Seriously need advice on managing things... ITS TO MUCH!

[Inanna]

It is tough some times I really get that - I have 5 kids too & I am on my own.
As the others said you do need to let go of some stuff.
What helps me is this: I cook all the meals for the week on a Monday - so for 4 hours I cook (obviously with loads of interruptions!). So then I know that all the meals are healthy, taken care of and it's all organised. This saves money as I meal plan.
Each child is responsible for their own room and another room in the house. There is no TV no computer access until this is done. That's it not negotiable.
Meal times everyone puts their own plate in the dishwasher. One child wipes the table and placemats. One child packs the dishwasher (pans etc) and the other does the benches.
I vacuum the house after dinner so that it's all done for the next day.
DD6 job is to put the bath toys in the basket and take the dirty clothes to the laundry - she also feeds Pat (cat) & Gloria (house dog)
She has to make her bed in the morning and keep it tidy.

DD7 unpacks the dishwasher in the morning and makes her bed.
she sets the table at night
she cleans up the loungeroom before dinner

DS9 he unpacks the dishwasher in the afternoon
packs it at night
feeds Doug (outside dog)
takes out the garbage bins to the road once a week and washes out the inside bins
keeps his room tidy
helps to clean off the bench in the mornings.

All 3 put their lunch boxes in the dish washer when we get home from school and they all help me to pack the lunches. Its' a team job.

So, that's what I do but it's different for all families. My kids get pocket money if they do their jobs with kindness - for me this means not whinging, not complaining and helping each other when required. As I said - no jobs done or a messy room and it's no tv or computer for 24 hours...

They all put their folding away sometimes (often I do it whilst they are at school) & sometimes we all sit down and one folds the undies, one pairs the socks etc etc.

It works here - I hope you can find an answer for your family...

[squidipa]

may God bless you

[KimB]

Oh squidipa you could be in my house lol. I never have a clean house EVER. I have to prioritise what gets done that day whether it is the dishes or the clothes washing or cleaning the bathroom or sweeping and mopping the floors. My mum also had a very clean house but she is soooooo anal lol and I have never been big on housework. I know that under the rubble it is actually clean and it will be again I just don't try to do it all in one day. I don't meal plan as I don't have enough time to cook for 4 or so hours in one day but having 2 kids with diabetes we have regular meal times. We also sit at the dining table to eat and that gives us some family time. Have you tried to place a plastic sheet under the high chair that way when it gets dirty just take it outside and hose it off. My DF is also lazy in the housework department but he sure whinges about it when the house is messy. We have days then when he is all gung ho and tries to do it all and I watch as he melts down lol.

We have tried giving the kids chores and paying them pocket money for it but they don't care. I'm going to have to really organise them though as it is not really teaching them life rules.

Big hugs to you love as I totally get where you are coming from

[squidipa]

may God bless you

[savina]

i do get ya ,,,i get the melt downs as well ,,, wat makes it worse for me is we have had our house built 6mths ago ,, perfect as every new house is when u first start out now,, i look at it an think this place is going to be trashed in the next few yrs as it already is ,, messy rooms,,, dirty walls .// did i mention bombed rooms ,,, dirty floors , bathrooms all the rest , but i just d wat i can . i like to try to have my kitchen clean ,as itsmy main feature when u walk in the house , i t try to get on to the kids with the jobs that are randomly asked eg, bins, dishes, animals clean rooms ..

any little bit helps me ,, so just keep at them thats all i do ..

i tottaly am with you thoughxxxx

[squidipa]

may God bless you

[Cass72]

Innanna what are you cooking for the week that stores i made 4 kilos of mince up as spaghetti bog this week and two large pots of pea and ham soup.

Squid, my mum makes up a huuuuge batch of meat sauce which she puts a big bag of frozen veg in. She makes it up to be fairly plain and then divides it up. She then defrosts one lot for dinner and either adds tomatoes for a bolognaise sauce or lasagne; a gravy to whip up a pie; beans & chilli for mexican. Anyway, just an idea - it gives you a head start on dinner!

Oh and, just so you feel better, I moved into my house a month ago and still haven't washed the floors - there's a lot of tiles and honestly I just couldn't be bothered!! There's still loads of unpacking to do but DH will be home in 3 weeks and HE can do it....in the meantime, Robert has started to crawl so I could always attach a mop to him! I keep the cleaning to a bare minimum and it's only me, DS1 (15) and DS2 (8 months) at home.

[Cass72]

And I forgot to add in my edit...... you're doing a FANTASTIC job Squid!! Don't forget to take some time out for yourself - even if it is only 2 minutes!!

[squidipa]

may God bless you