I don't know how mothers of larger families stay on top of everything. I really don't.
To lay it all out for you, I work full-time outside of the home, a Monday to Friday daytime job. It's basically perfect. My boyfriend works full-time, but his job doesn't allow him to ever be home before 6:00pm. We have two girls - 19 and 27 months old.
There's cleaning, there's meal planning (which I fail at), cooking, there's budgeting, scheduling, errand running, list making, and whatever else I'm forgetting. And my life is simple - we don't have any evening activities, homework, etc.
All these things I do, combined with my boyfriend's horrible memory, makes for a lot of stress.
Cleaning
I've been using Fly Lady to help figure out a cleaning schedule that works better for us. I do believe in her philosophy that having a shiny, empty sink is the perfect way to start your day. Eric is the one who does the dishes daily, so in order to have the shiny sink, I have to convince him to start doing the dishes at night instead of in the morning.
Some of our problem spots are: kitchen table (kids like to throw food) and clutter building up on the counter, fridge, microwave, tv stand and basically all over. And taking forever to get laundry put away. We need to work harder on our problem spots.
Some of our problem spots are: kitchen table (kids like to throw food) and clutter building up on the counter, fridge, microwave, tv stand and basically all over. And taking forever to get laundry put away. We need to work harder on our problem spots.
Organization
I have become a believer in home organization binders. And that makes me feel O.L.D. I'm still trying to throw mine together in hopes that it will relieve a lot of my stress.
On Pinterest I have a board just for free printables, Here are some of the most helpful ones that I've personally used:
(Printables for cleaning, meal planning, to-do lists, emergency contacts, basically everything!)
Anoter free Meal Planning Printable
Errand Running
I refuse to do errands with both girls, and I usually won't even do much with one girl, so I make quick stops after work when I can. Since payday always falls on the weekend that Chloe is with her father, I do most of my shopping that weekend. I do my simple bulk shopping (pancake mix, gluten-free essentials, hot chocolate) at one store after work on Friday. I usually do my full grocery shopping and any other errands on Saturday. I'd rather do the grocery shopping when boyfriend can come with me, otherwise I forget things.
I have a base grocery list that I alter for every shopping trip, so that I don't forget the important things and so I know how much I need of each.
I'm going to elaborate more on all of these as I come up with tips and tricks that help for us. This is just what's on my mind today. In the meantime, what are some of your favorite tips and tricks for staying on top of everything at your place?
2 comments:
I wish I had some tips to share, but I am a terrible housekeeper!!! my house is a disaster 99% of the time.
the one thing I do that helps a bit is to have attractive baskets in strategic places so we can put "junk" down without it looking messy. for example, we have one in our living room where we toss mail, magazines, dog treats, etc. We also have one in the bedroom for keys, wallets, all the junk my husband empties out of his pockets every night...it helps a lot!
oh, I also put an over-the-door hook thing on one of the doors so we can hang purses, hats, and sweatshirts (those used to just live on the dining room table!)
I don't really have any tips or tricks, because I'm still trying to figure that out myself. I do try and wash the dishes every night, so that we stay on top of those. One of our big problem areas is the kitchen table as well, because we don't have a lot of storage space, a lot of stuff gets thrown on the table till we find a home for it, but we're very good at forgetting what's over there. :)
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