Does anyone have this figured out?
I can NOT figure out the whole working full time, cooking, and keeping house clean thing. What the hell am I missing. I can clean the house & it stays clean for MAYBE 2 days. I feel like it's all I do. And having a meal planned and prepared every night? Forget it! ~X( None of this seemed to matter before we had a baby but now I have to feed the kid, lol! Hubs has been working 12-13 hour days so it would be nice to at least have dinner for him when he comes home :-S but I'm having a tough time managing this. HELP! What the hell do people with 5 kids running around do, lol! There's just no time!!!! ~X(
Anyone have any advice or anything?
I must have missed that class in high school that taught you how to be a good domestic wife/mommy :-?
Anyone have any advice or anything?
I must have missed that class in high school that taught you how to be a good domestic wife/mommy :-?
Comments
If you get the kids in routine it helps. My 2 yr.old knows where to put his.clothes (hamper) knows how to pick up his toys...I also keep reminding him how close bedtime is. My 8 yr old earns allowance to help with picking up toys and putting away things after dinner. Over the summer I taught her to do wash. Your lo may not be old enough but routine can be started early on.And also for yourself...it gets easier. I got laid off in June so I'm home now and I'm bored! Lol, I actually baked a cake the other day...I haven't done that in years! Hang in there!
I don't work full time (for pay anyway, lol), but I do have two kids less than a year apart, so time management is something I'm working on. So far, I've found that a chose list for myself is really handy. There are a few easy things that I do everyday (clean the kitchen, pick up toys/clutter, and vacuum the rugs) and I've divided the bigger chores up to where I do one or two a day. I also try to straighten a room as I walk out (leaving the bathroom, I'll put any clothes that may be in the floor in the closet, put away anything that may be on the counter.. leaving the kitchen, I'll move all the dishes to the sink for later.. etc, etc..). Planning the weekly menu is one of my "chores."
As far as cleaning, I had to laugh out loud about keeping the house clean for only 2 days because here it's more like 2 hours! Lol
My two biggest suggestions are to delegate and plan. First, delegate as much as you possibly can...to the kids, the hubby, hire someone if you have to. If something can't be delegated at all, then that's either your job or it has to be eliminated. (sad to think about, I know, but as a mom sometimes we have to prioritize and just eliminate some things that we don't want to) Second, plan, plan, plan...it keeps you from having to "think" when you're tired from working. If you take several hours and plan your menus, grocery lists, cleaning jobs, etc. then when you're tired and worn out you don't have to think and make decisions...you just go do the next thing on your list or schedule. Henry Ford said most people don't do the hardest work there is and that's thinking. (majorly paraphrasing) It makes sense to me. I spend quite a bit of time thinking and planning several hours a week then it helps me so much during the rest of the busy times during the week.
I plan things like what days to do what things (laundry, bill paying, cleaning, etc.) and I'm always thinking about how to make things simpler and easier. This is probably overwhelming and probably doesn't make much sense because I'm really tired right now lol. I'm not sure the ages of your children or anything either, so it really depends a lot on that. I highly suggest having kids do chores beginning at age 2. At that young age they're not actually helping, but in training mode so that when they're 5 they will be really helpful. If you wait until 5 to start then it's very hard to get them motivated.
I hope any of this helps, sorry so long!
@lucyloo288 Good suggestions, thanks! I'm going to try chore lists for sure!
@JuliansMommy Exactly! After being at work all day I just want to spend time with my baby, not spend the night cleaning & cooking! I hate it so bad! But then if I spend all of my time with her then the house is a disgusting mess & then I get stressed out! I feel like I just can't win!
@littlenat86 @Wilsomom I will have to get some more crockpot recipes, I do use it but not as often as I could be! I will also have to try some freezer meals, I have some pinned on pinterest but haven't got around to it yet. I think that would help because when it comes to meals, I find it very hard to always have a plan! You always have to be prepared...and I am not
I love how your little boy is so helpful. My baby is 10 months...but as soon as she's walking I'll put her to work, lol! ;-)
I think the hardest thing is just accepting that there is no way around all of this, lol! I have to cook and clean and that's that. Dang. I just want to spend my evenings playing with my baby.....but in a clean house....but I don't want to be the one to clean it. Pretty much all of the ladies I work with have maids but I can't bring myself to spend the extra $$$ for that, but maybe???
Every second Saturday is outside jobs like gardening and cleaning the spa and pool.