Need help!

[baxjul]

Okay, this may sound whiney, but I don't mean it to be.

I leave for work at 7AM and get home around 6:30PM. By that time I am exhausted and I have to make dinner, do dishes, get things ready for the next day, help with homework. How does everyone else make time for fun things? On the weekends, it's cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, etc.

I try to do a load of laundry every other night, so that it doesn't build up.

I guess I just want ideas on how to organize my time.

TIA

[forestdale]

you don't sound whiney at all, Julie.

Give your daughter and DH some jobs to do. It's not YOUR home, you share it and the work. I had my sons making their own breakfast when they were 4 years old. It was just cereal and milk, nothing hot. It did them good and it gave me more time in my hectic schedule. Your daughter should be able to clean out her bag and get it ready for the following day. She should be able to choose her clothes with a little help from you or dad.

have you thought about cooking double meals and freezing one for next week? This would give you some nights without cooking. I'm presuming your daughter has only 30 minutes or so of homework each night. You and your DH should take it in turns to have this time with your daughter. You could use that time not only for homework but for bonding with her and offering support, and maybe even a little fun.

Remember, your housework doesn't have to be perfect. if you can get away with vacuuming once a week or not ironing clothes, do it.

Maybe you could sit down with DH and work out which chore should be done by whom and take it from there. Just remember, YOU must be a priority. If your health sufferes, everything else does too.

[YankeeMom]

I totally agree with doling out some jobs to the rest of the family. My oldest & I take turns washing the dishes (no dishwasher). My youngest dd puts them away. Oldest ds clears the table. Dh gives the boys a bath, etc.

We all work together to get it done. And what doesn't get done isn't a federal offense. We just do it when we have time

[canadian gardener]

I ditto. When I was working shifts as an RN, the kids and dh had to pitch in.

I found making individuals INCLUDING DH responsible for specific tasks helped, so did writing their chores out on a white board that all could see.

Break up the must do it or the house falls apart stuff down, and everybody does a bit all week, each day.

If one person doesn't they lose priviledges till they smarten up-- and if it was dh we had a discussion. I found pretty quick that I couldn't put both kids on dishes. One or the other not both.

One who remains nameless, always sluffed it off, and let her brother do the work. I guess you figured out which one. NOT FAIR.

I split them up and gave them separate chores. They both rotated bathroom cleaning, vacuuming, dishes and some other tasks.

Your dd is 5 but she can help gather laundry, or dirty dishes.

I began some freeze ahead meals at that point. I found doing rudimentary menu planning and posting meals really helped but it wasn't till I quit work, and was homeschooling, and had met Strawberry that she taught me how to menu plan.

Just make a list, and in the morning or the night before, if you are working, pick one to do depending on what you feel like.

Use your crockpot. If dh doesn't care for crockpot meals, he can cook.

When you have a meals list kind of menu, it's easier to grocery shop for the whole week at once.

Laundry do a load a day. Make it a routine, to put a load in the washer when you get up. Transfer to the dryer when you get home. Put it away before bed. That way it's not a laundry mountain. And that way you are home in case of floods or fire.

Get a dishwasher and use it. Run it at the same time every day, and unload it as a routine habit. Whenever works in your day. When I quit trying to fill the dw and run it then, when I made it a routine that each evening it runs, full or not my life got way simpler.

[AmyBoz]

Two words for you...

crock

pot

Okay, it technically may be one word, but it's a good one! I use it as often as possible.

Also, I'd like to echo what the others said...the responsibility must be shared. It is not yours alone.

Julia is 4 and 1/2 and she has chores. They aren't incredibly taxing, but they are helpful and help things run a little smoother.

Dh or I also make the lunches for the next day the night before. Saves us crazy morning rush. LIke you, I'm up early and back late. Do what you can and don't kick yourself over the rest. Your daughter will remember how much fun you had together...not how clean your house was.

[Jerseygirl]

I'm in the same boat here. To make some fun for the kids I try to keep them busy. Angie gets homework each night, while she does that w/ dh, Josi (3) does name tracing at the kitchen table while I cook dinner, some nights the girls make jello or pudding with some assistance while I'm also cooking dinner. I pick up little craft projects for them to do at the table or on the porch for the weekends while I do chores. We try to fit in one really fun thing each week, a visit to Grandma's, zoo, beach etc. They have come to understand that if they let me get the necessities done, I can make more time for the fun things.