The Modern but Old Style Homemakers Club

janeym8

Id like to join as well
Im waiting to hear from pensions agency if I am getting ill health retirement
ive been off work since last November
have some good days but a lot of bad days when i need help with everything but i need to learn to pace myself so hopefully joining this will help in some way

janey xxx

pauleyc

Hi all, can i join too please?
Im a sahm mum of 3 boys (13, 2 and 1)
Im very lucky to be able to stay at home with my boys but really im not naturally a tidy/organised peron (unless its something exciting lol)
So i need help on trying to get "sorted". I need to get organised as i want to set up my own business before chrstmas (sewing) but dont seem to have time to make anything - dont seem to be able to manage my time and the house always looks a mess.

Im getting married in 2 weeks (gulp) so am planning to have a major sort out after that to clear the clutter. SO i may need some hand holding during that time?

tootoo

Hello - may I join?! I don't really fit the criteria either. I flit between threads (often reading) but don't feel like I've found my home yet!
I work part time, have a wonderful 18 month old and I'm expecting baby number 2 in February. Hubby is self-employed and we have been extremely lucky so far during this recession, but the work is starting to looking bleak, which is worrying, but we will get by I'm sure.
I need to start the big declutter and try to get my house in order (everything from freezer to drawers)! I'm so tired though I find it very hard to get going.....just keeping the place clean and tidy is a challenge some days!!
Pauleyc - congrats on the upcoming big day!
Will go back and have a good read on the other posts now.
Tootoo

Gintotmelinda

Hi all

JuliaP may I join? I posted on your other thread and hope to be a regular on this one. Having left my very part time job in July although I'm paid until the end of this month I am a housewife atm considering my options and enjoying my head being empty of work!

Have a good day all whatever you're doing....

Gintot

juliapenguin

Hi everyone and welcome to our nice new thread. To people who said they want to join the club, I've added your names to the list on the first post - let it snow, I wasn't sure if you wanted to 'join' so give me a shout if you do! I don't see why you have to stay at home to join in and play with us!

As you may have read, my reason for wanting the thread is to find out more about the ups and downs of life at home while I'm making decisions about my working life for the short/medium-term. Until the end of next week I've got supply teaching work which I'm finding really hard - I know I'm a good teacher, and I put my heart and soul into it, but it takes its toll on my mental health. Then my physical health suffers, and add to that the fact that I'm probably menopausal :eek:

Today I've got the morning at home (bliss) then I'm supply-working as an examiner for speaking exams - the poor students are so stressed and terrified, I find I empathise with them and feel exhausted afterwards myself! Tonight I'm going to see my brother who has cancer (no cure for his type ), so I need to make good use of my morning to prepare me for a stressful day ahead.

This is what I haven't got organised yet - how to get all the chores done quickly so that I can enjoy sitting in my tidy organised living/kitchen/dining room (we're in a modern apartment so I can't hide from any kitchen mess!!). I'm really late up today as I couldn't sleep last night - it was probably about 2.30am when I got to sleep (insomnia - not sure whether it's the cause or result of the anxiety problems).

This is the plan:
- bath (oh, the bliss of having time for that in the morning - I hate the shower in the en suite as the cubicle is so small and I'm...... not :rotfl:)
- tidy bedroom and make bed (easy in the autumn/winter/spring but hard at the moment as we use a sheet and blanket in the summer and the blanket is too small to look nice on the bed during the day - I end up faffing about and/or putting the duvet over it just to look neat)
- tidy the big room and kitchen chores for the day: sweep floor, clean sink and surfaces, tidy out the fridge a bit
- reward myself with some time with my library book
- have some early lunch before I leave the house to get the bus to work - yesterday I made taco soup which is my all time favourite meal - minced beef, onion, red pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, stock, chilli powder, cumin, garlic, stock cooked for an hour or two - I then freeze the mixture in portions and reheat it for lunches with a spoonful of Philly and a splash of cream if there's any available. I'm finding a low-carb diet so helpful for my mental state - I'm a complete carb monster which makes my mood swings worse and I feel much better if I avoid carbs (just for the record my doctor did blood tests recently and was stunned how low my cholesterol was)

I'm really looking forward to hearing how you're all planning to spend your day today!

Red_Doe

Can I join too please? I'm mum to three grown children (one of whom is still at home) and self employed but work from home too and do consider myself pretty much a fulltime homemaker.

Today, I'm doing general housework...tidying, hoovering, cooking and washing etc, but also going to the doc for a tetanus shot due to being bitten by a vole yesterday.

juliapenguin

pauleyc wrote: »

Im getting married in 2 weeks (gulp) so am planning to have a major sort out after that to clear the clutter. SO i may need some hand holding during that time?

Congratulations!! And I'm sure hand-holding will be right here when needed!

TattyG

Please can I join - I do have 3 children and do work very minimal hours so a majority of my time is homemaking and I love it !!

I am just working through my dailies and then going to sort out as per the Fly Lady list Quiet night tonight but do need to do some OU work as got exams coming up

TG xx

rachbc

Cheapskate wrote: »

We have 5 children (24, 22, 19, 4 & nearly 2) - in and amongst I've done various part time jobs & voluntary work once the older ones were at school full time. The most I've worked was when the older ones were at or had finished high school, I worked in schools doing about 25 hours a week. The assumption of those around me was that at some point I would want to work full time year-round, but like juliapenguin (& I suspect some others) it became too stressful & I took the plunge & left - reducing our total income by a third! :eek: BUT....I was more content, less stressed/tearful, home more to shop/cook more wisely (i.e. more OS!), and then we had our 2 youngest children.

I still have a job, very part time & littlies go to one of their aunts if I have to work through the week (for about 3 hours), just enough for a few quid extra, a break for me & a break for them - they see family members regularly, etc. I'm resisting looking for more work, although the pressure (not from DH) seems to be greater these days that a mum "ought" to work more outside the home. I'm determined to enjoy these 2 babies, little boy goes to school this time & I already feel upset that I've missed stuff as I've worked, even just a bit, during his toddler years (blubbing as I write this - what a big girl's blouse! :rotfl:)

I have a new voluntary post, which will only entail a few hours a month in the evenings, so it won't affect the kids, but it's something to keep my brain ticking over! I've always loved learning, so even when both babies are in school I will do adult ed, or haunt libraries for new stuff to learn - I'd never be bored if I didn't have to work again!

My mum's always said that only a boring person is bored, and I know what she means - whether or not you work for money you will always find something to do or interest you if you've got something about you.

Sorry for waffling, got a few minutes to spend on here for a change!

A xo

Not sure this thread is the place for this debate but having done both they are both hard in different ways but as a working mum you still do the same homemaker stuff (possibly shared with a partner) just in less time! On the plus side the house at at least stays tidy from 8-6 with no one there to mess it up!

Just realised I quoted wrong post - I was replying to letitsnow - duh!

juliapenguin

rachbc wrote: »

as a working mum you still do the same homemaker stuff (possibly shared with a partner) just in less time! On the plus side the house at at least stays tidy from 8-6 with no one there to mess it up!

I know we're all different, but for me that just isn't true - when we are both working flat-out, a lot of the homemaker stuff NEVER gets done - for me, a peaceful, clean and uncluttered home environment are a key factor in keeping my mental health good, and in my last job we just never got that done, in spite of both me and DH doing as much as we could evenings and weekends. We'd manage to do the laundry, but it was always a rush, the flat was always a tip and we had very little home-cooked from scratch food. Stuff got wasted because I might buy meat one day, be too tired to cook it and get a takeaway, then forget all about it until the smell started to seep out of the fridge. Disgusting, I know, but when my mental health goes, I become disorganised and lethargic

I'm absolutely not criticising anyone - in fact I have huge admiration for people who can work outside the home and STILL get everything done at home. Some people may be able to have it all, but I don't think I'm one of them.