just need some basic organizational skills and the willingness to give yourself the credit you deserve. Take your role as home manager seriously and it'll run more smoothly, letting you enjoy it more. And everything will still get done!