Can you do OS and work full time too?

Penelope_Penguin

rb80 wrote: »

I’m trying to be more OS and save money but I am finding it really hard. I currently work over 40 hours a week and my partner who I live with is a newly qualified teacher and we worked out he is working over 65 hours a week! As a result of this we have let things slip – for example takeaways have become a staple meal both for lunch and tea. I do a meal plan each week but by Wednesday this slips as we find we are too exhausted to cook! I love cooking and baking but it’s the last thing I want to do when I get home on a dark evening and have other jobs to do. I have tried to be good and make packed lunches etc but its difficult to find the time and energy sometimes.

Welcome :beer: I work 2 days a week, but am incredibly biusy the rest of the time, with children, gardden, house, volunteering, etc, etc. DH has been working in China, apart from 10 days home, where he mainly slept, for the last 3 months, so there's even more for me to do atm.

I cope by being incredibly organised. I menu plan, batch cook and write lists I have a calendar where everyone writes what they're doing.

We have a family "meeting" once a week (over Sunday dinner) where we check what everyone is up to the following week, and I plan accordingly.

Dont's put it down, put it away and never leave a room/go upstairs without taking someting with you to put away are maxims for life

rosieben wrote: »

I can't offer any advice but you might find something useful here on this thread about working full time and being OS

Thanks Rosie - I'll merge this thread to that one later

Penelope_Penguin

rb80 wrote: »

Any ideas for quick, cheap lunches? We don’t have a microwave at work so it cant be anything hot.

You can freeze sandwiches If that appeals, you could make a week's worth, label them, and select what you'd like the night before and let them defrost in the fridge overnight.

I'm the only one in my family to take a packed lunch, so I freeze individual portions or leftovers (soup, pasta bake, casserole, etc) and pick one each day - Freezer Roulette :rotfl: I think it's sausage and vegetable gratin today

Mands

rb80 wrote: »

How do other people manage?

We don't do it now but when the OH and I were both working we were out by 7.30 and hoped to be home by 8pm and we ate home made food 95% of the time.

For me batch cooking was the key so between Monday and Thursday we'd eat from the freezer saving fresh cooking for the weekend.

So on the first weekend I'd make something like a big batch of coq au vin. It's not that much more effort to scale up; it takes about 30 minutes to make enough for 4 and only an hour to make 20 portions. Eat two portions on the Sunday evening, portion and freeze the other 18 in single or double person containers and then there's another 9 meals in the freezer. Weekend #2 was the same but with lasagne made in a roasting tin, allowed to cool and then portioned. Weekend #3 a huge batch of pasta sauce and so on. All of these benefit from long slow cooking but need very little attention while that's going on.

That allowed me to plan a week's meals at the start of the weekend and have them ready, in the top drawer of the freezer.

• On Sunday I'd pull out a container of pasta sauce and allow it defrost.
• First one home on Monday evening put it on to heat and sorted out the pasta. While that was cooking a container of coq au vin and another of rice came out to defrost.
• On Tuesday first one in put those on to simmer and pulled out a couple of portions of lasagne ... or beef bourguignon ... or roast pork etc etc.
• Come Friday we'd be ready for something like a pan fried chicken breast or steak with a salad.
• Saturday was a time to try a new recipe; Sunday was back to batch cooking

.

Obviously it takes a few weeks to get into the swing of things and get that stockpile of freezer meals. A way to kickstart that is to double cook when you do have time, say Saturday and Sunday. Can you make two meals of whatever you've got planned and throw one in the freezer for midweek? Pasta bakes, shepherd's pies, stuffed chicken thighs all work well. That would get you some respite until you've got the freezer full of your own ready meals.

Other things to consider: both rice cooked in bulk then portioned and frozen, and double-baked jacket potatoes are a great standybys. With the rice you need to take care to cool it quickly and treat it properly to keep it safe but it takes as much time to cook two portions as it does ten.

Happy planning!
Mands

MrsE_2

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Welcome :beer: I work 2 days a week, but am incredibly biusy the rest of the time, with children, gardden, house, volunteering, etc, etc.

Most women who work 5 days a week still have all the things you have your 5 non working days to do in 2 days, many without volunteering, some with. Many have a type of volunteering with elderly (or disabled) relatives to help out in addition to regular family & home duties.

I think people who are housewives/husbands or part time workers don't quite comprehend that all or most of the things they do all week still have to be done by full time workers but in much less time.

larmy16

McKneff wrote: »

Could you afford some help for say 2 hours on a Monday and 2 hours on a Friday to do some jobs in your house.

Cleaning, bit of cooking to put in the fridge for supper.

If you are both earning, it should not be too bad.

When I worked full time i paid someone for 2 hours the amount that i got paid, made all the difference to my sanity
the way i looked at it it was a choice between 2 hours doing accounts for nothing but my cleaning was being done.

I work as a cleaner and just could not face doing my own. My DS and I decided to pay for 2 hours a week between us. It is the best thing I have ever done.

It is helping me get more organised too. To walk in one evening a week, to find the carpets, floors, bathroom done etc. has been such a help. HIghly recommended!:)

rachbc

Make life as simple as you can and take it in small steps - so some chicken chunks and a jar of sauce instead of a takeaway, easy meals like pasta etc.

I find the idea of spending all day batch cooking just too daunting/ eats into my weekend time with kids so if I do batch cook i do it by making more of the evening meal - so when I do a stew or spag bol I treble up and freeze the rest.

We always have the ingredents for a coupel of 'cba' to cook meals in - pasta with bacon and toms, thai prawn curry (jar of paste, tin of coconut milk, frozen peas and prawns) whcih require no effort to assemble and save getting a takeaway.

VinceNoir

I often amke a big portion of spag bol. It's pretty simple, about 20-30 mins preparing and cooking (much easier if you've got a food processor), then let it simmer for a few hours. Put it in foil containers (avaialble very cheap in home bargains or any supermarket - a normal one is a good size protion for 2) and freeze. You only have to stick some pasta on and thaw/re-reat in the microwave or on the hob (add a little water if heating from frozen in a pan t stop it burning).

I used about 2-3 onions, 2 carrots and a stick or 2 of celery, a carton (500ml) of passatta, 1-2 glasses of red wine (depening how thrifty you feel) and 1-2 beef stock cubes for every 500g of mince. Proportions don't need to be exact, use more veg if you want to stretch it further. A clove or 2 of garlic and whatever herbs (bay, tyme, rosemary and oregano all grow in my garden) you want for added flavour. Some good cured pork (pancetta, speck etc), thick bacon, pork mince etc. also adds a great flavour.

Recipe:
-If you're using any pork, brown it off in a large saucepan for 2-3 mins over a medium-high with some oil or butter
-dice all your veg (takes no time with a food processor) and garlic, if using, and add this to the pan. Stir, then lower the heat
-simmer for 8-10 mins, until the veg is soft and the raw onion smell is gone
-brown the mince in a frying pan (can skip this if you want to save on washing up) and add this to the saucepan
-add the wine, stock cubes, passatta, herbs and some water, bring to the boil, then simmer slowly for 3-6 hours, the longer the better
- keep an eye on it, add some fresh boiled water if it dries out too much.

Sparklyfairy

Great ideas so far! I also recomend batch cooking or Once a Month Cooking - aka OAMC - there are loads of blogs where people do this - it seems to be very big in the US. Just Google oamc & loads of recipes & ideas will come up - hth!

redlady_1

I am a 60 hour plus girlie who lives alone. I know EXACTLY where you are coming from. As well as this I study and do private work, 6 days a week. I am shattered! And all this is before doing chores. Quick meals involve omlettes, pre-batch cooked stuff and yes, a take away. Sunday is a roast so is Monday, Tuesday is bubble and squeak with whatever is leftover from the roast, Wed will be something from the freezer, Thus and Friday will be slow cooker of some description. Saturday will depend. If you have a bad week then dont beat yourself up about it.

Cleaning, well I can only recommend a quick whizz over in the mornings and that should help you stay on top of it. If it slips then just catch up at the weekends.

misscousinitt

Hi

I definately second the making extra method and in no time at all you will have a freezer full of HM Ready Meals.

There are only 2 of us and we both work full time so when I make spag bol, meatballs, chilli, casserole, curry, soup or cottage pie, I always make a couple of extra portions to go in the freezer.

Also, when freezing meat, I think about what I might use it for and cut it up accordingly before freezing eg chicken strips for quick stir frys, chunks of beef for stews etc...

There are lots of really quick and easy recipes for midweek suppers out there (check out bbc good food .com) that take little preparation and will leave you more time to relax.

As regards lunches you can either make sandwiches the night before to save time in the morning - or use a little of that over-cooking to help you prepare different lunch ideas eg extra pasta and rice can be made into salads with left over meat or veg - dressings can be made up un advance and kept in the fridge in a jar for a week.

Hope this helps

Good luck...

A