If you work long hours, what is your daily home routine?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teach your kids to help in all areas of the house if they are old enough. As I get older, I'm glad I taught my son how to do everything. I'm a single parent and a teacher. He started doing his laundry when he was 8 which helped a lot. I also never really made dinner from scratch. It was easy crockpot recipes or heating stuff up like frozen lasagna, making spaghetti, breakfast for dinner, etc. Dinner on Friday night was whatever we had. Soup and sandwiches or waffles. I never had any money for cleaning or anything else so my house is never clean all at once. Oh well.

Yes, and remember that (A) they are old enough sooner than you might think and (B) substandard help is still help. There are things kids tend to like to do, such as swiffering, and not only will that help with one of the chores, it will keep them busy while you do something harder. Similarly, they can do one step of a large chore (putting clean silverware in the right spot, making sure clothes aren't bunched up before they go in the washer) even if they're too young for the whole task.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dh travels a lot and I'm really feeling this OP. I realize I'm not a single mother, so don't jump on me. He's gone this entire month and often M-F. I have 3 kids- 6, 4 and 1.

I telework 3 days a week, which truly helps me a lot. Dinners are simple but healthy: rotisserie chicken, subs, soups with easy vegetables like broccoli, carrots, green beans, asparagus. Mornings are like the wild wild west because my oldest's school starts at 7:10 and then I have 3 drop offs, but I pack as much as possible the night before, my kids get themselves completely ready all on their own (other than the baby obviously). All 3 eat breakfast and lunch at school/daycare and I don't eat. I pick up at 4:30 and we talk to different grandparents on the way as I drive the "bus" (which is time saving because then these people aren't nagging me to facetime which I absolutely don't have time for!).

I've been messing a lot with automation- kids' lamps come on at 6:40am, coffee maker starts brewing at 6:55. The entire house (at least the switches we turn on often) is wired to turn off lights when I leave.

Cleaning- kids both keep their rooms clean. My dd is a mess maker so we both spend 10 min cleaning her room every single night. I'm hoping that she will learn to stop ripping her entire room apart, but so far it's been unsuccessful. I do the laundry on one of my telework days during lunch and it's nbd to me. I clean/cook/prep for 2 hours after they go to bed at night before I crawl into bed. I shower on a lunch break every other day. Something I struggle with is groceries. We're often out of food. I can't grocery shop during the day and it's so hard at night with 3 kids to do it (they want to play with me or read together, not shop!). On weekends the grocery store is a mess with long lines everywhere. I just try to fit it in when I can, but haven't found a good solution.

I kind of feel crazy, but if I drop the ball, I know I won't be able to pick it back up. My house got torn up over Christmas and putting away Christmas, but once cleaning is under control, I usually put in 2-3 hours of work when the kids go to bed.

Sometimes I get a babysitter on Sunday afternoon for 3 hours to run the kids to the playground and back. I'm so, so worn out by Sunday and the kids really enjoy it. It helps me regroup.

Have you tried grocery delivery...I haven't done my big weekly grocery shop in person in like 8 years. I've used Amazon Fresh (when I lived in Chicago) and Instacart, and they both have late night delivery hours. I've had groceries delivered between 11 and midnight many a time. Since you say you are up for like 2-3 hours every night after your kids go to bed, just get your groceries delivered late one weeknight. Or get them delivered on one of your telework days, and step away for like 5 minutes to put them away (this is what I do now that I telework Mondays).

The apps remember your past purchases, so it's easy to load all your weekly staples into your cart, and then do whatever tweeking/adding is necessary. Usually takes me like 20 minutes from the comfort of my bed to place an order.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Following. About to be a single parent with a demanding job.

Of course you are.

What is that supposed to mean? It doesn't even make sense.

[Anonymous]

Single here with one ES kid. I have a daily housekeeper who cleans our dishes from the night before, dusts, vacuums, cleans the bathrooms doing surface cleaning, makes breakfast for kid, takes kid to bus stop, does our laundry and changes our sheets and also is in charge of making lunch.

I put in a grocery order every other Friday. On the weeks where I don’t have groceries delivered, I do a grocery run while kid is in a class.

I rely almost exclusively on the instant pot for meals. Meals are very boring, the rotation includes spaghetti and meat sauce, Swedish meatballs, ravioli or tortellini casserole, and chicken rice soup, frozen pizza, hot dogs, and baked potatoes. I am extremely proud of myself for knocking chicken nuggets out of the rotation. Plus some sort of microwave vegetable, either carrots or cauliflower or broccoli. My kid enjoys “cooking” with me, which basically just entails us throwing items into the instant pot and turning it on.

Am I broke from the housekeeper? Yes. But I start my day with a clean house, a happy child, and I have zero housework to do during the week. We are happy and content and love doing activities and play dates and spending time with friends and not having to worry about cleaning and housework.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Single here with one ES kid. I have a daily housekeeper who cleans our dishes from the night before, dusts, vacuums, cleans the bathrooms doing surface cleaning, makes breakfast for kid, takes kid to bus stop, does our laundry and changes our sheets and also is in charge of making lunch.

I put in a grocery order every other Friday. On the weeks where I don’t have groceries delivered, I do a grocery run while kid is in a class.

I rely almost exclusively on the instant pot for meals. Meals are very boring, the rotation includes spaghetti and meat sauce, Swedish meatballs, ravioli or tortellini casserole, and chicken rice soup, frozen pizza, hot dogs, and baked potatoes. I am extremely proud of myself for knocking chicken nuggets out of the rotation. Plus some sort of microwave vegetable, either carrots or cauliflower or broccoli. My kid enjoys “cooking” with me, which basically just entails us throwing items into the instant pot and turning it on.

Am I broke from the housekeeper? Yes. But I start my day with a clean house, a happy child, and I have zero housework to do during the week. We are happy and content and love doing activities and play dates and spending time with friends and not having to worry about cleaning and housework.

Suggestion - introduce fish - it’s so easy and cooks as quickly as your instant pot. Glaze salmon with a mix of Dijon and soy, or an apricot jam glaze, or wrap it in foil with some tomatoes and capers. Add green beans to the pan and you have dinner in 15 minutes with frozen rice on the side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Following. About to be a single parent with a demanding job.

Of course you are.

?

[Anonymous]

Hang in there, it does get easier as they get older.

[Anonymous]

Not a single parent but I work 12 hour shifts 6-6 big not every day and spouse works 4-midnight M-F so
I’m solo parenting at night. Dinners in our house are very easy. Needs to be something I can make in 15 mins or less.last night we had Ramen soup with rotisserie chicken, chopped carrots and chopped celery added. I made enough to reheat for myself for lunch at work today and DD to have for lunch today with spouse. I do laundry when I can, I put a load in the washer last night while SD was in the shower, this morning when I got up for work I put it in the dryer. Tonight when I get home I’ll fold and put away. Grocery shopping/Target runs etc I do during the week on a day I’m not working. We have a cleaner every 2 weeks which is a lifesaver. I still vacuum Main level most dats because we have a dog and keep the kitchen clean, but im not arguing with spouse over whose turn it is to clean the shower or toilet.

[Anonymous]

How old are your kids? It helps when they can do stuff by themselves like get themselves out the door to school and come home and let themselves in after school as well.

When our kids were young we had an au pair to help out, it’s not cheap, but cheaper than a nanny and most nannies don’t want to work just a few hours before and after school.

[Anonymous]

Here’s what I did:

1. Made a list of everything that has to get done each week - kids, myself, house, general life stuff
2. Laid out the calendar for work and school, sports, etc
3. Assigned tasks from No. 1 to each day of the week around the time schedules
4. Put all of that into the reminder app in my phone and set reminders to go off at midnight (silently, but I see them first thing when I wake up)
5. Tick the boxes once the task is complete. The task gets done that day t some point, regardless of how I feel about it.
6. Repeat No. 1 with the occasional things - changing the hvac air filter, oil changes, updating monthly Amazon/target subscriptions - then add to reminder app with proper frequency.

This works because it makes things mindless. I don’t feel like picking up dog poop in the yard today but if I don’t, it stays on my to do list for tomorrow and eventually the undone tasks snowball. Only having to worry about fixed tasks each day makes them manageable and almost motivating because I can often complete them relatively quickly once I put the mind/action to it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Single here with one ES kid. I have a daily housekeeper who cleans our dishes from the night before, dusts, vacuums, cleans the bathrooms doing surface cleaning, makes breakfast for kid, takes kid to bus stop, does our laundry and changes our sheets and also is in charge of making lunch.

I put in a grocery order every other Friday. On the weeks where I don’t have groceries delivered, I do a grocery run while kid is in a class.

I rely almost exclusively on the instant pot for meals. Meals are very boring, the rotation includes spaghetti and meat sauce, Swedish meatballs, ravioli or tortellini casserole, and chicken rice soup, frozen pizza, hot dogs, and baked potatoes. I am extremely proud of myself for knocking chicken nuggets out of the rotation. Plus some sort of microwave vegetable, either carrots or cauliflower or broccoli. My kid enjoys “cooking” with me, which basically just entails us throwing items into the instant pot and turning it on.

Am I broke from the housekeeper? Yes. But I start my day with a clean house, a happy child, and I have zero housework to do during the week. We are happy and content and love doing activities and play dates and spending time with friends and not having to worry about cleaning and housework.

Single Mom (SMC) here with twins - wow PP, this is what I keep telling my kids....would be so nice to have a housekeeper to help us with household items....unfortunately cannot afford it, but it sounds wonderful.

[Anonymous]

I'd pray I could find a family to trade off having kids over for play dates. that way, you can be alone once a month or so. Find a trusted teen to take your kids places sometimes, like to movies or park. Ask grandma to take kids overnight. Cook and freeze some side dishes in advance, like mashed potatoes or baked cubed red potatoes or sliced potatoes in a disposable tray, ready to pop in oven later so all you need to cook is chicken, beef, or fish. Can freeze premade rice too in freezer bags - shape it in microwable bowl when you freeze. I freeze thin sliced chicken, ground beef, steak, lamb chops. Can defrost in fridge, or on counter, or in bag in bowl hot water. Get instacart subscription for free delivery fees and re-order same stuff weekly. Pack lean cuisines in foil for kids lunches.

[Anonymous]

Single mom by choice here.

Cleaning house IS my workout. I sweat vacuuming, moving furniture, climbing up on the stepladder to clean the ceiling fans, etc etc. 30-60 minutes in the evening, just as i would work out in a more traditional manner.

I went out at 7am this morning to do yard work for an hour. Cold and refreshing. Got a lot done in an hour. Then We walked (used to be by stroller!) to the 7-11 after that for coffee and hot chocolate, exactly 1 mile. Then we walked to the CVS 2 blocks over to pick up my prescription. Walked home the 1 mile and made 5-minute oatmeal with blueberries and whole milk.

Kid and I do laundry together. That is how she learned her colors when she was a toddler.

Look at every activity as exercise because it nearly always is.

[Anonymous]

Bumping.