If you're a SAHP with school age children, do you get loads of 'extra' things done?

[MrsDeaconClaybourne]

Or do you find jobs expand to fill your time? Genuinely curious and not judgy.

Over the last few years I've been working in a way that means I have periods where I'm WOH loads then times when I'm effectively a SAHM. (supply teacher)

When I'm working I always imagine that I'll achieve some great projects when I'm at home - loads of DIY, write a novel, blog, study or something. In reality I just do the things I normally rush round fitting in around work but in a more relaxed and enjoyable way so taking the dog for a long walk after the DC are at school rather than dashing out before breakfast; going to Aldi/shopping around instead of having the same order delivered from Tesco every Sunday. DH has less to do when he's around which means more relaxed evenings and weekends which is lovely but generally means we watch box sets and drink tea rather than achieving anything impressive!

Not even sure what the point of this thread is really other than another symptom of having time on my hands Think I'm hoping to be inspired by people doing amazing things between 9.30 and 3!

Bits like sweeping up and normal bathroom cleans I just do when I’m there so when I go to the loo I’ll spray with flash then clean it all off after . Sweep as I go.

I will say we only recently got the dishwasher and I do love it. Also my house is tidy and clean but not like a show house

I think it is shopping and exercising that add in the time. Both of which I do not enjoy. I also spend a huge amount of time tidying but my house is always a mess .

I get a lot done before we leave for school, I try and get a load of washing on, empty the dishwasher, wipe bathroom sinks and toilets and get the robovac going. The kids load their own stuff into the dishwasher.
When I get back I hang out washing, iron/fold/hang and put away/in relevant bedroom previous days washing, do any dinner prep, and the 1/2 hour TOMM tasks which takes me to about 10:30/11 and the day is mine until 2:45
The kids get their own kits ready for activities. I remind them to check but zero input is required from me.

@MrsDeaconClaybourne

Discipline is certainly part of it. If you only have all this «free» time when you aren’t doing supply, it’s not consistent and that can make it really hard to commit to anything that’s more of a project rather than just getting the daily stuff done.

Gretchen Rubin has written a really useful book, I’d recommend it to everyone on this thread, Better than Before. It’s about habits - how to drop the bad ones and form the good ones. Importantly, she recognises that different people respond to different incentives and motivations - which is why some of us find it very easy to be ultra organised in terms of habits (and can’t see why others don’t ;-)) and others find it really difficult. For me, I’m motivated by making life easier for the people around me, so I’m very motivated to develop habits that support this - cooking from scratch, organising family / fun stuff to run smoothly, keeping the house organised so we have a nice place to live and know where everything is, full-time volunteering to help others out etc. But anything that’s just for me? Forget it, im not high enough up the priority list ;-)

I tend to pick up any bits at the shop e.g. milk, bread on way home from school run at 8.30am, then home and do washing, etc and tidy hoover etc maybe...anyway usually finished that by around 10am and have a break and maybe go to the gym, then afternoon cook and chill out a bit, before pick up.

having a routine really helps me, I have anxiety and depresision and getting things done first thing (even if a lick and a polish) makes me feel better the rest of the day.

I also batch cook when feeling a bit better (sometimes at weekends) and freeze, and order an online shop so I don't have to bother with that big shop.

Thanks BogstandardBelle, I will check that book out .

user, see this is where I struggle. I get home at 9:15 if I don’t go to the shop. 9:30, 9:45 if I do.

Washing up, tidying, hoovering and putting away laundry would take me at least an hour. I’d be done by 11:30, more realistically 12.

If I then do some cooking prep plus go to the gym that would be another 2 hours plus.

By 2pm I have about 45 mins left. Emptying the dishwasher and grabbing stuff for after school plus some life admin / putting dry laundry away uses that time.

When do I sit down? Let alone do any decluttering / projects etc.

Disorganised I am just very brief as would get too bogged down otherwise and I get really grumpy if I don;t get out most days. I get to around 11-12 and the would decide not to bother and stay in.

I mean we have a smallish house - maybe that helps, and doing the minimum, so I do e.g. clean the toilet, brush the kitchen and bathroom floors, stick a laundry on, every day and then say once a week there is recycling, once a week the shop is delivered. Hoover properly once a week, or change the beds weekly so there is a small other daily task - but it doesn't take that long.

Then when I get back in say around 2pm there is time to slowly hand up the washing and have a rest before the school run.

Maybe you could just set a timer and get it done by say 10.30. Not sure. Maybe you just have higher standards than me

I would just finish up in the evenings anything left. or leave to the next day. I don;t really ever feel rushed though and have plenty of time to sit down- I sometimes buy a salad on the way home from the gym to sit in the sun, and it's nice.

Also I would do the cooking after DC in from school

I only work 3 days and I get NOTHING done on my days off. Party because I have DS (4) with me on those days, but it's not even like we go on all the amazing adventures I had planned for this last year before school.

It's as if I need work to make me in any way effective.

Thanks, I have actually started setting a timer for 3 hours after I get in from school run so to go off at 1130. I need to leave at 2:45 most days so theoretically have 3 hours to play with. But exercise and food prep just sucks that up.

If the kids have activities or sports after school I have no time to cook then so it needs to be done in the school day.

I always feel rushed. In fact I would say that my predominant feeling in life is feeling rushed. I can’t imagine not feeling it ever .

Do have a big house which takes time to clean.

It really helps with the batch cooking and keeping that simple e.g. I bake a whole load of baked potatoes and mash, freeze and then stick on for half ah hour with some veggies and keep things simple. Same for cheese sauce or bolognaise. Then it only takes say half an hour and is pretty easy.

I guess because of my depression etc I have made things as simple as possible and that does free up some time. there is always more to be done and it isn't always necessary every day.

DC can help with some things too as they get older perhaps especially their own stuff like organising their kits and homework etc. I give them different coloured bags for e.g. games kit, PE kit and CCF kit and they keep it in there and just grab one on the way out. One has school dinners which helps.

Also i find I have more time if they stay after school to do sports or clubs as don't have to pick them up till 4.30. But yes it would be more of a rush after that. Eldest makes his own way home on the bus as well.

I will try to batch cook more I think.

Simple things can free up more time on other days. I made a macaroni cheese today and made double the sauce and stuck that in the freezer. I wanted to stay in as doing my hair with henna at the same time (quite messy and time consuming). So having some days stocking up means other days out...

I'm not anymore but when my two were young (KS1) I only worked 2 days a week and had 3 at home on my own. I could have achieved a lot but I was just really lazy in honesty. Once I'd done the washing, hoovered, laundry, shopped, ran errands, in theory, I had a good few hours left a day which I would then generally just waste on the internet

Oh also, my most productive hour was always 7am-8am, I used to get loads done while the kids were eating breakfast, getting dressed etc.

Ha Ha definitely not.
My life is not just about housework, it takes me and dh less than an hour a day to do housework between us.
Then we get on with what we enjoy doing. That may take the form of research, practice, shopping, looking glam reading, gardening, social media, theatre and concerts. Anything we fancy, really.

I have very flexible part time jobs but I haven't managed to do any of the extra jobs I thought I would've - bannister is still not painted and I planned to do that in January

I do big jobs, gardening diy, decorating etc.

I find that I run out of energy though and other things slide, like washing or real cleaning.

It’s not a long day.

Today I have done a food shop, got petrol, done some exercise and prepped tea. I will also have done a load of laundry and filled out a form for school by school pick up time.

However, I have not achieved all these jobs which were on my list:
Washing and changing bedsheets
Hand washing / doing delicate wash
Buying gift vouchers for a friend
Sewing on Brownie badges
Finding random outfit required for one DC for school tomorrow
Dealing with overflowing email inbox

I am not even sure at this point whether I should have achieved all that or not in a school day? Yet again though I have failed to complete my list. And I are my lunch standing up as usual.

I'm not really into Being Super Busy. Or doing lots of stuff. So when I was a SAHM to school aged DC, I just ambled along. My job was to get DC to and from school, make sure the dog was happy, drive the DC to activities and look after them in the school holidays. I wasn't a housewife with endless chores.

You could save time by doing shopping online and having it delivered, the delivery is often free as well. Disorganised

Also maybe get kids to sew on badges- life is too short!

Really depends on how organised you are. I know many working parents who can get more housework and extra jobs done in a day than many stay at home parents because they are far more organised. If you wake up early, use checklists, have a family calendar, and are ruthless about time inefficient activities then you can obviously get a lot more done.