This post contains a sponsored inclusion of Little Spoon, but all of the opinions within are those of The Everymom editorial board.
"With 2024 just around the corner, it’s easy for us to get wrapped up in thinking about what we want to do more of in the new year—working out more, drinking more water, spending more time with our friends and families, reading more, and the list goes on and on. While we totally get it (and also definitely find ourselves obsessing over what we’re not “doing enough of”), it’s important to take the time to reflect on all of the things we might want to let go of, too. Being able to recognize things that add unnecessary stress to our lives, the things that are pressuring us into being “perfect,” and overall things that are keeping us from being the best version of ourselves are just as important when it comes to setting ourselves up for a year of growth and learning. At the end of the day, we’re moms—not invincible superheroes who can do it all. And that’s okay!
In the spirit of combatting the strictly “do more” mindset, our editors have compiled a list of ten things to let go of in 2024, from over-cramming our calendars to comparing ourselves to others. If you’re feeling like you may need to take your foot off the gas a bit rather than going full-steam ahead into this new year, read on for some lifestyle changes you maybe didn’t know you needed:
Cooking out of guilt
Mom guilt: there’s really no other feeling like it. Whether you feel it every time you drop your kid off at school or when you decide to pick up takeout instead of cooking, it’s an ever-present feeling. However, our Chief of Sales Ally says she plans to cook fewer meals for her kids next year while feeling zero guilt about it. “This year, I found myself with way too much stacked on my plate between work and home life, so I knew something had to give. I decided to outsource the one thing I knew someone else could do better than I could: cooking healthy dinner for my kids. I signed up for Little Spoon’s meal delivery subscription for both my boys, and it’s been absolutely heavenly to get fresh, organic ready-to-eat food delivered right to our door,” Ally says.
We totally agree that being in charge of an entire family’s nutrition intake is a huge undertaking when you’re already maxed out on everything else. Little Spoon offers meal solutions for kiddos from the very beginning of their feeding journey to their big kid years. So whether you have a baby who’s starting solids or picky toddlers who say no to pretty much anything, their delicious yet healthy selections have all the moms covered. If you’re also determined to rid yourself of dinnertime stress in 2024, then our editors can’t recommend Little Spoon enough as your solution.
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Pressures of Pinterest parenting
Our Editor in Chief Robi said she’s letting go of Pinterest parenting in 2024. Whether it’s the pressure to make perfectly curated gift baskets for every special event or packing our kid’s lunch boxes to the nine, we can agree that it can all be a bit much. Even though it can be fun to get inspiration and make things beautiful, it’s okay to not put in max effort all of the time. More times than not, trying to make so many aspects of our lives aesthetically pleasing and overly special just tires and stresses us out, even though it’s supposed to be enjoyable. Know what you can handle, what is worth your extra time and energy, and that you’re not a “boring” parent if your home decor or meals don’t look straight out of a vision board every day.
Holding onto heirloom items
Our HR Director Mairim is preaching to the choir with her take on decluttering: “I’m getting rid of ‘stuff.’ Why wait until I pass to give my kids/grandkids the items I want to pass down? For example, my husband gave me a jewelry set when each child was born, and I gave my youngest son the earrings, necklace, and bracelet so he can use the stones to design his wedding bands.” Holding onto items for years and years on end can make us feel more overwhelmed than you might think. Learning to pass them on sooner rather than later will not only clear up some of your physical space but also some mental space that’s worrying about when a “good time” to pass something on might be.
Neglecting myself
It’s no secret that it’s easy to put our own wants and needs on the back burner as busy moms. But it’s important that we’re able to recognize times when we’re really not doing enough for ourselves and our own well-being. Yes, even in the midst of taking care of kids, working, cleaning, and everything else that fills up our daily agendas, there is still time for some “me time”—you just have to take a second to find it. Accepting the fact there aren’t enough hours in the day to check in with and take care of ourselves is out in 2024. Remember: In order to show up for others in the way that they deserve, we need to take moments to show up for ourselves, too.
Saying yes to everything
Being agreeable is nice in theory, but saying yes to every single thing that we’re asked to do is simply not a sustainable way of living. We’ve all been guilty of doing it, but it always ends up backfiring in the end. If you know deep down that committing to another thing is going to stress you out or overload your already hefty to-do list, respectfully decline it. Let this be your reminder that saying no sometimes does not mean you are selfish or not “trying hard” enough. If anything, it means that you are setting healthy boundaries and knowing your limits, which is something we should all learn to prioritize a little more in our lives. Whether it’s another responsibility at work or volunteering for extra school events, we are going to do our best to stop immediately saying yes.
Sit-down family dinners
Having a formal, sit-down family dinner has been a long-time marker of whether or not you’re dedicating an adequate amount of time to family bonding. However, you can still find the time to hear about everyone’s day and do a daily check-in without stressing about when you can find that sliver of time that everyone is available. “There’s too many activities, and forcing everyone to sit down for family dinner every night adds another stress. Instead, we’re saying hello to family breakfast or family happy hour (feeding the kids something easy early while we talk with them and worry about our dinner later) or a different form of family connection” says our Editor, Kathy. Whatever time you can find, roll with it!
Doing anything “for the ‘gram”
Kathy also mentioned that she’s done doing anything (mostly) for the ‘gram, which falls into the same category as Pinterest parenting. Not every activity or moment spent with your family and loved ones needs to be picture-perfect or even documented. While there’s obviously no harm in wanting to capture those memories, worrying about setting something up a certain way or getting all of the perfect angles of a moment of joy that’s supposed to be candid anyway takes away from really experiencing it to the fullest. Be as present as possible and immerse yourself in both the big moments and small ones, snap a picture here and there, and don’t worry about it looking as glamorous as everyone else on your feed—you’re probably having more fun anyway.
Playing the comparison game
It’s nearly impossible to not compare ourselves to others in this day and age. With endless access to the best snapshots of people’s lives, we oftentimes convince ourselves that others have it far better than we do. But in reality, comparison will always be the thief of joy. This year, we’re reminding ourselves that everyone’s lives are so different from our own, and that’s an amazing thing! Of course, it’s normal to seek out inspiration or advice when you feel in need of some guidance, but let’s remember that our self-worth and happiness should not be based on anyone else’s.
Trying to control everything
In a perfect world, we would be able to control every little thing in our lives. It’s totally normal to want to do so, especially when it comes to wanting the best outcome for your kids and loved ones. But just like many of the other habits we’ve already mentioned, it actually just drains us of our energy and takes our attention away from the things we actually can control. Branded Content Editor Steph says she’s done living life as a self-described control freak: “Now that I have kids, I truly understand how important it is just let go and let be. It’s far more draining to nitpick over every little thing than to go with the flow. Everyone in my house is much happier when I adopt a more relaxed mindset, so more of that in 2024.”
The idea of “doing it all”
We’ve all become very comfortable with the narrative that moms can do it all. While it is true that there really is no job in the world quite like it, and we can definitely balance a lot at once, being able to “do it all” can end up doing us a lot more harm than good. We’re only human, you know? It is not a sign of weakness or bad time management to recognize that there are some things we simply don’t have time for. In 2024, let’s be proud of ourselves for all of the things that we already do for ourselves and everyone around us, and let go of that gnawing feeling that there’s always more to be done. Know your priorities and be where your feet are—the rest can wait for now.
This post contains a sponsored inclusion of Little Spoon, but all of the opinions within are those of The Everymom editorial board. We only recommend products we truly love.