SAN DIEGO -- Are you a mother who cooks, cleans, prepares your children for school? Do you ever have time just for you?

Mothers face these challenges every day, and many find it difficult to get everything done before bedtime, 10News reported.

Aline is the mother of a 7-year-old boy and 9-year old girl. When her husband is deployed for the Navy, Aline is left with the full responsibility of raising the children, keeping the house and finishing home improvement projects. She also works 35 hours per week for Military Outreach Ministries.

It is a lot of work, and Aline finds it difficult to get it all under control.

“It's almost like juggling. It feels like juggling, and not very well,” Aline says, with a laugh.

This busy mother would like to streamline her day, get organized and find more time for herself and her children.

“I'd love to have more time to take them to after school activities,” she says.

She would also like to take advantage of her new gym membership.

10News put Aline in contact with professional organizer, Jana Hartwell with Sensible Organizing Solutions. Hartwell developed solutions for Aline's time management challenges, and gave her a list of tips for staying organized.

The following are some of those solutions:

• Have snacks ready before the children come home from school, or designate a well-labeled and easily accessible shelf where they can help themselves to snack they are allowed to eat.
• Have the children finish their homework first, before they are allowed to play or watch television.
• Help your children prepare their school backpacks for the next day as soon as they finish their homework. Set the backpacks by the door.
• Plan dinners a week ahead of time, and shop for the entire week's worth of meals.
• Get the children involved in chores as soon as they are able to walk. They can set the table, clear dishes, take dirty clothes to the laundry room, pick up and put away toys and help out in other ways around the house and yard.
• Work your exercise into your time with your children. (i.e. take a walk, bike-ride, or skate with the children after dinner) Plan family exercise on the weekends.
• Create checklists to help you with routine tasks. Post a "Remember to take" list by the front door; create a master grocery list with standard items you can circle.
• Determine what your priorities are by carefully examining your core values. Learn to say "no" to activities that don't fit with those priorities.
• Set aside a separate laundry space with a table for folding and a rod for hanging clothes. Assign a different colored basket to each family member, and let them be responsible for taking their own laundry to their room.
• Set up a bill-paying center wherever you most like to pay your bills and stock it with everything you need for the job.
• Establish a "Clutter pick-up" time of about 10-15 minutes for each family member. Do it before bed, after dinner, or the first thing in the morning.
• Set regular days for house cleaning and get everyone to pitch in. Just one hour per week will keep your home uncluttered and clean.
• Ask for help! Hire a professional organizer if you can, or ask for help from a friend who can be objective and has the skills to get you organized.
• Reward yourself and others (especially the children!) for your successes with keeping the house, and your lives, organized.