As a mom of three, I know how hard trying to survive summer with your kids can be. No matter the age of your kids, summer can be hard. From the heat to the boredom to the lack of routine, things can get crazy quickly. So I wanted to share with you the tried and true tips that help me keep my sanity all summer long, even when I’m home 24/7 with my three kids.
1. Set up a Summer Rhythm
I know you might balk at this but hear me out. You need a routine in the summer. Trust me. If you don’t develop a baseline routine for the summer, you’re bound to go crazy this summer. That’s why you need to set up a summer rhythm. It doesn’t have to be strict like your school year one. It just needs to flow.
My best advice is to break it down into “blocks.” A morning block, afternoon block, and evening block. You don’t have to designate a specific wake-up for your kids in the summer if you don’t want to, but you need to specify what you expect them to do in the morning to be prepared for the day.
An example of this might be:
Morning block:
- Eat breakfast
- Brush teeth
- Get dressed
- Play outside
- Mom works while kids play outside or in the playroom (on gross mornings)
Afternoon block:
- Eat lunch
- Clean up and reset the kitchen after lunch
- Kids do their chores
- Kids read for 20 minutes
- Once kids have completed chores, they can play with friends or on screens.
- Mom works while kids read and do chores
Evening block:
- Eat dinner
- Clean up and reset the kitchen after dinner
- Kids do evening clean-up chores
- Kids shower/bathe
- Kids brush teeth
- Mom and Dad hang out
- Parents get ready for bed.
Again, the Summer Rhythm does not and should not be strict and complicated. It’s just meant to help you get a “flow” for your day for your home. This allows things to get done, and everyone knows the expectation. And here’s the thing if you forget that Summer isn’t just a few big things here or there (vacation here, wedding there, VBS right now…) then you’re going to struggle in the daily life stuff. That’s why you need a rhythm.
Oh, and I’ve got a free printable you can use to set up your Summer Rhythm. Grab it here.
2. Summer Bucket List
Hands down, you need a Summer Bucket List. If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that I create a December Bucket List every December. And I do the same for summer. Why? Because there’s nothing worse than when it’s been raining all week or 100 plus degrees out, and you have three children bored and crawling the walls. Trust me; you’ll lose your sanity real quick. That’s why you need a Summer Bucket List.
So every May, I create a list of ideas of things we can do that summer. Some ideas are entirely free. Many ideas are things we can do at home. Some ideas are outings, and others are more expensive all-day outings. We never mark everything off the list because that isn’t the point. You’re not creating a list to achieve just a list to help you pull from and plan out your weeks for the summer.
Here are some ideas to get you brainstorming:
- Bowling (you can sign your kids up to bowl for free here)
- Park hop – list the parks in your area and pick a different one each week.
- Movie matinee – check your local theaters. A lot of them will have discounted days in the summer.
- Camping (it’s the best, and you can do it for cheap and even free sometimes)
- Have a picnic
- Go to the library
- Play on the slip-n-slide
- Have a bonfire
- Visit the zoo
- Make homemade pizza
- Do a random act of kindness
- Catch lightening bugs
If your children are older, ask them, “What’s one thing you hope to do this summer?” and add that to the bucket list!
3. Simple Meals
Summer is perfect for simple meals. Fire up the grill and make kabobs. Use that slow cooker or pressure cooker. Your meal plan for the summer doesn’t need to be crazy elaborate. Come up with a few simple meals and keep them in rotation. Here are a few of our families favorites:
- Kielbasa sheet pan meal
- Pasta salad*
- Greek chicken kabobs*
- Sheet pan nachos
- Taco night
- Hot dogs and hamburgers
- Loaded mac-n-cheese
*These recipes are found in my Meal Planning Workbook here.
No matter what you plan, keep it simple. Eating out is expensive, and it’s tempting to “treat” ourselves a lot during the hazy days of summer. But if your budget is tight, stick with the simple at-home meals. I know for me growing up, summer was my favorite time to eat because of the simplicity of the food. My favorite as a kid was “snacks for dinner.” It was like a charcuterie board, but we didn’t call them that back in the 90s. 😂 Keep it simple, friends.
4. Affording a Summer Vacation
For most folks, the thought of summer brings up thoughts of the beach and the iconic summer vacation. But if you’re trying to rein in your finances or live debt-free, paying for a summer vacation in cash can be challenging. However, it’s doable! We’ve been doing it for the last seven years. It just requires that you think outside the box and plan ahead of time.
If you want to take a summer vacation this year, set up a Vacation Sinking Fund. Seriously, do it. And make it a priority in your budget to set aside money from every paycheck to help pay for the vacation you want. Worried you won’t be able to save up enough cash in time to pay for your vacation? Get resourceful! There are ways to make going on vacation affordable. For years my family of five vacationed on Tybee Island for only $1,000. I don’t say that to brag. I say that because taking a vacation is possible for less money. Granted, it won’t be the flashy Instagram-worthy kind, but who cares? Really, who cares? You’re on vacation! Enjoy it!
If you want to break the cycle of never-ending debt (especially credit card debt), you’ll have to live a little differently. Set up a Vacation Sinking Fund and start contributing to it now. Let go of the idea of a perfect summer vacation and instead enjoy the one your budget can afford because it’s still awesome.
Bonus Tip: To save your sanity when it comes to packing for a vacation, get your kids involved! 👇
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5. Finding Ways to Stretch the Budget
Summer can eat away at your budget. It doesn’t matter how old your kids are. So if you want to get the most bang for your buck and avoid summer wrecking your budget, I recommend you get creative! Here are just a few ideas:
- Use Upside to get cash back on fuel purchases (I love this app! You’ve got to pay for fuel anyway might as well get something back for it!).
- Use Fetch to earn rewards for gift cards to stretch your budget.
- Make use of Rakuten to earn cash back on your online purchases.
Other ideas for making the budget work:
- Let your kids earn their own spending money. (Cutting grass, selling lemonade, making handicrafts to sell, tutoring kids, babysitting, etc.)
- Pick up a side hustle (Field Agent, walk dogs, Sudshare, etc.)
- Look for free activities like church camps and library events.
Remember that you don’t have to do all the things to have a great and memorable summer with your kids.
6. No Screens Until…
Okay. I’m going to say it. Screens turn my kids into monsters. And I’m willing to bet that after a few hours, your kids also become grumpy little things. That’s why my kids have to earn their screen time. Screen time does not happen until their chores are done for the day. And I know that some parents freak out about their kids doing chores because it’s easier just to do them yourself but hear me out.
You will run yourself into the ground if you do everything for everyone in your family. Read that again if you need to. You cannot possibly keep doing it all. You’re going to get burnt out, and you might end up resenting your family if you don’t allow them to help you.
The best parenting advice I was ever given was “to stop doing for your kids what they are fully capable of doing on their own.” No, that doesn’t mean that they will clean as I do, but it does mean that they are capable of helping me keep our home in order. After all, I’m not the only one that lives here. So make a set list of chores for your kids to do every day before they are allowed screens or time with friends. This will help develop that team mentally in your home and help you keep from losing your sanity this summer.
7. Reset, reset, reset.
The power of hitting reset cannot be understated. If you want to keep from losing your mind this summer, have at least two “reset” times scheduled in your day. This will ensure that the house is picked up and cleaned throughout the day and will help you enjoy being home.
For me, we “reset” after lunch. Everyone has to do their chores, and I clean the kitchen from lunch. I also do a load of laundry. Then the next “reset” is after dinner. Again, it’s chores that must be done before bed, and while my kids are showering for the evening, I clean the kitchen. This ensures that the house stays in relative shape throughout the day.
Summer doesn’t have to suck with your kids at home all day.
Friend, summer does not have to mean losing your sanity. You can enjoy being with your kids and still get stuff done. Yes, it may take some upfront planning and diligence to stick to it, but you can enjoy being with your kids this summer. Summer is a magical time for kids, and it’s the best time for us adults to remember how to be kids too.
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