If you’ve got primary aged kids and work everyday how do you do it???

[OhDear2200]

I’ve just increased my work from 2 days a week to working everyday (only 2 full days rest just school hours).

I’m dying here! Housework, hobbies, homework, walking dog, attempting to keep fit.

Please give me your tips!

Will I just get used to it? Or do I just accept the house will be a shit tip? Or I don’t get any sleep?

Please don’t suggest buying in cleaner as the whole point of me working more is to bring more income in!

I’d say try and watch your health - mine slid and slid over the years, taking care of that and getting things checked as needed needs priority too, as does exercise.

So, so true. I've seen this happen to the working mothers in my parents' generation. It was not pretty. Right now I need to go to the dentist and I simply can't figure out when i can fit this in.

I hope everyone on this thread finds a way to opt out of anything that isn't 100% necessary. Life shouldn't be like this for us.

I am a single mother to a 5 year old DS (have been for 4 years) and I was working 6 days a week. I coped but it was major high stress, anxiety and didn't have any time for myself, except on Saturdays when ExH had DS and I was working! I stopped working there and now do 3 days a week but I'm not quite sure what to do with the extra time! I've started doing C25K which is helpful. Fitting in DS, work, life etc. Is just a juggling act. There's no right or wrong way!

My husband and I both work 4 days per week in demanding careers. We have no family around and this is the only way we can both work and cope.

Lower your standards cleaning wise and try to do little and often e.g. with wipes especially in the bathroom. One of us puts DS to bed and the other tidies up and cooks dinner for us. That sort of helps us stay on top of the house.

Make sure you're OH is pulling his weight, with both cleaning and childcare duties. My DH does all bath times and bedtimes every other day. I couldn't cope doing that every night.

Try your best to carve a little bit of time for you, even if it's 15 minutes a day. I'm getting better at sitting down with a book, crocheting a row on my blanket or watching one short tv programme per night.

You'll never get to the end of the jobs, so don't even try!

Oh, and I'd highly recommend doing slow cooker meals a couple of times per week if possible. It's nice to have a meal to come home to and you can just cook pasta/rice with it. I prep the night before and keep it in the fridge.

Single mum here, two age 10 and 7 and work 30 hours over 5 days. Kids go to breakfast club on a morning and I pick them up at 3:30 four days a week and one day I do a long day so they go to after school club. On the 3:30 finishes, they each have at least one activity they go to. Our only free day is Wednesday with no activities. Usually we are home for around 7, do tea, bath time, story and then bed.

I then start with the housework, have some tea myself, and get the iron out every other day to keep on top of things.

I do admit to having a cleaner. She comes for 2 hours and is a godsend. I pay her £20, and we come home to a beautifully clean house for the weekend.

I’m on maternity leave and wondering how I will cope when I return to work.
Reading some of these posts is very humbling/inspiring. I take my hat off to so many of you!

I’m looking at you two in particular @Camdentownie
@whoTFisAlanBrazil

Fitting all that in, getting up so early and training so much,- kudos!

On the brighter side...I love working FT...we could afford for me not to but I would be miserable (we have discussed DH being PT but not me because we know that’s the case). I see DC every day for several hours and all weekend and (compared to the SAHM I know) am on the whole as happy as they are. So let’s not rush to damn society. What we need is DH’s who pull their weight, decent paid jobs for more women (gender pay gap anyone?!) and no expectation either way so people make genuine choices that fit their characters and circumstances.

Splitting jobs around the house is what we do.
I would find it so much harder if DH couldn’t help out around the house but I’m lucky he works only a few minutes from home and doesn’t need to do overtime.

We both still wish we had more time for fun and activities and keeping fit as those are sometimes the first to go.

We make and effort in the weekend not to do many jobs so that we can get out and make the most of being all together but that means being really organised in the evenings during the week

I drink to relax and I am tired all the time

This is the most accurate comment I've ever read on mn!

I have an au pair and a cleaner

Do just the basics housework wise. Minimal ironing. Robot hoover lol. Hubby does half housework and cooking. Slow cooker. Exercise when the kids are at their clubs. Socialise by having people round to dinner or national trust/swimming. Tiring but do-able.

I cycle too and from work, this means that I don’t have to worry about finding additional time to keep fit!! It is hard fitting everything in though, I’m just starting working 5 days a week (3 full days, two school hours). I keep half of one of the weekend days free and we write a list of chores. The whole family works through the list for about 3 hours. Still don’t normally get everything done, but it’s all we have time for!!

@Stompythedinosaur agree. Everyone else is lying

Haven’t read the whole thread so forgive me if I repeat anything. I get the kids to do heaps, like dishwasher, picking up dog poo etc. I don’t batch cook cos then you need to eat the same thing and you’ve taken up a day on the weekend but I have a 30 day meal planner which works well. Some days I just give up and relax binge Netflix. Also I don’t think I can drink anymore cos I keep getting old lady hangovers even after 1 glass. That sucks.

Walking the dog was my exercise - so that only counted as one thing.

Kids went to a homework club so that wasn't an issue.

I spent the weekend making lunches and freezing them, getting all uniforms ( and my work clothes) ready for the week.

I didn't have any hobbies - that's for when you've got spare time which I didn't.

Keeping up with friends happened by phone , rarely in person.

DH did all the shopping since he liked / was good at it.

I didn't expect to have a life at that stage - I thought of it as one of the cycles of life where you don't get a lot out of it yourself.

I work two full-time jobs (7am until 10pm), my DH also works full-time. We have 2 DC, one with Special Needs.

Sometimes I feel I will die of tiredness.

We both work full time, self employed, demanding jobs. Long hours. Sometimes weekends.

We have a cleaner and outsource the ironing.
Ruthlessly organized: online shopping, freezer packed with batch cooking.
Keep on top of things as you go along.
Get up at 6 every day.
I hate clutter and hoarding so regularly Kondo stuff. This makes a massive difference as we don't have piles of stuff to tidy and clean!

It honestly feels quite smooth.

Also I stopped drinking over a year ago and it has changed everything. I'm so much more focused and organized.

Oh and I love working full time for many reasons and could never stay at home!

Also: we chose to only have one child knowing that life would be easier and happier for us.

I did it as a single parent. I just got on with it because I had to. Did what I could. What I couldn't do didn't get done. I didn't beat myself up about it. For instance the grass in my front garden didn't get cut by me for about 3 months and a neighbour complained . My DC have grown up to be very successful hard working people. I work with people who are part time, have all school holidays off, have husbands who help out and constantly moan about how exhausted they are. That makes me cross. Laughing at posts who suggest get a nanny/cleaner. Only on MN

I work full time hours during the week, but term time.
Laundry is done over the weekend when we’re in and out the house.
Dh runs the hoover around the house (we’re never really at home to make a mess).
I cook the majority of meals. As dh is away lots I have to find out in advance what to cook for the following week. I do a shop Saturday morning on my own. I come back to tidy the house, especially the kitchen.
If stuff can’t get done like dusting, I’ll rope dds in to do a bit. They’re 7 and 9.
But yes, as pp said, constantly tired, but wine helps at the weekend.