I would like to be better at this...tips anyone?

Tyrae - posted on 08/31/2011

I`ll go through a regular day for me so you can see what I do :)

5:30 am: wake up to go do my paper route (it gives me an hour or so away from my daughter, and getting the fresh air is nice, it also brings in $125 a month which is nice too)
7:15 am: wake my daughter up to start the day
7:20 am: breakfast
7:45ish am: do the dishes (if there was any left from the night before and morning dishes) while my daughter plays quietly in her playpen with a sippy cup of milk
8:00 am: play games
9:00 am: nurse
9:30 am: put daughter down for first nap
During this period I get random things done around the house, vacuuming, sweeping, clean the washroom, etc. When I`m done I sit down and watch a bit of tv or take a nap if there is nothing that needs to be done.
11:30 am: daughter wakes up from nap and it`s time to start making lunch
12 pm: Lunch and take out whatever we are having for dinner from the family.
12:30 pm: Do lunch dishes quickly, shouldn`t take long maybe 5 minutes.
12:45ish to 2 pm: let daughter wander and play as she wants for a while, while I check for new coupons and deals that are out. Then play more games with her or go for a walk.
2 pm: nurse
2:30 pm: put daughter down for second nap
During this nap I check the mail, clean the kitty litter, feed the cats and watch any favorite tv shows. If it is close to grocery day, I do the meal planning and write up a shopping list. To save money I plan the meals around what we have in the house and whatever is on sale at our usually grocery store.
4-4:30 pm: daughter wakes up and its snack time for her.
4:45-5 pm: start dinner
5:30 pm: dinner time
6 pm: bath time
Play from after bath time till about 7pm
7 pm: wind down time, stories, rice cereal, nursing
7:30 pm: bed time
After bed time I have time to either do the dishes from dinner (or can wait till morning) or hang out with my fiance and watch a movie or a couple tv shows. I usually go to bed around 10pm-10:30pm.

As far as finances go, I kept track of our monthly spending for about 4 months before my daughter was born and got my fiance to realize how much money he was spending willy-nilly, and now he keeps track of his bills (visa, insurance for the car, consolidation loan and such) and I keep track of my own now. We go equally on the rent (atm at least because I am still getting EI), and I try and help with everything else as needed.

We usually don`t do much of anything that costs money. I do take my daughter to the park a couple times a week (she`s only 9 months so she usually just sits on the grass), it`s close and free.

The main thing though, is to remember that you are also taking care of your son and helping him learn and grow. If you miss a couple of chores one day they can be made up the next. Not everything needs to be done and perfect, as long as you and your family are happy then that`s all that TRULY matters. Don`t beat yourself up about the dishes that didn`t get done. Or the load of laundry you missed. :)

Kelly - posted on 08/31/2011

Like you, I didn't have a domestic bone either. The thing that helped me most was hiring my housekeeper back temporarily to teach me how to keep the house. I was on good terms with her, so she didn't mind that she was teaching me how to do her job. I also gave her great references and referrals so she could replace me easily.

I cannot keep a very strict schedule; I get burnt out and bored. Instead, I keep a loose daily schedule. Basically, in the morning, I'll walk through the house and decide what rooms to clean and put them on my list. (Always includes a bathroom and the bedroom). I set my timer for 15 minutes and speed clean each room for the full 15 minutes--you can get A LOT done.

Monday is usually my "Big Laundry" and cleaning day because I don't clean on weekends (that is family time). I do all the linens and clothes from the weekend. I'm home all day with laundry too, so I usually do an extra room or two so I will have more free time for errands and such later in the week.

I plan the errands at the beginning of the week and try to spread them out over the week so I'm not running around all day one day and bored the next, but I also group those close together into one day to save gas and time. If an extra errand pops up, I work it in.

All of our bills are paid by automatic draft. I don't have to do anything but file the statements. All of our mail is put in a tray in the office. Once a week, usually Monday, since I'm home all day, I go through it and trash the junk, file the statements, and tend to the other stuff. If I have to call about something, I do it RIGHT THEN because if I don't, I know it will be at least a week before I think about it again. That whole process usually only takes about 5 minutes...unless there's a call to be made.

Our file system is as follows. 12 hanging folders Jan-Dec. I drop the statements in the appropriate month. At the end of the year, my husband sorts out what needs to be kept longer (taxes, medical, insurance, etc) and condenses it to one hanging file labeled with the year. We keep 10 years, then take out the taxes and they go into the archived tax folder and the rest is shredded. It's all in a 2 drawer file cabinet.

Another big tip is to have a place for everything, but do not "over organize". Receipts can all go in a box, no need to sort them, keep a big basket in the livingroom for toys, then you can just run through and pick them up, rather than taking each piece one by one into his room and shelving it. You can take the whole basket when it's full, or you can just leave it in the living room for him to play with, but it won't look so messy.

When you are cleaning and you have something in your hand that you don't know what to do with, stop there and create a place to keep it. That way, you will always know where it is and where to put it. We have a table with hooks above it by our garage door for hats, jackets, keys, and my purse. I never have to search the house for my bag anymore. It did take a while to get into the habit of putting it there, but anytime I found it out of place, I put it there, and now it's a habit.

Amanda - posted on 08/31/2011

I plan my meals for the week, write a list and do one big shop a week instead of running to the shops every day. Plus I'm sure it helps keep the cost down.

Also if you are able to, with meals like bolanaise or stews or soups, cook extra and freeze it for when time is short or like me you just can't be bothered cooking some days.

I do my washing early in the morning. I put a load on and let it do its thing while we have breakfast. Then hang it up after.

I run any errands in the morning if possible, go to the gym, groups for the kids, shopping and then we can spend abit of time in the afternoon to do abit of cleaning and tidying and we might go to the park or something depending on the weather.

I am hopeless at house work, I absolutely hate it so I break it down and tackle one thing at a time. Bathrooms one day, bedrooms the next that sort of thing. Once my washing has been done it usually piles up for a couple of days before I put it away.

Carrie - posted on 08/30/2011

Use nap time to your advantage. I clean when my son naps and my daughter is at school.. She's only there 2 hours and you can get a lot done in 2 hours. Before school it's getting them both dressed and fed then they get a snack afterschool and we play so it's done and we have together time

Kristin - posted on 08/30/2011

Thanks these tips do help...I do some bills in auto pay but another account would help so things get less mixed up. Also, my husband is a great distraction on his days off too. What we don't do together really doesn't get done. Part of the problem was that his days off were not always the same so it was hard to plan things. But now his schedule is set and since I am used to doing everything on the fly I am having a hard time getting a schedule (other than my son's nap times).

Angela - posted on 08/30/2011

I do auto bill pay and I have a special account for the bills that we just put an auto payment from my husbands pay check in and then we put some in savings and then some in the weekly budget account. It helps a lot for us.

Brittany - posted on 08/30/2011

I take care of almost all the bills, except the credit card and that is because it is under only his name and he pays it directly out of our account. I decide what bills will come out of what paycheck and how much. Honestly the reason for all that is that I'm a saver not a spender, and I'm home all day to quickly take care of things if something is forgotten.

I had a chore chart... that went out the window when I got pregnant and didn't have the energy to clean everyday. The only major things I do cleaning wise is not bother cleaning on my husband's days off (I found that he is a huge distraction). I try to get most of my cleaning done in the morning so I can rest in the afternoon. I plan around naptime as well. So I clean the bathroom while my daugther is napping; the last thing I want is for her to "help" in the bathroom (although it gets done about every 2 weeks). I do plan out laundry which ended up being tuesdays and fridays. I clean the kitchen when it gets dirty (which can be every other day to every two weeks). I never allow myself to do more that 3 chores a day. I find that I get too overwhelmed then.

I hate clutter more than dirt. So I make sure to have toys, clothes, books, etc picked up and put away before bed. If there is a huge mess in the middle of the day I'll have my daughter help clean some of it up, but I mostly leave toy clean up for the end of the day.

I've been having a hard time with meal planning lately. I used to be really on top of it. I think it's a combination of pregnancy, my husband working late, and a toddler. I do plan on meals that reheat well, that way my husband has a lunch to take the next day. Since my husband has mondays off we do our grocery shopping then, the store is less crowded and sometimes you can get special deals in the early mornings.

My daughter has swimming lessons once a week but really that is the only time we get out (we only have one car and there isn't anything to do in walking distance). I save fun trips like to the zoo for when my husband is off and we can go as a family.

Angela - posted on 08/30/2011

I have to say I have a schedule and I try my best to stick to it. I use the same organization techniques I used in when I was in business and it helps. At first I was a mess... and I realized I needed to make list, have certain days for cleaning the bathroom etc.
However I do not put cleaning over having fun with my children. If we have a nice weather or something I will let the chores wait and enjoy life. Not everything has to be perfect it just has to work!
I found having a routine helped me feel sane :)

Kristin - posted on 08/30/2011

Thanks for the comments ladies! And I will definitely check out the flylady website as well :)

Christine - posted on 08/30/2011

I stay at home with my almost 2 year old son, and have since he was born. I love being a stay at home mom! It can be difficult to get everything else around the house done though. I have my off days, but for the most part i've gotten pretty good about getting everything done. I always do some housework first thing in the morning. Little man eats his breakfast and watches cartoons when he first wakes up and this usually gives me enough time to pick up any trash, toys, clothes, ect. up off the floor. Its a quick clean up but it is effective if you do it everyday. I also do a little housework and take a little "me time" during his nap after lunch. I can often get other chores done, pay bills, and have time to shower. If you put their favorite movie or tv show on while you cook dinner that can go more smoothly too. Dishes are the only thing i don't always get in......partly because i hate them so much. lol

Katherine - posted on 08/30/2011

I don't have a domestic bone in my body either lol. I went to allrecipes.com and found some really good meal tips.
As far as a routine I get my kids up, get them breakfast, get them dressed, brush their teeth, wash their faces, brush their hair and then we go somewhere until lunch time.

Then after lunch I might put on a movie or take them outside again. Then it's dinner, I definitely put on a movie or something to keep them occupied.

I usually make something really easy from allreciped.com. Then they chill, read books and get ready for bed.

With a one year old it's kind of hard to have a routine and you don't always have to stick to it. I deviate all the time.
Have him play with chalk outside, or just run around and poop him out.
My youngest is 29 months. It's hard to get a routine, but by God somehow I do it.
Don't beat yourself up if you can't stick to it.
It's great your hubby is understanding, you must be exhausted.

Bethany - posted on 08/29/2011

www.flylady.net is a very good place to start, slowly. It has changed my domestic life. I still havn't managed to plan and shop for a weekly menu yet for longer than 2 weeks, just don't have the will power for that one. That is supposed to be good too though.