Prepping for the week ahead is nonsense!

[Ryderweneedyou]

I mean it’s a good idea, and I’ll continue to do it, but it’s such a bloody waste of weekend.

DH and I both work FT, with 2 primary aged DC and evening after work are just for treading water - cooking dinner, homework, clubs, tidying. That means to keep things running smoothly I have to dedicate my Sunday to prep - set out clothes/ club uniforms/ equipment for the week ahead, meal plan and prep, getting through all the laundry, sorting a cupboard a weekend, bits of diy, etc etc. Saturdays are usually spent socialising (kids and DH extroverts, I’m in introvert) and I’m so bloody tired by Monday!!
Anyone care to join me in moaning or solve all my problems with a genius solution?

@Ryderweneedyou

Exactly! I think we need three weekend days, one to socialise, one to prep, one to recover.

But you can make that prep day relaxing

Just potter about doing it

Especially when weather like today. I always find it quite a nice and cosy way to spend Sunday.
Being productive, at home, with an audio book on the go and cup of tea. It’s no hardship really and certainly not exhausting

In your shoes I would shove dh and kids out on a sat morning. Have a nice bath. Stick a conditioner in and get your decluttering done then. Do something together in the afternoon.

Everything gets spread out across the week and between me and dh. So today there's one load of washing to do and school uniform to iron. Everything else has been done.

@AllotmentTime

Yeah no idea here either- same situation, both working FT and two primary DC. I’m going PT in December which is dodging rather than solving the problem

Ruthless decluttering is my and DH’s favourite solution. Everything is much easier when there isn’t ten tonnes of crap in the way. Finding time to do the decluttering is then the problem… 🤨

Same here - I was quite good at ruthless decluttering. I’m making excuses, but a lot of clutter built up over lockdown and I just can’t seem to find the time to make real headway against it, hence the one cupboard a weekend routine - I’m actually thinking of taking a day of AL so the kids and DH are out of the house and having a blitz.

I hear you it does get —at least a lttle bit— better as kids get bigger and can take more responsibility for their stuff and do some helping with plate clearing etc. @FindingMeno your comment made me laugh so hard Im going to share it with the others on our latest decluttering one thing a day thread.

I am lucky in that my DC are older (11 and 15) I have, this term got into a routine of 3 loads of washing per week (Monday/Thursday/weekend) to coincide with when they need kit for clubs and sports. Pale wash (shirts and bedding) is at the weekend and I iron (pls don't judge me) on a Sunday eve while watching TV so I know they have all their uniform for the week.
I don't meal plan but I shop and buy things that I know will make a week worth of meals.
I try to do one chore per day after work (eg cleaning bathrooms, hoovering bedrooms etc) obviously more frequent chores just get done as they need.

@AllotmentTime love it. It makes such a difference having regular clear outs. I agree with all of the above.

I get groceries delivered every Sunday morning. Dinner will go in slow cooker now with enough left for tomorrow evening.
Tuesday evening is usually baked potatoes with beans/salad or veggie chilli. Thursday evening is usually an omelette night. So we really only have to "cook" properly Wednesday. Friday evening is usually a stir fry using up all the veg at the bottom of the fridge. An air fryer is a godsend for cooking veg/ fish/ wedges quickly.
I wash salad stuff and leave it in the salad spinner in the fridge. Make up a salad dressing for the week for lunches. I make overnight oats in Tupperware pots most nights for breakfasts.

Try to keep on top of the washing by doing a load most days. I iron very little. Usually just hang things up to dry on clothes horse.

I have a cleaner for two hours on a Friday. So we tidy all toys, shoes, clutter away on a Thursday night. I know it is a luxury but having the house clean for the wend is amazing and saves sooo much time. I actually feel like we can enjoy our wends now.

@Hibiscusroses

I try to spread my prep throughout the week. So for example, Friday nights are swimming and tennis nights for my DC. As soon as they get home, DH makes sure all the kit goes in the wash and is dried overnight. The bags are then re-packed on Saturday morning. That sort of thing lessens the Sunday pressure a little bit.

This is what I aspire to but never quite manage to achieve - so I work FT but condensed hours so I’m around to pick up the kids. The hours after pick up just race by though - we have an activity for one child or another every day but one. Then we get home, do homework, feed them tea, clean up tea, the kids and I do a tidy time together then up for bath and bed. DH is back in the office and usually gets home after bath or bed.

@Reallyimeanreally2022 I love that idea - will stick in an audio book today. I guess I’m making a bit of a rod for my own back but I tend to deep clean on a Sunday so we can start off the week with the house really clean, then it’s easier to keep up over the week.

I’m getting more glory for quoting than @FindingMeno is for actually having come up with this great slogan 🤣

So you do both the full day shift and the after school shift by condensing (I'm assuming that means no breaks) and you spend Sunday getting everything ready for the week ahead.

What is DH doing in all this? He is doing one day's work whilst you do a day's plus the post school shift. What does he do on Sundays?

It seems a bit over engineered to me.
What is this setting out clothes for the week ahead for?
If by Sunday evening all my kids’ clothes are back in the wardrobe - and is laundry really so arduous? My washing machine gets on with it without me, I’m not operating a mangle! - then why do I need to set anything out?
If I need school uniform, it’s on the uniform rail. If I need Brownies legging, they’re in the clubs drawer.
My tip would be stop making this a “thing” that you have to do.

For meal planning… you only ever have to plan once. Make a 2 week menu and you’re done. Sure, you have to shop and make the food. But I never understand why “planning” is such a big deal, when you can do it once and stick with it.

PS - get a cleaner if you can afford it.

[quote Ryderweneedyou]@Reallyimeanreally2022 I love that idea - will stick in an audio book today. I guess I’m making a bit of a rod for my own back but I tend to deep clean on a Sunday so we can start off the week with the house really clean, then it’s easier to keep up over the week.[/quote]
I clean through our week

And deep clean on Sunday

Honestly, stick an audio on, tea in a flask, it’s no hardship at all

[quote Ryderweneedyou]@Reallyimeanreally2022 I love that idea - will stick in an audio book today. I guess I’m making a bit of a rod for my own back but I tend to deep clean on a Sunday so we can start off the week with the house really clean, then it’s easier to keep up over the week.[/quote]
Post divorce I've done about 6 major laps of decluttering in thr house. Each layer of crap is easier and faster to work through and achieve 'tidy'. But ive realised very recently that making use of small segments of time is by far the better approach. Instead of burdening my headspace with woe about spending 3 days i now commit to ten minutes regularly. It is such a better approach. Ive got 2 kitchen cupboards that need dealt with and then the whole kitchen is cleared out which makes everything so much easier to tidy and organised.

I think you are perhaps “bigging” up tasks that in reality are very quick. Laying out stuff for next week? Minutes surely

It sounds like you’re working full time hours and doing all the housework, carrying all the mental load, doing all the childcare and accommodating other people’s plans so that you never actually get any time to yourself to recharge. And you’re considering using a day of your own annual leave to do more chores. Does your DH do anything at all?

@Reallyimeanreally2022

I think you are perhaps “bigging” up tasks that in reality are very quick. Laying out stuff for next week? Minutes surely

Not if your head is full up. Not of where you are getting the stuff from is cluttered and not if you can't put it somewhere that it wont get in the way.

I feel you.

We were out at a family event all day yesterday. Which was lovely - but now that means today really won't feel like a day off.

Kids are grumpy as normally we make sure homework is done on a Saturday so they're seeing why I usually insist that as now they're moaning about it taking up their only day off.

So DH and I have grumpy DC to help. And also need to get the uniforms clean for the week. Food shop. Clean the (absolute tip) of a house. Change the beds (normally a Saturday job and the weather means that's an extra ballache)

I also need to cook and feed us all some real food as yesterday was a sea of beige party buffet and desserts/sweets.

Also we have "Stone Age day" this week for eldest so I need to sort some kind of costume for that.

DDog didn't get much of a walk yesterday so that too which we'll all enjoy when we do it but it's something else to schedule in.

It's feeling not very much like a Sunday at all.

" @Reallyimeanreally2022 Honestly, stick an audio on, tea in a flask, it’s no hardship at all"

Bold of you to assume I have children who don't suddenly require my attention the moment I'm busy. And who I can let get on with there own stuff while I have headphones in!

@NatashaRf

" *@Reallyimeanreally2022* Honestly, stick an audio on, tea in a flask, it’s no hardship at all"

Bold of you to assume I have children who don't suddenly require my attention the moment I'm busy. And who I can let get on with there own stuff while I have headphones in!

Good job I was referring to the OP with primary kids who responded that she would give it a go

Ditch the ironing. Aside from wedding dresses or prom dresses it is not necessary.

As long as you have plastic coat hangers always available. As soon as wash finished hang items up and then hang on a clothes rail with plenty of spaces inbetween. It dries in twelve hours usually. If you keep up to date with it the creases drop out.

Ironing school uniform? Never did it. As above, same system.

Towels. Wash and then straight in drier.

Get shopping delivered on same day each week.
Take bins out on your way out of the house.

Check bank account each morning.
Put things as systematically on direct debit as far as you can.
Do post every day. have recycling box handy and don't handle junk mail more than once.

Have shredder so that anything with confidential details on goes straight in there.

Train kids to do more.

Yes, it is a lot of work. I'm single parent so used to it.
I detest leaving it all to a Sunday morning as it is such a source of stress.

Do things as you go along.

Have stuff in fridge always such as salad, homous for wraps etc so that if you feel overwhelmed or too busy they can get their own.

Allocate chores otherwise they don't get pocket money. No chores no pocket money.

Dishwasher. Preferably a large one. Or even two if you have the space. I would.

Eufy robot vaccuum cleanere. Learn how to empty it properly, make sure it is always recharged.

Suggested costume for 'stone' age day...
Have you got a sack of some kind? Cut holes for arms preten it is woven and stone age.

A leapard print something and pretend it is aniimal skin?

no crease school shirts from m and s.
No ironing

If DH and kids are extrovert they could go off and socialise so you have some time to yourself and to spread out the chores a bit more. Sounds like they could also be more evenly distributed between you and your DH.

I think you have to be fiercely protective of weekends and make sure it’s not just about doing everyone else’s shit. I refuse to book weekend clubs (kids do them at school during the week) and we rarely do play dates. Children get plenty of social interaction at school, they don’t need it on the weekends too unless it’s a party for a key friend. Mine are young though so I’m sure there will be a bit more of that upcoming when they are old enough to coordinate it themselves and not need so much input.