Working couples and housework

Make-it-3

What do you do in the 1-2 hours before dinner every night - washing the dishes takes 10-15 mins max, including wiping down all the worktops/cooker? Why is sorting lunches such a chore - takes five minutes to make a sarnie, even less time to pack up some leftovers from dinner, or why not take all the ingredients to work and make up your lunch fresh (if you have a kitchen available to you there).

Why are you wasting 3 hours together grocery shopping at the weekend?? If that's OH's bit of fun, leave him to it and take that time to pamper yourself. Unless you have a huge house, the two of you should be able to do a basic clean of your house in an hour tops; hoover, dust, clean bathroom/kitchen, put washing in. Maybe set aside half a day, once a month for a more thorough clean and to do the things that need doing less often like cleaning the windows.

Really you should have a lot more free time than you say, I think its just perception keep on top of things rather than let them get on top of you.

LilacPixie

Both me an hubby work full time, we also have 2 kids. here are my nessesities

Online shopping, totally essential I don't do shops especially not with kids
Slow cooker - meals thet cook while i work, lovely
washing machine timer - self explanatory
batch cooking - chili straight to pot, rice steamed and voila tea

Before i go to work I prepwashing machine, slowcooker if using it brekkie dishes in sink nursery run done then work. while at work meals cook, clothes wash. OH gets in, washing to dryer and hot water on while putting TV on to keep kids amused for 20 mins, I arrive and wack on pasta/rice/veg/noodles whatever, OH then goes to run kids bath. 15 mins later tea ready we all sit and eat, all 4 or us eat the same meal. dishes to sink, kids to bath with OH while i log online and do a little food shopping/ house admin/ sweeping floors (wood flooring) and emptying the drier. Most clotheswe have don't need ironed if i catch in time from dryer. Kids out bath, I do drying and PJ's while OH puts warm clothes into appropriate drawers. kids another 30 mins TV before bed while me and OH do dishes/clean kitchen. Kids have to put away blocks etc, Kids to bed, I shower while OH makes up his packed lunch, I take either instant soup or some leftovers. After my shower i wash out bath quick wipe over of surfaces etc. Bleach down toilet before bed. Dirty clothes in machine, coffee mugs washed

Saturday all beds stripped plus 1hr in each bedroom while waiting on shopping to arrive (I select a saturday morning slot) kids like to 'help' dust so they have dusting microfiber mits. Ispray oven pride on oven and put trays in bag every fortnight on saturday morning. Saturday afternoon we are out and about visiting or swimming or getting kids bigger shoes just typical family stuff, SAturday night is our chill night. Sunday visiting family/friends sometimes someoen over for sunday lunch. OH takes kids for a wander while I do the sunday lunch cooking and bake some treats like biscuits or muffinsif its bad weather they play inside with blocks/paints/meccano etc.

Once a month my inlaws take kids from saturday morning to sunday lunch time so its then we do the 'big' jobs like windows, washing woodwork etc.

You should have a look on the flylady thread, lots of ideas there.

lindsaygalaxy

I would get a cleaner in 2 hours a week to do the stuff that takes time eg dusting, windows, good hoover etc. Shopping online (if your with Tesco and use your clubcard your favourites are saved). Save the gym etc for the weekend when you have free time.

dannymccann

We are also a young FT couple, but with a dog in tow!

I think you seem to be trying to do too much housework...we hoover when we need to, which is MAX once a week in the barely used rooms of the house and probably twice a week in the living room / kitchen where we spend most of our time. The washer goes on when its full, if thats mid way through the afternoon or overnight doesnt matter, whenever its ready for when you get in / get up.

Clean the kitchen worktop while you are waiting for something to cook in the oven, also when you have finished with a jar or a bottle from the cupboard put it straight back in, dont leave it out on the work surface a) it looks untidy and b) its harder to clean quickly!

Washing up - use as few a things as possible. If something has just had liquid in it, rinse it with cold water and dry it with the dishcloth and stick it back in the cupboard. I only wash the wok / frying pan (used daily) every 3 weeks - it sounds disgusting but they are such good quality you wouldnt know they had been used after every meal. My OH is terrible when she cooks, which isnt very often. She can fill the dishwasher preparing and cooking one meal - I really dont know how she does it :rotfl:

Snuggles

Thank you so much to all for your suggestions and comments, it has given me lots of ideas.

I know that keeping on top of the domestics for two people probably shouldn't be difficult, and maybe it is a matter of perception, as one poster said. I think part of the problem is that I used to live here alone, and now with all OH's stuff, the house just feels too small and cluttered. It's a new build (tiny with very little storage) so we really do struggle to find a home for everything. Sometimes I feel like I'm just moving clutter from one place to another and not really achieving anything.

Also, before OH moved in, I used to keep the house absolutely spotless (it was my first house, and I had it from brand new, so it was immaculate and I was very proud of it). Nothing had ever been spilled on the carpet, there were no marks on the paintwork, and everything had it's place. OH is completely different in that respect. He is a bit of a hoarder and just does not notice mess and clutter at all. I knew this, as when we first met and I went to his house, I'd never seen anything like it! You literally couldn't sit down because there were piles of books and magazines everywhere, there were THREE broken toasters in the kitchen which he hadn't got round to getting rid of, piles of glass bottles he'd never taken to the recyling, etc etc.

So I have had to relax big time about keeping the house tidy, and that's fine. I'd rather have my wonderful OH than a spotless house. But he is a big clumsy thing, and he creates unbelievable mess doing the simplest things! He's not going to change, and I wouldn't want him to, it's just that I think it's part of the reason why I feel like I'm constantly trying to tidy up and not getting anywhere.

Anyway, thanks again for all the tips, I'm going to really try to get us both organised so we can keep on top of things.

Penelope_Penguin

Snuggles wrote: »

I would LOVE to, but I don't think we could afford it (a cleaner) .

In that case, have you looked at how much you each take home after work expenses (travel, work clothing, extra expenses for lunches, gifts for work colleagues, work lottery, etc, etc).

You might find that your post-expense hourly rate is such that your life will be happier and less stressful if one (or both ) of you goes PT

Just a suggestion; I'm lucky enought to work PT and love the time I have alone in the home :j

grey_lady

I paid a handyman to take out a kitchen cupboard and put in a socket and plumbing for a dishwasher and it was probably the best thing I paid for that year - saved so much time that I wouldnt be without one now - is there any chance you could look into doing that?

Also another fan of online shopping and hoping to have enough spare in my budget before Christmas for a cleaner, around here it seems to be around £7 an hour or £11-12 if you go through an agency.

Fruit_Gum

Snuggles wrote: »

I would LOVE to, but I don't think we could afford it.



Yes, we definitely need to be more organised about meals. I keep planning to cook some meals which can be frozen, but then I think that's just one more chore to do at the weekend!



I feel like our house is a tip most of the time, and I really don't like it. It's funny, when I was single, I used to spend almost my entire Sunday doing the housework, and my house was always really tidy. But since my OH moved in, there's obviously more stuff about, more tidying to do, and I'm much less inclined to do it!

Hey I haven't got round to batch cooking yet but planning on it. Maybe do one day a month where you cook all day, boring I know, but just an idea for you.

hot.chick

aaahhhhh OK... we have the same problem - too much stuff not enough places to put them, our problem is clothes..... we litterally don't have enough draws or wardrobs space..

but have found these in Ikea and I'm hopefull this might help - with a bit of a ruthless clear out aswell...

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/search/?query=EXPEDIT

you can have boxes in it - draws, cupboard fronts etc... if there were more places to hide the clutter away you might feel calmer as it would look tidy???

Snuggles

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

In that case, have you looked at how much you each take home after work expenses (travel, work clothing, extra expenses for lunches, gifts for work colleagues, work lottery, etc, etc).

You might find that your post-expense hourly rate is such that your life will be happier and less stressful if one (or both ) of you goes PT

Just a suggestion; I'm lucky enought to work PT and love the time I have alone in the home :j

I would love to do this! It's not an option for OH due to the nature of his job, but my employer is very flexible. I would love to go down to four days a week, I could use that day to get all the chores done, so that the weekend is entirely for me and OH to spend time together - that would be wonderful! I've just never seriously considered whether we could justify giving up that bit of income.