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Tips for helping me simplify life?

35 replies

Rockettrain · 06/02/2021 22:14

I feel like I am constantly chasing my tail. Life is busy but no more so than for any other young family - me and DP both work full time but compressed into 4 days. We each have DD(2) one week day and she goes to childcare the other 3 days. Work is pretty full on although we are lucky to have some flexibility in our hours and no long commutes.

DD is very hard work due to a developmental delay. She used to sleep well at night but this stopped recently - last night we were up with her from 12-3am. I’m 6 months pregnant with DC2 so I’m knackered. My DM recently moved nearby but she’s not able to help with DD much for various reasons.

I feel like I’m really not on top of things and am always behind on life admin. We moved house a few months ago and the whole place needs redecorating as well as some building works so trying to plan all that is a bit of a time suck. But then there’s always other stuff I need to do or haven’t done, it’s someone’s birthday, car breaks down, food shop needs doing, I always need to go to the sodding post office. It stresses me out that I end up not on top of meal planning, the washing, keeping in touch with friends etc.

I know there’s a couple of habits I could try to get better with - I sell outgrown clothes etc on eBay and it is quite annoying with the postage and takes time. I could try and do it less often. I also try to buy our own stuff second hand which can be a faff especially if you buy off marketplace, I feel like I’m always due to go and pick something up. Although I don’t want to start buying everything new as I’m trying to save for the house work. Plus at the moment shopping online, when I do, I end up buying several of the same thing so I can choose my favourite (eg DD needed new tights but I couldn’t see them properly on the website so I bought three different types, picked the nicest and now I need to return the others). So I could try to cut down on buying stuff unless essential.

Sorry that was long. Please give me your tips on how to make life more simple, without spending loads of money!

Ps. DH does take responsibility for some things but he isn’t great to be honest. But he does do a lot of childcare at the weekends etc, probably more than me, he takes DD out every day. He could do more admin though and I have the mental load of remembering shopping/birthdays/house insurance etc.

OP posts:
Rockettrain · 07/02/2021 13:51

I agree about the shopping/eBay/online orders. Minimising those alone would help. But I just had a load of listings finish on eBay and I’ve made £150! Which is pretty good for a couple of hours work. Having said that we’re not on bad wages at all, we could do with the extra money to help towards house renovations but it’s finding a balance I suppose.

I find the house stuff very exhausting as it involves a lot of decisions. I’m never happy with the choices I’ve made, I don’t know why really but everything takes so long to choose. DH is colour blind and ambivalent about interiors so I feel a lot of pressure, we are spending so much money redoing the whole house and I want it to be right. I already dislike our lounge and poor DH worked so hard repainting it all. We are just trying to decorate the nursery and i just know I won’t like it that much when it’s finished, how ridiculous is that. I can’t really express why. I think social media probably doesn’t help, I have a lot of very creative/arty friends whose houses look amazing and children are dressed perfectly - I don’t mean those immaculate kids who are never allowed to get dirty but they just have such cool outfits and look awesome. I don’t know why I compare and I know they don’t post pictures of the mess etc but it makes me want to choose the right things and I never seem to. I can’t work out why it bothers me. I’ve only really been like it since having DD though and I wonder if some of it is to do with her having a developmental delay, like I’m trying to make up for it somehow. Or maybe I’m trying to distract myself from worrying about her? I don’t know.

Then I get really annoyed with myself for overcomplicating such basic aspects of life, it’s not that hard to plan meals and do washing and clothe your kids and choose some cushions!

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Mincepiesallyearround · 07/02/2021 15:59

My top tip is set up a whatsapp group for just you and your husband. Then you can put links/ things to do on there so it’s been ‘assigned’ eg I use ours to put recipes, ask DH to sort the house insurance or cats flea medicine or book the eurotunnel - I guess the mental load is still kind of mine (altho he remembers a lot of the to do stuff too) but once it’s been assigned I forget about it and it’s his to sort.

I’ve got a lot of nephews and nieces too. Buy loads of cards and address them in advance armed with a cup of tea. Stack them somewhere safe and then they just need to go on the post a few days in advance (set reminder on your phone calendar)

BigGreen · 07/02/2021 17:56

If you're struggling with the house decisions just get everything painted white, then you can live with it and come back to add some colour or paper yourselves.

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DustyVenetian · 07/02/2021 18:12

I've recently stopped following everyone I know on Facebook. I still see community posts/ from school but otherwise I don't see everyone's Fakebook unless I search to see what they've been up to. Can't be arsed mostly and I'm soo much happier not seeing everyone's happy families / contented siblings/ perfect houses / handsome husbands.

I'd allocate your self time to look at a certain things. Clothes for DD- I will spend 30mins at 7pm on a Wednesday for example or wherever then make a decision. Anything is needed in the mean time, add it to your reminders list.

You seriously will struggle when dc2 comes unless you can cut yourself some slack now- feeling of being overwhelmed and out of control when you can't do those things could be really problematic.

bjjgirl · 07/02/2021 18:17

Instead of thinking you got a good bargain try to see your time as money, imagine you are paid £25 per hour, suddenly saving a few quid here and there isn't worth your time.

StillUpholding · 07/02/2021 20:22

I’m in a similar situation to you OP - work full time over 4 days and have DD who is 3 and at nursery on my work days. DH works full time. I’m also a natural procrastinator so I’ve had to train myself. Things that have helped me manage:

Housework - I have a weekly routine with the bulk of it split over two of my days off (1-2 hours at a time). DH will keep DD out of the way if he’s around. I use flylady (adapted to fit my own life) but there are other systems you could use.

On work days I do the bare minimum - a load of laundry before work, quick wipe of the toilet and sink, kitchen sorted and a 5 minute tidy before bed.

We have one weekend day a month which we designate a ‘productive’ day and do any DIY type things.

Also, we did a big declutter a couple of years ago. I’m ruthless with what I buy now and I am far more organised and tidy than I used to be. It’s honestly quite life changing.

Meals - when I went back to work after mat leave we decided I would do most of the housework and laundry and DH would do the bulk of the cooking (he does the nursery run, gardening, bins, car stuff and cat care too). We roughly meal plan together on a Sunday but he is responsible for the final decisions and making sure we’ve got the ingredients. I do a couple of big grocery shops a month based on his list because I quite like it and can eat chocolate in the car in peace but most of the top up shopping falls to him. We do a big pan of soup, a salad, jacket potatoes or pasta bake type thing on a Sunday night to do most of our week day lunches, and I prep overnight oats for breakfasts.

Organisation - I have a few hours of planning/ordering/admin type things one night at the start of every month. Birthdays I do one order at the start of the month for any gifts, and get the cards, and any wine or chocolate during my supermarket trip. I try and wrap on the day they arrive and have them ready in the hallway to deliver when necessary. DH does his own side.

For things like insurance and other admin I have a reminder on my phone and they get sorted at the start of the relevant month. I use notes on my phone loads for example I have a list of things I need to buy so whenever I’m doing an Amazon order or something I look at what else I need and add it on. I add things to the list as soon as they pop into my head.

Sunday nights I sort work and nursery uniforms for the week, pack bags, make sure we’ve got enough clean socks etc. Takes half an hour including ironing anything that needs it.

DC clothes - I do two big orders a year of the basics for winter/summer, and I generally order what I know I already like. I mainly buy H&M and buy the same tights etc each time, little thought required. If she does need extra bits prt way through the season I’ll usually order stuff in the next size up at the same time. I sometimes buy a year ahead if there’s a good sale on too.

To me it sounds like you need to be more confident in your decisions. Honestly, there’s no right answer, you can’t get it ‘wrong’. I used to be similar but I’ve realised no one cares and if something doesn’t turn out to be perfect it really doesn’t matter. I’ve gone a bit too far the other way now - I get a lease car through work and last time I didn’t even test drive before I ordered. My Dad was horrified, but as long as it drives I don’t care. It’s not a life changing decision.

I can relate to struggling with decorating decisions. I was so sick of choices when we renovated that we just painted everywhere with basic Dulux white, and have gradually added colour as we’ve needed to re-do rooms.

Don’t be scared to drop your standards, you have a lot on your plate. You sound like you’re doing ok to be honest. Ignore Facebook posts. They are rarely the reality.

My final piece of advice is, designate a few days annual leave for days when DD is at nursery and DH is working so you have time to yourself. Even just a couple of times a year. I do it and feel no guilt. It keeps me sane.

(Apologies for the massive essay... I’m procrastinating from doing the dishes Grin)

GravityFalls · 07/02/2021 20:29

I’m a bargain hunter but it can’t take over.

Basically the tradeoff is - time or money. If it saves time, it costs money. If it saves money, it costs time. It depends which you have more of. So when I was on maternity leave I had time to sell stuff, shop around, batch cook and so on. But right now, working full time and home schooling, it’s about saving time. So I tumble dry everything, and accept that the massive time and effort saving will cost me some money on my electricity bill. But I can do a load of washing and have it dried, folded and put away in 2.5 hours and that’s worth it. I do online shops from Tesco, although Lidl is a five minute walk and would save me quite a bit. But not having to do the shop, prat about with masks, bring bags, remember what I went for ...that’s worth the extra £10 or whatever.

When it’s the summer holidays, sure I’ll stroll down there and save the cash, but right now - time is more important to me.

So for nephews and nieces - buy them something from Amazon, get it gift wrapped and posted straight to them. Costs a bit more but saves you SO much mental effort. And so on.

Rainallnight · 07/02/2021 20:32

Unless you’re very strapped for cash, selling on eBay can’t be worth it in your circs.

Rainallnight · 07/02/2021 20:34

And definitely cut down on all the present buying. Agree with your siblings that you’ll do vouchers or maybe even take a year off while things are so full on?

Rockettrain · 07/02/2021 21:44

Wow @StillUpholding you sound like you have some very good systems in place! I aspire to that level of organisation.

Thanks everyone for all the tips. Definitely a few things I’m going to try. I’m going to take a look back through the replies tomorrow and make a list of what I can change immediately and what I can do in the future. Mat leave starts in 11 weeks - eek! - and I’ve got a lot to sort before then (double buggy, car seat, get builders sorted, finish nursery decorating, get the baby clothes down from the loft and washed and folded, and then if I’ve got some time - ?!- try and get the freezer sorted with some meals for when DC2 arrives!)

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