Overwhelmed and exhausted

[powerfm1]

I raised three on my own.

They had to keep the house clean. Just cleaning up their own messes was enough, because I didn't make messes.

Clean as you cook, it helps a lot.

Laundry and dishes are a nightmare and they never go away. My mother always said that they would bury me with 5 baskets of clean, folded laundry around me sitting in the middle reading a book.

Ask yourself this question every time you look at the mess "Do I really want them to put She kept a clean house on my tombstone or do I want them to put she was a really good mom".

Blessings tired woman.

[Dancing Lotus]

I think you are a great mom and you are just tired! We all get tired, even the ones who don't work 50-60 a week. I can't imagine how hard it must be to have to be both parents.

Also, I don't think a clean house should be any more important to you then you want it to be.

[mcphlips]

Karen,
I feel for you too! That was me last spring. I was really overwhelmed because my husband was driving over an hour to work everyday, plus I was responsible for everything at home and I was working 50 hours weeks along with hauling everyone to activities.
It caused me a lot of anxiety.
Please know that you are doing a GREAT..FANTASTic JOB! Do you have an EAP program through work? Here it is someone you can go and talk to about your stress and anxiety. I went and saw someone..just to be able to vent.. I needed the reassurance that YES it was overwhelming. But once I had a chance to do that, it gave me perspective and I could make a plan to get through.

You always have your frugal friends... :hug:

[JohnP]

What helped me a lot balance work and life was eliminating unnecessary junk. It takes a lot of work to maintain your home, furniture, clothing, car, etc.. With fewer things in your life, you are able to do less overhead activities.

The big time consumers for me were laundry, dishes, dusting bookshelves, and moving things to vaccum.

What I did was reduce the amount of clothing I had to 7 sets of clothing, 3 pairs of shoes, 1 jacket, and 3 shorts. That way, I only had to wash once a week and could get it into two loads.

I brought all my books to the local library, where a majority of them made it on the shelves. I can go visit them any time I need one.

I eliminated all but the basic necessities for my household. Other than a computer chair, a sturdy folding table, 3 plastic containers of documents (tax etc..), a bike, my laptop, desktop, monitor, and speakers, I have nothing else but a few momentos and my son's toychest for when he comes to visit.

By eliminating all the other things in my spartan apartment, I have reduced my overhead to a 2 hours a week.

My life is a lot simplier now.

[cissylu]

you are not a lone! not everyone has a perfect house . and you can not do every thing alone. give the girl`s a little more to do. hug`s

[Holly]

Karen you have been dragged through a lot in the last couple years.
You are working very hard and you've been down with the flu. Give yourself a break it will take time to get your emothinal and physical health back to square one.
Take a hot shower have dinner with the girls watch a movie with them
Then the 3 of you can tackle it
tomorrow or next weekend.
((((Hugs))))

[larabelle]

You are a good Mom. I think there are two types of people in this world...the clean ones and the messy ones. I am a messy one and when I worked 64 hours weekly I did not bother to keep any rooms super clean except the kitchen and the bathroom. I also decluttered which helped tremendously. I gave up ironing and I hung up everything right out of the dryer. I looked OK. I adopted the idea that as long as things looked half way decent I was fine with it. Teach your kids to wash clothes. My brothers learned when they were ten. Make things easy on yourself....

[larabelle]

Also, I don't think a clean house should be any more important to you then you want it to be.

AMEN SISTER!!! I could not agree more!! Life is much to short to stress out over a super clean house. After all #100 years from now will it really matter.