Can you do OS and work full time too?

maryb

I'm a fan of ironing presses since I bought one - I think they're wonderful

make life easier for yourself if you can

chickadee

ChocClare, Brilliant! Thanks so much for taking the time to do that. I can see what you mean about using the leftovers as the starter for tomorrow's tea. I usually have ingredients in the freezer, but need to plan better so that a) I know what I am doing and b) things are defrosted when I need them. Otherwise, as you say it is frozen sausages and oven chips! Again!!

Jay-Jay_4

chickadee wrote:

My house is like a bombsite, I have three ironing baskets threatening to take over the house

If it makes you feel any better I'm a SAHM and my house is like yours

At least you have a career and get to speak to grown ups. I just sit on MSE all day and then run round with the air freshener before hubby gets home! I told him I need a cleaner but he thinks I should do it as he works and I have the life of riley :rolleyes:. Sheesh, who is this riley bloke....... I need to have a word with him.


But really . Give yourself a break. I don't know how I ever managed to manage a house and a full time job LET ALONE manage it OS. One thing I can recommend is the OS mantra 'cook once, eat twice'. So get into the habit making double and freezing half. It's lovely to get a yum casserole out of the freezer, throw some spuds in a pan and have a 'proper' homecooked meal in 20 minutes. Same with spag bol, have the sauce made and frozen then just boil up some spaghetti......9 minutes later.... voila!

ChocClare

I know just what you mean - I'm a great one for forgetting to take things out of the freezer. In fact, I make a point of always having (value) prawns in the freezer now, as I can just run them under the tap in times of crisis!! Also, I try always to have bacon and ham and cheese in the fridge for the same reason... oh well!

tootles_2

Yes it is possible, I had four children and worked full time, cooked from scratch and did housework etc, it needs planning.

I used to do a 4 week menu plan and then at the weekend cook in advance and freeze. When you cook cook double and freeze half for later. Buy yourself a pressure cooker, you csn cook a stew in the time it takes to cook the veg. The menu plan was put on the door of the cupboard so that who ever was home first knew what was for supper and once the children were big enough to help they peeled potato's etc ready for when I got home, they also kept their own bedrooms tidy. I used to clear up before I went to bed at night so the living room and kitchen were tidy when I got up in the morning. A quick flick round with a damp duster every other day and the carpet hoovered at the weekend.

Washing was started on Friday night dried on Saturday and ironed on Sunday and I had 25 shirts a week at one stage when the children were at school and my husband at work, I actually found it easier to dry shirts on hangers, they did not crease so much and were easier to iron, and no I was not super woman, I got tired just like evryone else, but I did not have any trouble sleeping!!!!

summerday

Hiya,

I don't have a family (only OH) but work full time plus another part time job and can't be as OS as I'd be if I had more time. I think you have to choose the things that matter MOST to you personally OS and use what time you have to get those right.

We don't have a tumble dryer and I wouldn't want one anyway, normally I try to do all the washing at weekends and hang outside but this weekend was rainy, so I looked up the week's weather forecast (can be iffy I know) and tomorrow and Weds looked the best days. So I have just put on a load of washing now to get out of the machine first thing in the morning, then I will hang outside. I hang my clothes out carefully inside out so that the only things that ever need ironing are jeans and OH's shirts for work. Literally I never iron anything else- I think my clothes look passable, if I had a special occasion I might push the boat out but the precious little time I do have I don't want to spend on ironing if I can make my clothes look passable.

Previous posters have made great suggestions esp for cooking. The slow cooker is a great tool for workers- just chuck it all in in the morning, run off to work and a cooked meal awaits you when you walk through the door later. Freezer cooking as someone else suggested is great. I just make double quantities of things like macaroni cheese, stews, lasagne etc and then you have 'ready meals' when you are too tired to cook. Also it does help to do a menu plan at the start of the week- pin it to the fridge so you can see what things you need to get out the day before to defrost etc.

Also I couldn't survive without my 'to do' lists, they keep me focused and it's so satisfying ticking the jobs off.

Hope this helps, Sarah.x

AussieLass

When I worked fulltime and the kids where little I was a great believer in lists. I'd have a notebook and write what I needed/wanted to achieve that day and tick as I went. At the end of the day I would write my next day's list out. It gave me a sense of achievement that I was getting somewhere albeit very slowly but slowly but surely I would put the house to rights.

One thing to suggest, if you do have stacks of ironing and a house like a tip. I did after I brought YS home from hospital as I had to stay in for quite a while. (complications) DH tried but with two littlies and him working eveything was a BIG mess. It was so depressing, I got a lady who cleaned the house & did the ironing. It was lovely. I've only done it the once but it really cleared the decks so to speak. I was in heaven, with 3 under 3 and one a sickly newborn it was worth every cent.

Good luck, it really does boil down to organisation and good management of your time.

elona

A combination of a slow cooker and a bread maker that will also make jam, pizza dough and rolls has even managed to impress my four daughters.

Even the one who informed me that "frozen pizza has all the right and best ingredients and herbs etc".

They will not eat bought stuff now!!!

jazzyjustlaw

Firstly, only make small changes at first if you try to be superwoman your burn yourself out. You need to realise that you are fabulous already you have children and go out to work. Anything that you manage on top is a bonus. The best thing to do is to make lists that stops all that thinking time. I would also make sure you take a night off and if you are rushing around to much then your doing something wrong.

As I say take baby steps. Good luck.

AussieLass

ChocClare wrote:

. Anyway, hope you haven't died of boredom reading this (and I'm sorry I seemed to hit the submit button without meaning to so many times!!).

Best of luck!

Oh yeah.....me thinks you're a bit of a chatterbox:rotfl::D
Join the club...I've been known to talk under wet cement.:p