SAHM/Homemakers - What do you do all day?

[Fruem]

Those who choose to be a SAHM/homemaker, who don’t ‘have’ to work, what do you do all day?!

I’m talking the SAHM’s who don’t work from home. Who don’t have to look after the kids all day etc.

If you’ve done cleaning/washing/shopping etc. How do you fill your day?

Coffee/lunch with friends, reading loads of books, going to the library, reading all the newspapers online, gardening, growing my own plants from seed in my greenhouse, pilates, television, cooking from scratch, shopping with friends, light housework, hairdresser, lovely baths/pampering in the afternoon, all guilt free after retiring after 44 years of work, some of which were as a working mum/carer for my Dad-I so count my blessings.

Do any of those of you who are doing lots, including fun/leisure/hobbies, have any advice for us faffers on how you get structure into your day? I just can’t seem to manage my time.

I'm taking a few months out of work at the moment after being made redundant. DS is still in Nursery two days a week and sees his grandparents on two of the other days.
Today was a Nursery day, spent the morning doing laundry, popped over to a friends house who has a newborn so I could watch him for a few hours while she got stuff done. Did food shopping on the way there. Came home, shopping away, prepped dinner, baked some bread, tidied the kitchen and genuinely sat down for the first time all day at 4:30.
My "homemaker" days are generally spent like that, might get an hour or two to spend catching up on telly that DH doesn't want to watch.
I might go to the gym a few times a week, spend time meal planning, clearing the spare room.
I thought I'd have loads of time on my hands but really don't. No idea how stuff got done while I was either on ML or working FT.

Anymajordude Homes Under the Hammer is a must for SAHMs!

As a wohm I’ll give it to you straight. If you are a sahm and your kids are st school all day, I’m jealous as hell!!! But hope you are having a great time anyway

Just say, I have worked pt since having children. It's a joint decision that now I don't work so that I can support parents, a child with SEN, and get on top of DIY jobs.

My husband works long hours and brings home the cash, I do everything on the domestic front. I could have my own career and we could pay a series of people to do my role, but we've decided it's better this way. And I'm thankful we can just about afford it.

Go to the gym, read, play on my ipad, volunteer for church/homeless shelter/youth agency, theatre, beauty treatments, watch Homes Under the Hammer and other daytime tv, batch cook for my elderly MIL, minimal house work as I have a cleaner, washing and ironing, usual boring 'wife work' like sorting out car service, household maintenance etc. I used to do a lot of crafts but I just don't have the time anymore!

I just have a lovely time really, doing what I want. For me, that's exercise, massage, and lunch with friends.
I get all the stuff working parents need to do on weekends and evenings out of the way, so that my dh and children can just do stuff they like doing outside if school/work.
I do actually work 10 hours a week (2.5x4), but have so much time, I consider myself 'mainly' a sahm.
I love it.

I had 9 months off for my maternity and almost died ( exaggeration) couldn’t wait to get back to work. Only do much spring cleaning you can do, or how much tv you can watch without wanting to throw the tv at the wall. I turned to baking. It was the longest 9 months ever. Don’t know how people do it all the time.

I'm not a SAHM but I only work 2 days a week and DD2 started school last summer. I now have 3 days to myself! It's not quite 3 days, more like 9.05 til 2.40 taking into account school drop off and pick up ( we live 2 streets away from school) but it's amazing!
I volunteer at the school for a couple of hours one day a week, do cleaning, housework (cleaning bathrooms, hoovering, dusting, the washing - as little as I can get away with!) and the food shop. I also deal with some paperwork, meal plan, occasional baking and cooking and I've been gradually clearing out and decluttering the house and taking stuff to charity shops. Other than that I regularly meet up with friends or my mum for coffee/lunch/breakfast, go shopping for myself, watch films, read and exercise. I spend quite a lot of time on my own but I enjoy it. I highly recommend it and never plan to increase my working hours!

Depends.

Migrainey fuzz, today, so did little more than make a few holes in walls then fill them in again.

Had a very long screw, mid morning.

I drop the kids off and go to the gym. Then come home, eat breakfast, do some yoga, meditate, shower.
Then I go shopping for food or meet a friend for lunch, do whatever errands need to be done. I do half an hours blast housework, put the dinner on. Then it's time for kids to come out. I also swim 3 times a wee and once a month I go for a massage/get a facial/ get my nails done. I read books, meet friends and help out with family when I can. I also have an allotment so in the summer months that keeps me really busy.
Hope this helps, loads of people ask me if I get bored "in the house" all day. I'm rarely in the house to be honest. My granny always said " only boring people get bored".

Watching with interest. I’m potentially jacking in my job thIs summer to set up a business and will have a few months until I access the funding required/initial cash injection.
Am already planning what I’ll do from 8.30-3.30
I’m thinking read, watch tv, catching up with other sahms, play tennis (cliche), declutter my house. Or maybe I’ll put the electric blanket on, do the school run and then get back into bed.

I guess laundry, admin, grocery shopping etc will also be done so it doesn’t eat into weekends which is when I currently do such mundane tasks.

I’m excited. Last time I was a SAHM I had a toddler so life consisted of Playgroups, baby ballet, playball and play dates. It’ll be interesting thus time around to see if I’ll get bored. (I actually love being part of the rat race)

I have been a SAHM for over a decade. Both children are now in secondary school. I have been on MN for over a decade too.

My curt response is everything you do in the evening and weekend plus on a holiday.

My long response is, my health prevented me from working. I worked after Ds1 was born but my condition became worse and worse. Due to relocation and pay rise for Dh I ended up at home. But running round after 2 children in the daytime whilst Dh was at work with no family or friends to help was horrific at times.

However, now, I volunteer, do all housework, laundry, cook, put bins out, garden, shop for everyone if I can, read, sew stuff, watch Netflix/Prime, listen to a lot of podcasts whilst moving around the house, sing to songs, talk to myself, meet friends and nap.

I have never been healthier even though my condition is incurable. It is because I am happy.

Closdes - if possible get a cleaner as this will force you out the house. If you are in the house you're more likely to faff. Book classes in advance and then you will have to go as it's a waste of money otherwise and you feel as if you can't mess people around. Decide on a project - eg. learn a language, interior design, renovation, whatever it may be. Find an exercise you can stick to. Get a dog if it gets you out walking! I genuinely never watch terrestrial TV in the day or evening - no idea what's even on. But if I'm feeling really tired every so often, I have no qualms whatsoever about a Netflix afternoon pre-pick up. I have so much more energy then for everyone else once the 3-10pm shift starts so it's well worth it to recharge.

As the op hasn't returned, it's probably safe to assume that it was just a gf who is now very disappointed that a bun fight hasn't ensued, just lots of sahms saying how blooming marvellous their lives are!

Can I ask.. And it's genuine curiosity not goady.. But all the sahms who are having a lovely time with TV, beauty treatments and lunch with friends, don't you feel at all guilty that your dp or dh is at work all day, providing you with the cash to be in this situation?

Dp wouldn’t be able to work,not have to think about household crap, travel long haul at the drop of a hat, or put 100% into a job that he loves without me

But all the sahms who are having a lovely time with TV, beauty treatments and lunch with friends, don't you feel at all guilty that your dp or dh is at work all day, providing you with the cash to be in this situation?

Why do you assume the money is coming from dh? No I don’t feel guilty because I am not reliant on my dh for money, I get an income from a business and investments I have and I have a fair amount of savings etc as well.

Can't imagine a time when I wouldn't have to work, but if I didn't have to:

• my house would be a lot tidier and cleaner...
• I would do puzzles, maybe learn to knit or crochet, read a lot more
• I would do more exercise, go to classes, swim etc
• I would watch films my dh hates (pretty much all of them I like)
• I would probably do some voluntary work with kids or similar
• I might even do a university course or brush up the languages I studied but have forgotten.

Ah, it sounds great. I guess my biggest problem would be that everyone I know is super busy so nobody would be free for endless coffees and lunches. I'd have to find some new un-busy friends!!

Not remotely.

Apart from the fact that I’m currently too ill to work, DH gets to concentrate on bringing in the big bucks without having to think about the boring stuff at home. If I could earn what he does in a job I enjoyed I’d happily swap, but I can’t so this is what we do. It works for us.

I do tv/lunch/exercise PLUS look after 3 kids for the other 10 hours a day they need sorting out/house stuff/admin etc.

I live in Ireland so the school day is shorter. My eldest two are in school from 9am - 2.40pm.
I'm doing an OU degree so as soon as I'm in the door I start studying. I study until 12.20 when I have to leave pick up my youngest from preschool.
When I get back I feed her and then rush around doing housework until I have to leave again at 2.30pm to get the boys.

This is the final year of my degree and in September my youngest is starting school. I'm really looking forward to having more time. I'm planning on joining a gym, going out for runs and doing a lot of gardening. I still won't have the full stretch of 9am - 2.40pm to myself though because the first two years of primary school here finish at 1.40pm.

Last year I had dd finishing preschool at 12.30, ds2 finishing school at 1.40pm and ds1 finishing at 2.40pm so I spent a huge chunk of the afternoon going back and forth to the school like a yoyo.

@beescomeandgo it was my loose interpretation in order to use up the on the turn veg and tofu I already had in. As of Veganuary we now have four vegans in the house and my cooking style has changed a lot. I actually enjoy the planning and the process it but it’s just a HUGE faff

Get up with hubby do breakfast....he goes to work....do washing up....do washing.....drive dogs 30 mins to good dog walking area for couple of hours drive home...ironing...Hoover and wash floorboards...do shopping...prepare evening meal...eat lunch...read book...hubby home...cook....make up woodburner...cuddle up with hubby and dogs watch film....do crossword...... Have just given up work and am looking for something but needs to be part time and no more than four hours a day as I have the dogs...enjoying being at home though and have been decorating which I didn't have time to do when working