Both working FT with a little one...

SandC

You do seem to be writing off Saturday after 3pm. There's plenty of family stuff you can still be doing, going for something to eat together etc. Do you put your child to bed at the same time at the weekends? If so, why?

What's so great about Sunday evening telly? Can't you be doing the ironing while you watch that? Can you switch around every other week and see your MIL Sunday instead of Saturday? Or include her in a day out that you are all involved with?

I think you might have just got into some habits and have convinced yourselves there isn't enough time to start something or go somewhere. Go out for lunch at least once a month and while you're out go visit somewhere nice, even if it's a shopping mall of some kind. I personally wouldn't bother with any cleaning on a Sunday but it might do your head in too much to leave it.

ema_o

I vote for cleaner. We have 2 ladies once a fortnight for an hour (around £21) and they do the whole house in that time. Then I feel it's clean so only need to do top up stuff / quick clean in the week they don't come.
My OH used to be the same - looong time cleaning the bathroom (and I had to keep little un out the way) then think he deserved a medal. It just wasn't worth it. My time at the weekend is too precious to waste cleaning up. Although it depends what you like doing the least. It might be worth looking for someone to do ironing as well / instead.
Weekends - we are up early Sat for swimming lessons. Before we started that it would sometimes feel we had wasted the weekend. Now when class isn't on we go for a bike ride / to park etc and it just means we have done something nice right at the start of the weekend.

runninglea

Op - you sound exactly the same as us

I work normal office hours but sometimes leave at 7am to get into work early. My OH works 4-10pm so I pick up twins from childminder, bath and bed etc.

I am always being told we never spend time together, but what with us both working!

Online shopping and getting it delivered every friday night saves us time.

Also how long are your runs, they must take a lot of time. Get your OH a bike with a child seat and they can ride alongside of you

uk_american

Keeping a 'time management' diary for a week or two may be helpful. A work colleague had to do it for a course--they were asked to estimate their activities/timing in advance of the week and to give these priority ratings, then to actually track their actions. It was quite an eye opener for my colleague who thought she spent 10% of her time on small non-priorty questions--it turned out to be closer to 50%.

xxlouisexx56

Do you have to see your MIL every weekend? My inlaws would love us to go every weekend but I can't be bothered with that.

I would say, plan one activity once a fortnight, like swimming, cinema, day out and plan your time around that.

NoAngel

I don't have a child (but I'm pregnant) but we both work full time and sometimes sit and think about how to be more efficient. I find that doing the washing during the week (pop a load in before bed and take out the following morning) saves some weekend time.

Most of the grocery shopping is done online and delivered through the week.

As someone else said, you do seem to be writing off Saturday afternoons... At 3pm you've still got loads of time to do more than cook dinner. Could your husband sometimes go to his Mothers on his own with LO whilst you catch up with housework? Or even visit her Friday evening instead?

Primrose

How important is your training for a marathon? Perhaps you should consider putting this on the back shelf until your immediate domestic stuff can get dealt with? Ask yourself whether this is a Nice to do activity, or an Essential one. Sometimes some things have to be deferred until there's a more appropriate time.
More batch cooking & freezing might open up some spare time, and ordering groceries online
Is there a local teenager nearby who could earn some pocketmoney by dog walking, or a neighbour with a dog who would also be prepared to walk yours at the same time?.

Dunroamin

Can you combine exercising the dog with your marathon training?

runninglea

Take the dog out marathon running with you - 'killing two birds with one stone' etc

Mine loves it

runninglea

Dunroamin wrote: »

Can you combine exercising the dog with your marathon training?

sorry your post wasn't there when I wrote it. The phone went and I got waylaid