How do you work, make good food and keep a clean house....is it possible?

[amberj]

Last night I collected my little man from FDC and came home, where he promptly started squawking with hunger (standing in the kitchen going "mmmm, mmmmm"). I stood in the middle of the kitchen almost in tears because I really didn't have anything good to feed him. I ended up giving him a banana and peanut butter sandwhich and some custard for dinner. I felt like such a bad mama.

I just feel like I am struggling to "do it all"- and I don't even work FT, just 3 to 3.5 days a week, and I only have one child. And seriously, I am not expecting perfection- just a house that gets the main bits cleaned once a week and nutritious meals for my family. I feel like I SHOULD be able to do this, but it always seems like a struggle, and I am usually a really organised person.

How does everyone else do it? Its like there is some secret out there I don't know about! I hate always feeling 'reactive' and never on top of things. But maybe that's life with a child, right??!

[Lulu]

for a start - it's always hard to get it all right, all of the time.

Have you thought about a big cookup day and freezing lots of meals? Then you only have to remember to take something out to defrost in the morning. It's awesome being able to tick 'good meal' off the list so early.

[Visitor7]

I work full time, and it's very hard. DH & I do tag team. He gets home before me, so he gets dinner started, then when I get home at 6 with the girls, I take over from dinner and he takes the girls outside to play. We usually eat around 6.30. We meal plan, so both dh & I always know what is for dinner that night.
Each night, we do a little bit of housework. Floors, or washing, or something. That way by the weekend we don't have to do too much.

[Spring Angel]

I second the big cook up.

DS literally walks in the door, gets himself a spoon and a fork and sits down at his table ready to eat. I work 3 days and on those days we get home at 5.20pm and he is in bed by 6.30pm. It is a crazy hour.

I've taken to doing a big cook up and freezing small portions for those days. I don't like giving him frozen food too often but three days out of 7 isn't too bad. Also, simple things like a can of baked beans, cheese and toast can be a lifesaver for a starving child.

With the cleaning, I try to do a bit each night after DS is in bed. I also do the big clean on Saturday mornings. My house isn't perfect by any means but it is clean and tidy.

HTH
Spring

[Glamourcide]

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!

[Turkish Delight]

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!

[Winter]

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...

[Turkish Delight]

LOL Winter. I wish i could be lazy sometimes and not see all the housework waiting for me.

I'm going to run a BB DH bootcamp here. I'm sure i could organise one for you girls too.

[fionas]

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.

[MrsFabuloso]

How does everyone else do it? Its like there is some secret out there I don't know about! I hate always feeling 'reactive' and never on top of things. But maybe that's life with a child, right??!

I don't some days. Last week I worked 30hrs. I work every day, usually only 3-4 hours but any extra hours I can work are always welcomed (unfortunately we need the money). Come friday night I was buggered and fell asleep shortly after the kids were in bed (about 8pm). We had a frozen pizza for dinner (with added bits and peices to make it a bit more nutritious!). This isn't always, but somedays I just can't do it. I worked more than I slept this week.
This morning DH helped me out and we did a basic clean up of the house, before he went out for the weekend (won't be home til sunday arvo). But he's not home every weekend, often working both weekend days, doing 12+hour shifts. I am lucky in that he knows how hard it can be and helps alot. He understands if he comes home to a sink full of dishes or some sort of hodge podge, quickly thrown together dinner. Though I do always try to make it healthy. But my house is often a pigsty. The things I make sure I do regularly are the dishes, toilets, vacuuming and clothes. That's my aim for every day/week. A load of dishes and clothes a day and toilets and vacuuming at least once a week. That's it. If I'm lucky, the rest gets done on a weekend.
I feel torn between all facets of my life and can't get anything done to my own satisfaction. I rarely get to sit and relax and I am never happy iwth how the house looks, or the amount of time I spend (or don't) with my kids and DH. At the moment I am resigned to the fact that I won't get the house clean like I used to, and sadly that DH's and my relationship has to take a bit of a back seat to spending time with the kids. I want happy kids, and I want to spend as much time with them as I can. House work will not go anywhere, unfortunately!
As it is, I sit here looking at the mess and think that I *should* clean, but I just want to enjoy this very rare occaision that my kids are presenting me with- they're BOTH asleep at the same time!!!

[bon]

I am a SAHM so I do have more time to do things, and still I feel like I can't get it together. The house is in a constant state of disarray. Some days I feel like all I do is run around picking up toys and rubbish, wiping up spills, putting clothes away, cleaning up after they have eaten something...sometimes all I get done is some washing and dishes.

In the last week or so I have started obsessing about keeping the house tidy at least for when I have the baby, but all that happens is I end the day tired and frustrated because I will get things into some kind of order and within a few hours my little hurricanes have come through and undone it all.

The only way it would be possible for me to have a spotless house would be if I had a cleaner 7 days a week and no children!

[Mak]

Be kind to yourself!!! I try to do the big cook ups on the weekend but also do easy stuff for dinner on the work days. So soup and rolls, eggs/beans on toast - and do plan ahead.
I stash all the toys away each night whilst the kids are in the bath - they are not sorted or cleaned up but out of sight!!! I also try to give myself a day off housework at the weekend - it inevitably gets trashed anyway!!!

xx

[danniellabella]

I have worked full-time since my now 18 month old DD was 4.5 months old. It's tough!

I actually had a meltdown infront of my boss the other day because I'm struggling to do housework and work fulltime.

Even harder at the moment because we moved house last month so the place is very disorganised, but slowly getting there.

I try to do 1-3 loads of washing every day or every second day and hang it out before I go to bed. I'm also trying to make sure I do a min of 15 mins flat out housework each night. Might be tidying the lounge while watching TV. I'm also trying to cut back on TV and computer time.

once we have the place somewhat tidy and organised, we'll probably be employing my cousin to clean for us once a week. She'll do dusting, clean kitchen, toilet, bathroom, vacuum & mop floors and possibly fold some washing.

I'm also trying to do multiple things when I'm in a room, like when I'm giving DD a bath, I might clean the bathroom, or tidy her room ( I can see her in the bath while I'm in her room). Or when I'm cooking dinner, I'll tidy up the kitchen a bit, or tidy the lounge (which is next to the kitchen).

I'm really lucky to work in a flexible environment with a great boss who has told me that if I need to leave early now and then to get some housework done, or if I need a friday or monday off for a long weekend to get things done that as long as I give him a few days notice its fine.

[cheekyfrog]

If only we didn't have to sleep... lol. No answers here but lots of I-know-how-you-feel hugs. I'm feeling quite out of control as far as housekeeping goes. I'm working full time, single parenting and my closest family member is in another State. What I do do, thanks to some advice I read posted by Satya, is get DS's things ready for the following day as soon as we get home so that at least his bag is packed and all I have to do is grab a few things out of the fridge in the morning for him. I also lay out my clothes before I go to bed. And I also do washing at night and hang on drying racks in the loungeroom. It's a real grind most days - a major triumph to stay fed, clean and clothed!