Can you do OS and work full time too?

xx_Jo_xx

How long do you leave your slow cooker on for then Leiela? Mine is just a small one (little white cheap one from Asda) cos there is only me and the Little One, so didnt think there was any need for a huge one.......but Im a bit worried about going to work and leaving it on for 10 hours!! Most of the stuff is cooked in it in 4-6 hours!!! Im scared I'll come home and it will have burnt my house to the ground!:rotfl:

newlywed

xx_Jo_xx wrote: »

How long do you leave your slow cooker on for then Leiela? Mine is just a small one (little white cheap one from Asda) cos there is only me and the Little One, so didnt think there was any need for a huge one.......but Im a bit worried about going to work and leaving it on for 10 hours!! Most of the stuff is cooked in it in 4-6 hours!!! Im scared I'll come home and it will have burnt my house to the ground!:rotfl:

I turn mine on some time before 8am and get home about 6pm. Only mistake I ever made was I'd set it to high instead of LOW :eek: Sausage casserole was still edible but somewhat brown :rotfl: OH decided he liked the veg better that way as it was softer :rolleyes:

But if it didn't have a LOW setting - I probably wouldn't do it

MrsPorridge

I used to use a timer on my slow cooker. You can buy them from B&Q or somewhere like that - its just a mechanical one and I used to put everything in the slow cooker then plug it into the timer and then plug that into the wall. I used to set it to come on later in the morning.

HOwever, now I don't bother I just put the slow cooker on as normal (on low) around 7.45 ish just before I leave for work and come home to it about 5 ish.

Rummer

Hello

I work full time too and I agree with a lot of what has been said so far. Batch cooking didn't work for me though so I cook everything from scratch each evening although I have quick things in to fall back on like pasta and couscous.
The evenings meals are often split and taken in as lunches the next day.

I try not to sit down when I get in as well and work for an hour after I get in then do little bits during the adverts and I have tried to make sure that I clean up as I go. Only taken 6 years to get on top of the house work! Laundry I put on in the morning and dry at night and I have to do a wash every day.

When it comes to shopping I do a big shop each month then top up on fresh stuff weekly which works quite well. My other OS thing is to grow as much fruit and veg as I can. This has saved a fortune and has also saved me having to join a gym!

leiela

xx_Jo_xx wrote: »

How long do you leave your slow cooker on for then Leiela? Mine is just a small one (little white cheap one from Asda) cos there is only me and the Little One, so didnt think there was any need for a huge one.......but Im a bit worried about going to work and leaving it on for 10 hours!! Most of the stuff is cooked in it in 4-6 hours!!! Im scared I'll come home and it will have burnt my house to the ground!:rotfl:

Well mine go's on just before i leave at 7am and i don't get home till 7-8pm (see 7:15 tonight ) I leave mine on Low it's a dead old one at least 16 years old haha... SC's use that little electricty and that little power that the chances of them burning the house down are slim haha, the are designed to be left on after all. tbh i don't thing there is anymore risk from it burning the house down than there is from leaving the TV on standby.

you sort of learn what foods can cope bieng on that long, soups are generally fine as long as you don't mine the veg very soft, most joints of meat are fine, beef brisket works wonderfully well it's actually BETTER cooked for that long, chicken is also fine, gammon.

stuff with a "sauce" is the stuff to watch out for a chill for example will survive as long as you don't mind the overcooked bit sticking to the bottom of the SC bowl where its burn't on abit. Which is why i generally do joints of meat with just alittle water if im gonig to be out all day and leave chilli's etc to me made up at the weekend and frozen / fridged.

kunekune

I have children aged 7 and 9 and work full-time. They both go to before school and after school and holiday club, and have school dinners. So that helps. I think OS means something different depending on your situation .... and your standards, LOL. So, cleaning isn't my strong point, though I keep up with washing, just about (have to, cos DS isn't continent, to put it mildly ... and I mean both sorts). But I do cook from scratch every night. I get home and start cooking around 5.45, so we do eat later than other families, I suspect: sometime between 6.30 and 7.00 usually. I have a good stock of 'home made ready meals' in the freezer, through cooking double quantities of things - last night I put in a nice veg curry and rice/lentil mix, and tonight I'll be adding a single person liver, bacon & mash meal. I also do detailed meal planning, plus on-line grocery shopping.

It's not easy, but it's certainly no harder than living on ready meals and takeaways.

pirates

puss14 wrote: »

...

Also don't be hard on yourself and expect things to be perfect and if you have a OH make them kick in and help;)

Hope the quotey bit works!!

The key for me is not to worry about having the cleanest tidiest, most organised house but to be able to eat, chill, sleep and base myself.

last year this was the only way I survived, I was planning our wedding, starting a very overrun allotment, working FT & generally trying to fit the housework in amongst it all. The wedding was made easier by tons of help from my mum cos she lived near the venue so dealt with the food, venue, photographer and idiot guests. (That was all of them not just a couple!)

the allotment took up so much time that I was going straight from work then not getting home till late (in summer), or dumping work stuff and heading straight back out. & often eating whilst there, whatever was available!

The key is to decide what the priorities are - for me growing the veg was very important (doing the day job less so but unfortunately that's what pays the bills!), so general housework and tidying is not so important. I am a clutterbug and happily live that way for a while, then I set aside some time and do a big sort out.

I always try and cook a meal from scratch and having home grown veg always helps, although having a break does help. Sometimes this means a little prep the night before to bung in the slow cooker on a morning or a quickie meal on an evening, fortunately I learnt to cook with minimal ingredients so, I believe as long as you have a 'base' some onions or tomatoes (both if you like) and flour and seasoning, you have the basics of a meal!

angelavdavis

I really sympathise - it is really down to your individual situation, and all the tips here are excellent!

I was laid off in December, but previously I tended to work at least 2 days per week either away from home altogether or working late nighters, my tips were always:

- bulk cook - I didn't get home until after 7:30, so always planned for meals that took less than 45 mins. As much was pre-cooked and taken out of the freezer the night before and then reheated and vegs/pasta/rice adding.
- shop online - wherever I was working in the UK, this was essential! The last thing I wanted to do on Saturday was got to Tesco!
- as controlling as it might initially sound, I also keep quite a strict list of freezer contents so I know exactly what I have/have run out of, it allows me to phone OH if I am away and ask him what has been crossed off the list!
- like pirates, I also like growing stuff at home, but it was always limited to weekend work, with OH/Mum watering for me as I wasn't around during the week. Tended to work better in summer for me.
- Use the BM to prepare rolls for Oh's lunch that can be frozen in 4's - as they don't keep as well as shop bought, it would allow OH the choice over what he wanted to eat.
- Prep and freeze basic sandwich components or soups. I don't eat much bread for lunch, but love soups so make them all the time. Most freeze easily and can be reheated in the MW ready to put in a flask.
- In winter, get practised with the slow cooker (i'm like Leiela - its on all day), it is probably used 4 times a week in winter at least! I am a big stew/casserole/slow cooking fan to be honest!

ali1972

I dash around trying to get a few chores done in the morning each day before I leave - quick bit of dusting while my porridge cooks or quickly mop kitchen floor etc whilst bath runs - so that I don't end up doing chores at the weekend. My goal is to keep weekends clear - I work Saturdays so Sunday is my only day off and very precious.

When I get in in the evening I cook from scratch but I don't mind that if I've got the news on and a glass of vino to hand. Can't bulk cook, no freezer, but have a great selection of recipes that only make 2 portions and am not at all embarrassed to ask the butcher for 125g of mince if that's all I need for one portion of shepherd's pie! I've got to the stage where I believe myself when I say "It'll be so much better if I cook a proper meal..." so keep some cashews or carrots handy to keep me going while I cook if need be, however famished. Also find I can bake a loaf of bread Doris Grant style around a bit of telly - mixing takes 5 mins then it can rise during Desperate Housewives (yup, no bread machine, no blinking room in my kitchen)... Also can manage a quick hoover occasionally whilst food is cooking. I keep a good stock of cupboard staples and herbs, spices, condiments so the nuts and bolts of most meals are there already. Means I do small shops for fresh stuff as and when.

Post It notes are my friend. I've got a little collection of brightly coloured ones on the back of the front door saying things like "Laundry Out to Dry!" or "Loo Cleaner" and the relevent one goes by the front door lock so I see it before I leave in the morning. Also I keep a notepad on the fridge door so I can write down straight away what I need to shop for. Makes shopping easy to do on autopilot and you can just pick up a few things at lunchtime as you need them if you can't face a bigger weekly shop.

And the best time to clean the bathroom... is while you're using it. I find if you give the shower/bath and sink a quick going over after you've used each it never really builds up.

Paulie'sGirl

OH and I both work full-time, he's out from 7 til 6, and I can be out mad hours, but usually at least 8-6. I also work away alot. It does make it difficult

First thing that went by the board was cleaning. Not that I don't do it, I've just learned to relax my standards a little. So I haven't hoovered today, is it going to kill me??

Washing up gets done through the week, usually by OH, after tea, while I sit and do work whilst chatting to him. Hoovering is now a weekend affair, and through the week if its noticable (its just us, how much mess can 2 adults make, really?) The washing machine goes on while tea's cooking. The washing is the one thing I do keep on top of cos I might need a week's worth of work clothes to pack at a drop of a hat

I agree with cleaning the bathroom as you go, it makes a difference.

Because of the erratic hours, we find that making our own freezer meals works best for us. We enjoy cooking, so after we've been shopping at the market and Aldi on a weekend we have a cook up. We make meals in the foil trays and in the plastic takeaway tubs. Things like lasagne and cottage pie in the trays for oven heating. Stews, soup, chilli, ragu, curry, savoury mince in the plastic tubs for nuking while veg steams or pasta/rice cooks. I'm also never without aldi's partbake baguettes, cos sometime we just fancy a BLT or a ploughmans for tea.

Things like beans on toast are quick and easy when you really can't be chewed. And we like to treat ourselves (we really are big kids!!) to pancakes for tea sometimes - there's something naughty about having dessert for tea...:j

My slowcooker is my downfall, I haven't used it in a while, and I need to get back in the habit:o

If I get back early (I manage my own time) I like to make rissoto. Still only half an hour (but you can't leave it) but I find it relaxing and soooo yum.

I know it sounds daft, but getting my clothes out the night before really helps me, I'm not a morning person. I have been known to even put the coffee and sugar in the cups...:rotfl:

I usually do a big shop once every couple of months and have it delivered. I either log it on during my lunch or on an evening while chilling out with OH. Then we pick up veg from the market and odds from Aldi or Coop. I find that saves me time.

That's about it really. It is possible to be OldStyle. I think if I could get into flylady the cleaning wouldn't even been an issue.

Hope some of that helped, what a ramble!!!

PGxx