How do you do it? (WOHM & keep a tidy house, be enough for everyone AND sleep) - Page 2

[boatrat]

Quote:

Cooking is important o me so I found a good crockpot and an even better crockpot cookbook. 

Would you mind sharing your crockpot cookbook?  I love crockpot cooking for busy weeks!

As to how I manage - we have a cleaning lady who comes 2 X a month.  The sheets only get changed when she comes and this is the only time the bathtubs are cleaned.  This isn't perfect, but it's good enough for now.  We pay $150/month for this, and it's the best money I spend.

I mop the kitchen at least once a week and sweep it daily. I vacuum the living areas once a week.  Basically, I'm always cleaning, folding, organizing, decluttering or cooking.  But, it's OK.  It's my house, my family and I enjoy being there.  Also, my husband helps a lot with cooking.  We freeze a lot of meals away and eat mostly completely homecooked meals.  Also, I garden obsessively and am learning to keep chickens so we have lots of fresh food around which means less trips to the grocery store and better quality of food.

One way that helps to accomplish all of this is not having a TV.  We occassionally stream some tv over our internet, but this is usually for 30 minutes at the end of the day.

[chiromama01]

Boatrat-- my 2 favorite cookbooks are "not your mothers slow cooker cookbook" and thewilliams Sonoma slow cooker cookbook. Both have some great recipes. The WS one is almost no fail. Haven't found a dish the family doesnt love!

Also, I totally agree with the TV thing. We have a TV but no cable, so we have to intentionally sit down to watch something, as opposed to watching endlessly, which we used to do. So much better now!

[porcelina]

Thanks, chiromama! I have been looking for some good slow cooker cookbooks!!!
 

[thatgirliknew]

IF it were just my kids, DH, and I; everything would NOT get done.

But, we also share our home with two other adults (another couple), and that's how things get done. With four adults, there is always someone to watch children, cook, clean, tell you to chill out and relax <THAT especially. One of my roommates is always telling me to chill out and getting me to take five minutes, if it weren't for him, I'd go crazy sometimes!

I know co-housing is NOT for everyone, but it works great for me!

[Kerttu]

Hello everyone! I'm from Finland and I looking for new friends here and I hope I learn something new from you (living in UK with kids), because we might move to UK someday. This subject is so interesting! I study and working and also cleaning, caring and everything: I have 3 children and man (who is not their father). Here in Finland this combination is very normal. My answer this problem is: I have many cabinets and different boxes where I can put stuff quickly when I clean. But if I have the flu or something, everything goes wrong... Argh! My children is 11, 9 and 5 years and maybe I'm doing too much for them and they don't never learn, but I don't want to shout for them all my life...
 

(But I think you have carpeting everywhere and you use shoes inside house, am I right? Last spring we were in Wales 4 weeks and I clean more than ever... In Finland we use plastic floor mostly and no shoes. :D  )

Edited by Kerttu - 10/31/12 at 3:01am

[t2009]

OP, I read the title of your post & had to chuckle -- There's no way anyone (super woman or no) can do or be all those things simultaneously! (And I chuckle knowingly, not to at all belittle the stress you are feeling!)

There are a lot of good ideas floating in here (swapping child care, paying someone monthly to clean your house, getting your LO to help, etc).

If you are working out of necessity, you have to prioritize your work. Not above mothering, but it's up there & that's just the reality. (It's my reality as the primary breadwinner in my family & it makes me feel guilty sometimes but I am beginning to deal with it... years later!)

Being present for your kids & (when you can manage) your spouse is another priorty.

As for cleaning... what cleaning? I cannot remember the last time I cleaned my bathtub (shower spray & a squeegee help)... I spot clean my floors when there's a mess... I pick up dust bunnies as I notice them... I vacuum & sweep the bedrooms when someone starts sneezing from the dust. There, I said it... basically my house is filthy! And I'm ok with it... we won't die with a bit of extra dirt around -- our culture's obsession with cleanliness is crazy-making & in a real & powerful way makes women feel bad about themselves! Keeping a good home is not necessarily measured by whether or not you'd pass the white glove test.

BUT we do get into some good routines at the same time: DS knows that we take 5 minutes to pick up toys, mail, etc. in the living room every evening. I clean the sink after handling meat or washing chicken. That way things get done. We do what we need to to maintain a minimum amount of sanity.

And speaking of insanity, sleep is high on my priority. Pretty much everything else can wait.

[ashleyhaugh]

i dont... i'm a single mom, i work and go to school... my house is a mess, im always exhausted, and ds spends too much time on the kindle while i'm doing homework.... but i'll graduate in a year and a half, and hopefully thing'll be easier then, at least until i go back to school again, lol.. and i'm a naturally messy person, so i cant blame all of it on my schedule

[salr]

In my experience it's always a case of - something's gotta give.  I just rotate what gives.  For a while I neglect either taking care of my house, pets, family, husband, self, work, school, child (I try not to do that one much)...

[Surfacing]

Just replying to say what a relief it's not only me. Of course I knew it wasn't but I am so tired right now. Carry on, wonderful Mamas!

[mommy68]

People understand more than you know. Try not to worry. Do what you can and that's all you can do. :) I work now and it's 3rd shift when I DO work and have 3 kids and single. You can do it!

[Quinalla]

Oh and I agree on no deep cleaning until company is coming and then only in the rooms they will be seeing, if a door can close that works just fine IMO! Now that DD is 3, it is easier to keep up, but when she was little, pshh to deep cleaning unless absolutely necessary!

And DH and I have been working very hard to declutter as we are expecting twins now to add to our 3-year-old DD, decluttering has already been a huge help for keeping the house clean. If I don't have to move 20+ things off the bathroom counter to clean it, I might actually clean it once or twice a week, imagine that! I still have more to sell/donate/trash, but we've done a lot already! And with the stuff we do have, we are making sure we have enough storage for it so that we can actually get to it and use it.

And finally, if you can hire out one or two things, do it! We have someone who comes and mows our lawn once a week and does some light landscaping, others hire a cleaning service regularly or occasionally, etc. When you are short on time, it often makes a lot of sense to trade a relatively small amount of money to get some time back!

[EVEP]

I pick up when I can. Major stuff like cleaning the bathrooms (tub, toilets, etc.) aren't a huge concern of mine. My house is lived in, not disgustingly dirty but there are always toys laying around, a few dishes in the sink, etc. I would go crazy if I didn't learn how to leave some stuff to do later on. My in-laws take the kids some weekends (for a night) and I usually play catch up with DH then.