Things I can do to make my life easier

[PumpkinWitch]

I am a single mum to a 3 year old. I have a demanding full time job and I am permanently shattered and feel like I have no time to do anything around the house and I am shattered by the time DS has gone to sleep.

Are there any little things I can do to make my life easier? Things like housework organisation etc.

Massive declutter
Online shop
Get a cleaner
Bags permanently packed by the door
Clothes laid out night before
Lunches made in bulk
Batch cooking for evenings
Robot hoover

Not in your situation bit also very busy with a 2 year old, numerous pets and whatever wildlife needs rescuing at the time

I find things like cleaning the shower while I use it, cleaning the kitchen while I cook, and just giving away/ donating or throwing anything that doesn't have it's own space make life a little bit smoother

What is your financial situation? Can you afford any paid for help at all?

Batch cooking is a definite must. Meal planning so that you don’t have to think what you’re having each night.

Do you get any time when DS is at his Dads?

I put all of ds clothing in outfits including underwear when I put them away.
I gave up batch cooking but I do have a list of healthy quick meals
Robot vacuum cleaner
A cleaner if you can afford it
Some ready meals

DS does not go to his dads so I don’t get time away from him. It is hard to get a lot done when he is there.

My financial situation is not brilliant but I could possibly afford to pay for some help.

I know decluttering and organising D’s toys would make everything easier but I don’t have time and energy for that.

Literally having as little as possible in the house, clutter is dusty, time consuming and over whelming.

Spend ten mins a day chucking stuff.

Slow cooker.

Dishwasher.

Don't iron.

I am in the same situation. I got a payrise so now have a cleaner and a gardener. I make up his milk cup the night before, have set wash days, I get up early to exercise before he wakes up. I meal prep my food 5 days at a time and his for non nursery days (with family) I have a list of monthly items to buy like toilet rolls, shampoo etc and set up subscriptions where I can (nappies, wipes etc) for them. I use a timer for chores so I do short sharp bursts. It is exhausting but his hugs heal a thousand sleepy eyes.

Do you have any time without your ds or any family that could have him for a day?
If so could you use that time to declutter his toys? Arrange them into boxes and alternate the ones you get out each day/get rid of the ones he no longer needs.
Tidy and clean one room a day when he’s in bed, or even just one task a day.
It will get easier as he gets older, and as he gets older get him to help with chores.

1. Pint of milk and a loaf of bread in the freezer so you never run out.
2. Online supermarket shop, booked weekly/10 days
3. Spend 20minutes on Saturday morning planning dinners for the next 10days.
4. On the basis of no. 3, make a shopping list, add things to your online shop e.g. carbonara?- spaghetti, yoghurt, eggs, bacon. Done.

I aim to have at least 3 easy/fast dinners in the fridge or freezer so I can quickly make dinners when I'm shattered.
Meatballs. Cooked chicken breast, shredded and frozen. Fish goujons. All relatively quick to throw into a dinner.

1. Accordion folder, with 12 sections, one for each month. Put all your paperwork/receipts in, for each month.
2. Big laundry on Fri night so you can be ahead all weekend.
3. Hang up work outfits on Sunday night for your 5 working days. I rejected this one for a long time, and I "didn't know what I'd feel like wearing", but its worth it.

1. As someone says above, clean as you go. So I have a cloth and bottle of cheap washing up liquid in the bathroom. Goes in the shower with me and I wipe over when I'm done. Ditto sink.
2. Look at any job you do regularly and think about how to make it more time efficient.

Make decluttering his toys into a game. ‘A box of toys for babies’ type thing.

What do you feel takes up the most time for you? Is it thinking about all the things you have to do? Like coffeesnob set days for tasks sets an expectation and then you just end up doing them out of habit after a while.

I am a single mum of a just turned DS4 and work full time. It's bloody tough so be proud of what you are achieving!!

I moved really close to nursery / school
Batch cooking! Make lots and freeze so you have it to hand (I find this easier than prepping)
Try the organised mom method (for me doing 15/20 minute bursts of tidying / sorting is really effective.
Keeping on top of the washing with a load every morning. Finish in the tumble and straight away.

If it doesn't get done it's fine. Don't beat yourself up and getting some rest is important xx

Is there an option for flexible working or work from home? This has really helped me get a balance lately x

And also if you meal plan for 2/3 weeks you can then reuse your previous weeks' plans.

It is tough op. Been there. My ds is 8 now. It does get a bit easier as they get bigger but try and enjoy dc whilst they are little too - it is so difficult. I second getting a cleaner even just once a fortnight if you can. Mine is a lifesaver xx

I’m a single parent to 3.

Online shopping at the same time every week
Direct debits for everything
Cleaner once a fortnight for 3 hours (also forces me to have a big tidy the day before she comes.
Throw useless mail out immediately, don’t let it gather anywhere
Once a week admin night

Put some of the money you can afford towards a babysitter and get yourself out one night a week. Anything you like - sport, hobby, pub with mates, but get away from home, switch off and mentally recharge so you have the energy to be on it when you're home and do the batch cooking etc.

Housework. Small tasks regularly seems to make it more manageable than one or two big cleans a week. One day hovering, next day dusting, day after bathroom, day after kitchen etc.
Owning less seems to make things easier as well. Declutter basically, clothing, toys, even furniture you don't need, get rid of it. The less you have the less you need to take care of.
Don't be afraid to make your 3 year old do some small chores. Like dusting or tidying. I was surprised how they can learn to do it and even like it even at 3 years old. My kid was happily washing the table for me after dinner and dusting the surfaces he could reach.
I used to cook different ingredients and freeze them in meal sized packs. I did like a few things every few days. Like portions of green beans, carrots, etc. It was never the meat or pasta which took long time but the peeling and cutting did. So that was solved by doing that in larger batches.
Never got to freezing full meals as that was just too much to make in one go and kills diversity.
Lastly: saying NO. Especially at work as I actually found that you don't need to accept every demand of your boss and you are only paid to do a certain task within a certain time per week. Once I let go of this need to perform and to please and managed to set some boundaries around work life became a lot easier.
I think the term demanding full time job you used is an indicator that that job is asking more of you than you actually want it to. Set some boundaries there. Working late? NO. Can you just? NO it's 4:30 and the boss asks you for something that you can't get done before eop? I can't finish that now, but I will get to you tomorrow mid-day.
Also I find meditation helps. You will do things far more efficiently after it. When you come home take 15 minutes just to give attention to your kid, then Take 15 minutes for yourself and say that clearly to your kid. One of my kids even did it with me for a while. After 15 minutes meditation everything will seem easier and you will be more effective.

Thank you. This is really helpful advice.

I do batch cook but I often get bored of eating the same thing over again. I have a day off next week which I am going to spend decluttering DS’s toys. I will look into getting some better storage too.

It probably would make a difference if I got a cleaner. I feel so embarrassed about the state of my house that I would worry about them seeing it but this is silly.

Accordion folder, with 12 sections, one for each month. Put all your paperwork/receipts in, for each month.

This is genius for my business. I am forever losing receipts for expenses. Thank you. Seems so obvious now I've read it.

Cleaner.

Online shop (I do Amazon prime so use their Morrison’s shop, free delivery and really good imho, plus you’d get the telly and Prime delivery thing too so makes life easier imho).

Firm up your support network so you get time off now and then?

I was there. This is what I did:

Got school dinners so DC only needed a snack meal in the evening
Big freezer and batch cook soup, bolognaise sauce etc
Only went to the supermarket once a week and meal planned
Kept well stocked up on non perishables so never ran out of a basic meal (eg eggs/beans)
No daily baths
Planned meals that used minimal dishes during the week
No ironing
All clothes washed together
Each had our own colour of socks so sorting was easy
Minimal frequency of washing towels/sheets etc
Tumble dry everything
Do life admin in lunch breaks