Just wanted to pop in and say that despite being a full-time SAHM, there are far too many days when I too have nothing decent on the table to eat, the house is a pigsty, the kids or DH have no clean clothes to wear, etc etc.
So I am in absolute awe of any woman who not only attempts to tackle the daily grind of housework, cleaning, cooking and looking after kids AS WELL as working!! You're all amazing. I used to look down on working mums but now, being a SAHM and seeing working mums keep their houses better than I do, with so much less time to do it, I have the utmost respect for you girls!
I'm not on an ego trip or anything, but my house is spotless, meals cooked and i work 4 days a week...but...i never sit down. I can't. It's just me. I have an OCD - cleaning and making my house look like a display home.
I cook my meals (for the next day) from the night before. I cook soup, rice/pasta and a meal every night, ready for tomorrow night. I just put together a salad when i get home.
I have DS do homework on the kitchen bench as i clear the dishes or cook the next days meal in the kitchen, just so i can help him.
I never leave anything to pile up. I do a load or two of washing each night. Iron in front of the telly, when the clothes dries and i consider that telly time for me. I vacuum in the evenings after dinner to get rid of all the crumbs. I clean toilets every 2-3 days and try to do it just after going to the loo. I clean the basins and baths once a week after the kids have had their baths for the night. I dust every few days after doing the vacuuming in the evening. I mop the floorboards/tiles once a fortnight when DD is having her day sleep.
And i have time to go the gym! It's hard work, but i work at it.
I have also trained DH to do chores during the day. He is usually the toilet/bathroom cleaner, changer of bed sheets, launderer if its a sunny day and he's home.
I really don't think most females make the most out of their DH's. Do everything for them, and then complain that they don't help out. Well, heeellllooo...you've made them become what they are, so don't complain!
Can you run a bootcamp for slacker mums TD? I'd really love you to come over to my house with a whistle and a cattle prod and get me up and going! I know that there is time for more to get done, I'm just lazy. Right, off to do some cleaning...
I'm not crash hot on the tidy/clean house side of things (my excuse is that we have no storage space which makes it a bit hard even with best of intentions) but good, nutritious food is an absolute priority for me. I don't always succeed but I find it works best if I plan a few meals in advance and absolutely make sure they're quick to cook. It's daunting to get home even if you have all the ingredients waiting for you and it's going to take an hour to cook.
I also try to make sure I have some quick standbys that can be done in literally five minutes. I always have potatoes in the house so if DD is unexpectedly starving she can have a jacket potato thrown in the microwave with some baked beans and cheese (or other filling) done in five mins. Other standbys are veggie quiche and I always make sure if we cook pasta we have leftovers.
If I really can't be stuffed and we have takeaway, I try to make sure it's a healthy one. So grilled fish and I'll make a salad. OK, maybe we can have a couple of potato cakes too!
It's really, really hard but the key is planning ahead. There's no easy solution unfortunately.
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