Can you do OS and work full time too?

joanie

OMG !!

I started to feel faint at the 5:30 wake up call ! Are you an early bird???
I work full time and although I have my rota of jobs and tick things off as I do them.... your list scared me silly!

I must be the opposite of you.... I would rather do more on an evening and stay in bed until 7:00 am.....

when I had my son i worked 3 days a week for the first 3 months and found that it was more exhausting trying to do it all than going back full time .... at least there is no one at home to mess it up !

good luck ( and buy plenty of alcohol!)

purpleivy

floss2 wrote: »

Why not work out a rota for showers, and set the kids tasks to do to earn their pocket money (mine used to change their own beds, tidy up, drag the hoover round, and had to wash & dry up every night - as did me & my brothers from me being 7 yrs old). As you've spent 15 years bring them up, its time they started to help out now you're going back to work.

Also, don't fall into the trap of "he/she doesn't do it the way I do, so I will do it myself"....there lies the path of a martyr! You have to learn to bite your lip, and either put up with it, or gently direct them until they learn to do it the "best" (mum's!) way.

Apart from anything else, you are setting them up for a lifetime of independence & an ability to manage their own homes by teaching them basic housekeeping & chores....for which you will be thanked by future partners!

Hear hear!!!

Jorgan_2

I'm still trying to work out why you need to go to the gym.

luxor4t

floss2 wrote: »

Why not work out a rota for showers, and set the kids tasks to do to earn their pocket money (mine used to change their own beds, tidy up, drag the hoover round, and had to wash & dry up every night - as did me & my brothers from me being 7 yrs old). As you've spent 15 years bring them up, its time they started to help out now you're going back to work. snipped

I totally agree, you will wear yourself out if you have to be responsible for running their lives too.
It is quite hard at first,but my kids survived when I went back to work . I had always expected them to share the chores, but once I was at work I was not around to 'encourage' them (= chase up/ nag/ etc).

The world did not stop spinning if DS1 didn't make his bed, and if DD didn't put her socks to wash, then she could borrow a pair from her brothers or wash them herself (:rotfl: ) And if one of them forgot to do homework, none of their teachers were going to accept "mummy didn't remind me" as an excuse.

It was hard going at first,but I enjoyed the back-to-work learning curve and the kids did benefit from taking responsibility: they can all cook, clean and iron and went off to Uni knowing they could survive.

My best tip is to batch cook:don't just make one casserole, make two:eat one, freeze the other.

cha97michelle

I'll be watching this with interest. I return to work next March after maternity leave of a year. DS1 will be 29months old and DS2 will be 10 months old, and i am already dreading the thought of how i will do everything when i can't manage it all now. :eek: And it isn't like i can make them do very many of the chores, although i am training DS1 to do basics like put stuff in the bin for me, pick up his toys, and he thankfully is good at bedtime. DS2 on the other hand is a bit of a nightmare - he still doesn't let me sleep, so any tips i will be paying attention and trying to implement here.

newlywed

I agree, always make double the dinner if you can.

I used to get so stressed about cooking every day - so I try and make sure I plan at least one meal that comes out of the freezer every week - it feels like a night off - the most that gets cooked along with it is frozen veg!!

Look for the slow cooker meals that need the least preparation. If you have a quiet evening you can always chop veg and leave in the fridge - for us some mornings are busier than others so those mornings I try to plan a quick evening meal like sausage mash and veg, instead of trying to sort things out in the morning (I don't do mornings - and could/would never do 5:30 am!!!!).

While tea is cooking in the evening I try and make packed lunches ready for the next day.

I agree with a rota for the kids though. When we were kids especially in school holidays we had a list - who was washing up, drying up, hoovering which rooms, cleaning the sink (we were let off cleaning the toilet!), tidying the coffee table, peeling veg etc. We moaned at first, but the list did stop the arguments and the why me questions .

If I had my way (step kids ) the kids would have more jobs. But they know never to leave a cup or plate in any room other than the kitchen and (after a couple of years) know it's part of the rules and don't moan (anymore), they also set the table for meals at the weekends.

I'm planning on introducing them to the joys of using the washing machine and iron but will have to wait for OH's backup. He does their ironing I agree that longer term, they need to know how to survive themselves.


And my other tip for working full time - is don't sit down when you get home - else you won't want to get up again. As soon as I'm home I put shopping away (usually shop in my lunch hour) and then start making tea and the next day's lunches. Otherwise, if I sat down, tea would be ready about 9pm - or be a takeaway!!

Beccatje

wow, that list scares me silly!

I'm a part time working mum of 5 (4 left in the house) and I don't do all that!!

Make the kids do their share! And OH if you have one.

Give them an alarm clock if they haven't got one already and make them responsible for getting up on time. If they're late.. it's THEIR problem!
(i've sent a kid to school in pj's once.. with her clothes in a bag... it only took ONCE!)

Make the big ones a little responsible for little ones. Help with putting on shoes etc.

I only wash on weekends. And I could not survive without my dishwasher and dryer... On saturdays the kids all have to help with doing a cleanup of the house. clean their rooms, hoover and bring all the washing down.

There's only so much a sinlge person can do.

Good luck!

Caterina

sunset_gold wrote: »

The old-stylers threads I read give me pictures of efficient, frugal, busy, happy people and I want to be one too, so I ask if you would share your invaluable time saving tips that you rely on for being an old-styler please?

Hi Sunset Gold,

Congratulations on starting a new job and well done for getting a part time one!

I just wanted to say, at least ONE OSer (lil'ol' me ) is NOT efficient, although I am frugal busy and happy! And I am sure that there will be plenty more of us here on the thread that can assure you that many of us are not by any means the Martha Stewarts of the OS world!

My home is usually messy and sometimes a bit dirty too, but well lived and loved. I am sure yours is too (lived and loved, not dirty hehehehe!).

My only advice is do not overdo it and drop things/cut corners if you see that you are taking too much on. Life is too short to worry about dust on the picture rails!

Good luck

Caterina

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Hi Sunset gold, congrats on your new job!

My advice is to take each day at a time, I plan what I am going to do the next day while I am falling asleep in bed! getting up early is a good idea but no earlier than 5.30 am!

Have you got a slow cooker? I find mine useful and use it all the time, try a rolling programme of meal planning over 14 days by the time 14 days is up the family have forgotten what they had a fortnight ago so its not repetitive!

Get the kids involved, bribery works well for me (ie paying them pocket money for jobs done)

Lower your standards! Don't expect a pristine home, a few specks of dust are fine...

I've worked all through since 17 years old (now 43, hubby & 2 kids) and I cut corners all the time, set the table as soon as you get home, things seem better when the table is laid...even if there is nowt to eat! (Shirley Conran, Superwoman tip!)

Its also about what you DON'T do that counts, don't lay tablecloths, don't overcommit and don't say 'yes' to everyone (including work) check that things can earn their keep before you give them houseroom, if it needs cleaning, insuring, feeding, walking, mending, maintaining etc... don't get it! within reason of course.

Time is money, I find my life is a cunning balance of these 2 things, I sometimes spend time to save money and vice versa, its great if you can save time and money in the same job.

Constantly review your life and try to find ways to keep things streamlined, you can get bogged down with the mundaneties and not see the wood for the trees sometimes, remember that we all have 24 hours in a day, no-one, even millionaires can get more than that, its what you do with the hours that count.

Remember that it is your decision, you are in charge, juggling things can be hard so take time to enjoy yourself, you don't have to justify what that is, its your time.

phew! I can't think of anything else...ooh! nearly forgot........ enjoy it too! good luck

cafelady

Here's my tips..

Make a big pan of soup also using whatever you've got in. Take to work for lunches if you've got a microwave there (or get one of those food flask things).

One big, monthly online shop for all basics, then veg delivery each week. Also milk deliveries. Saves time and you only have to pick perishables up in your lunchtime/on the way home.

My lot are younger than yours but I do try to get them cleaning their own rooms and clearing the table - every little helps!

Good luck with the new job.