What am I doing wrong at the weekend?

[Mybloodycat]

Just to start, I am a single mum and I work almost full time and I am too poor for cleaners/ironing ladies etc

What am I doing wrong at the weekend?

I have spent today working solidly to catch up, shopping, cleaning, washing (loads of washing despite also washing in the week), ironing (loads of ironing), batch cooking some stuff, just endless, I’ve been on the go since 8am.
Tomorrow I have a shit load more to do, and it’s all stuff I need to do just to keep us functioning.

Everyone I know is off doing things, lots of people are out at weekends with their kids then have nights out planned.
Despite cleaning through the week and washing through the week, my weekend is still full of this shit.

I don’t seem to have any time for myself at all.

I’m shattered and I know something has to give. I don’t have massively high standards, but I do need to clean, and my clothes always need ironing, no matter how I hang them. I’ve done loads of ironing today and obviously I need to shop. I know I could swap to online shopping but I often need the reduced section as I am on quite a budget, so I like to go myself.

Any tips? How do you all free up your weekends?

Give the dc tasks
shop online - my food order takes me 10 minutes
do minimal ironing (I don’t iron anything - it’s cold, dc have jumpers over shirts so creases won’t show)
my dc wash up, dust and vacuume

You are already doing an amazing job as a single parent to 3 and working full time. I honestly don't know how you do it.

But as others have said, you will just have to lower your standards, iron a lot less and get the kids to help. Also maybe make sure you take one day at the weekend to get jobs done (do the absolute must-do jobs first like getting uniform washed) and then take the other day off completely. If it's not done, it's not done.

They have one clean shirt each a day. I’ve compromised over everything else, they usually wear the skirts/jumpers all week.
I don’t do a lot of housework, but the house is tiny and we are quite cramped, there is no storage, so stuff tends to be everywhere because we are struggling to put it away, so the weekend seems to be spent trying to put stuff away.
I re wear my clothes all week, the kids put Pjs on when we get home and I just don’t know where else to cut back really

Stop the daily shirts!!!!! Unnecessary.

I don't even own an ironing board. My son's school shirts are the non iron variety from Marks and Spencers. Hung on a coat hanger direct from the washing machine - all good.

I also have very low standards and am not particularly house proud - which helps 🤣

Given your update op I don’t know what you are doing that’s taking. So much time!

Try one week where they don't have ironed shirts, and wear the same shirt 2 days in a row. See how much time that gives you, and decide if that's a good compromise.

Lower standards on the ironing.
Washing shouldn't take long in the week - I do a load overnight every night
If you want to go food shopping, do it on a weekday evening, shops are much quieter too so is quicker.
Dedicate one week day evening to the batch cooking?
Get kids to help

Why batch cook every weekend? Simple meals are the way in the week.

Get the 14 year old to cook a meal one day a week, something simple like pesto pasta which gives you a break for you one evening.

I'd prob cut the batch cooking or simplify it unless you could do it on a night after the kids are settled.
I iron the items we need for the next day in the evening. I do a wash every single morning when I get up, and it's done before we leave for school. Sometimes another wash that evening to stay on top of it. Hoover etc every evening after tea.
I just accept evenings after work are a nightmare so we can have weekends more clear.

Declutter ruthlessly...less stuff means less to clean/put away/maintain. Bartahouse on instagram is great for this, tho dont think I could get to her level of minimalism. For eg. If there is nothing in the bathroom, surfaces clear, minimal number of towels, it takes a much shorter time to clean than if you have to move everything. Stop ironing, honestly once things are worn creases drop really quickly. I'm trying really hard to declutter and bring less into the house.

Your 14 year old in particular needs to pitch in.
I am.Lp.. My 15 year olds jobs - rubbish and recycling., feed G.pig, tidy his room, take underware upstairs put it in rught rooms- put his away.. puts washed dishes away.

All kids are old enough to have at least one job.

14 year old would do fresh shirt ,younger ones only if dirty.

Wecalso have 30 minute tidy up time. If Ds has made genuine effort after 30 mins, he can stop and i carry on..we put music on try and make ir "fun"

Hoover every evening???? What?? If everyone is out all day, what’s to hoover?

No ironing here. When clothes are dry hanging up l pop them in small batches into drier for a few minutes eg 5 school shirts together..all perfect no creases. Does mean you have to watch it but can do it while you cook . So not using too much electricity and saving on the iron. No way would l iron.
Only cook every second evening..no batch cooking . Something very simple on Fridays.

For housework l go flat out on a Saturday morning..find speed cleaning with a deadline helps.never past lunchtime and do something fun in the afternoon.

Life is hard when you’re a working single parent. I was one but my kids are grown now and it does get better. If your kids have a clean shirt everyday and you’re batch cooking you’re actually doing very well so give yourself a pat on the back. My weekends were similar - washing, cleaning up, ironing, food shopping etc. I did manage to do some jobs in the evening especially in summer.

I got rid of my tumble drier years ago as I line dry in summer and use a clothes airer near the radiator in a room with the door closed to keep the heat in. I hang tops on hangers spaced out over the airer so they dry quicker and don’t all need ironing

just keep going - it will get easier

I'm similar, I think you have to remember most families have two adults so are doing half the amount of shopping, cooking and cleaning.

I lower my standards, I'd love a pristine house but it's not going to happen 🤷‍♀️

I do one big shop a fortnight at Aldi so that alternate weeks I haven't got to do a shop other than top ups.

I don't iron anything. My dd never had an ironed shirt at school and no one ever seemed to notice.

I try and get all the jobs done on Saturday so we can do something else on Sunday even if it's just a nice dog walk somewhere.

Seriously, they need to wear their shirts for two days unless dirty or smelly. And cut out the ironing especially for youngest.

You don’t need to iron. That is a total waste of your time. Out of machine, onto hangers.

I have a professional job, three kids who all wear school shirts. We don’t iron. Ever.

You're doing nothing wrong- you're amazing. You are raising 3 kids single handedly.

Can you alter the layout of where you put clothes to dry? And just accept that drying laundry is a permanent fixture rather than something that gets done and put away? I used to have the airer on the landing, we all got used to going sideways and it meant it wasn't anywhere else iyswim. And if you have any chance of acquiring a heated airer that will help you massively.

Lower your standards. A clean school shirt every other day wouldn't kill them, especially if they're wearing jumpers over their uniform. Uniform should be changed (and put away/hung up properly) when they get in from school. The kids can also help with the housework, the eldest one can at least iron their own shirts and stuff. And if the place is a bit of a pit, so be it.

Omg Bartahouse is literally an empty house!!! No one can aim for that kind of minimalism 😳🥴