To ask just how do you make it all work?? Life admin etc.

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Sort of inspired by the ‘perfect friend’ thread.

How do you keep on top of different aspects of your life and have time for it all? How do you make it work for you? Would really appreciate some constructive advice please!!

E.g. how do you keep on top of your job (if you work) as well as staying on top of housework and life admin? How do you even deal with life admin? Do you just make a massive to-do list of random bits and bobs and force yourself to stick to it and get through it?

...And how do you then make time for things like having a social life and doing things you enjoy?

I feel like I'm failing miserable trying to juggle everything ( 4 teenagers, 2 dogs, a part time job etc). I did have 2 jobs ( amounting to full time )and have given one up in the hope of making things more manageable. I do write a lot of lists, the ironing pile never really gets completed, the house is a tip. I'd like to do better but I'm pushing 50 and exhausted. I'm trying to improve my career prospects, I have an important interview tomorrow but not feeling confident. Life feels like too much pressure and not enough fun, although I do have a couple of weekends away coming up soon.

Good luck for your interview Babyroobs!! :) Will keep my fingers crossed for you!

I wish I knew! Watching the thread with interest. I feel like it's all too much sometimes (kids, work, doing up new house, another sort of job as well, breastfeeding baby, piles of paperwork and TOYS everywhere!!) Love to know what to do!!

I have a diary in my bag, a family calendar in the kitchen and a husband who pulls his weight (and then some sometimes) with housework. If it's not on the family calendar it doesn't get counted. I work a flexible 3 days a week and he does a 5 week shift pattern. Each month I work out my days and we have my dad and his parents who cover when needed. Somehow we manage to work out each week with 3.5 nursery days of nursery drop offs/pickups, skating lessons, ballet class and gymnastics. Thankfully the grandparents are willing to watch our dd when we just want a night out or have friends over. I have no idea how we would cope otherwise.

Oh and the housework often gives way to social activities ie we don't do the dishes every night. I did 2 hours of dishes tonight before dd went to bed cos we were having an at-home date night tonight. Our dishes will get washed at some point in the next week. We accept a not-perfectly clean household.

I have no idea. I go to other people's houses and they don't have random piles of paper all over the place. I can't even figure that one out, let alone the rest of my life!

I assume they have a box to hide those things in cos mine all get pegged up beside the calendar.

Sorry, no answers here.

Occasionally I feel like an adult, where the day just goes well, work good, house good, kids good.

But mostly, something gives.

We don’t have the funds for a social life, so at least we don’t have that to squeeze in!

Work is pretty shit at the moment, and the house is a bit of a state (clean but messy). We try, but it’s not easy.

At the end of the day, the kids are happy and so are we, and that’s all that I really need.

I do wonder sometimes if it’s just me that can’t get my shit together. There’s just never enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Lower your standards .
Don't iron. Ever.
Cleaner once a week.
Don't sweat the small stuff - you are not living in a TV dream home.
Google calendar with reminders set for a few days in advance.
Online supermarket shopping. Add things via your phone to the shopping basket as and when you realise you need them
Online billing for everything. Go paperless.
Be ruthless and declutter your house. You don't need loads of things including that many toys and then less to tidy.
Box of generic gifts (nice wine for grown ups, some random gadget for tiger for kids), generic cards and plain wrapping paper tucked away for emergency last minute gift giving.
Teenagers just need to ensure there is no food or dirty plates in their room to prevent mice and then leave the rest up to then. Also clothes, they can put the in the laundry basket or they don't get washed.

I am able to do "life admin" in my breaks at work. I also store all my paperwork in a big file there which rids it from my house.

Housework - I have a cleaner for 2 hours a week and she mainly does all the floors, blitzes kitchen, bathroom & living room. Ironing gets done as required, laundry means a load every other day.

It's meal planning which gets overlooked - my fridge isn't always v well stocked & I tend to fling together random meals early eve. Luckily my freezer comes to the rescue.

The rest of my time away from work is spent with kids in the eves, DS has 2 activities a week, I help at local cubs and gym a few remaining eves then crash when I'm home 9.30 approx. I go to the cinema at least once a fortnight.

Weekends are low key so I can catchup on housework, food shopping and changing beds etc.

Single mum to 2 dc 12& 8 working full time in an incredibly stressful job with a bitch boss🙄 I manage .. just.
Stay on top of housework with a bit done every night. Finished putting tomorrow nights tea in slow cooker at 11.30 tonight.
Iron all uniforms and work clothes on Sunday night and laundry every second night so no big pile up. My dd both have chores one of which is matching up their socks my pet hate
House/school admin as it comes in although often fall behind with annual changes to insurance etc. Missed the boat with car renewal this year and now paying £££ extra.
Little social life lucky to get out without the dc every 2ndmonth and no time for exercise weekly maybe a stab at something every couple of weeks
Now also trying to stay on top of garden as well as some diy
No other choice for me other than head down and get on with it but we are a great little team and have lots of great times together.
Have a couple of fabulous friends in similar situations and holiday together at times.
I’ll sleep when I’m dead.

I cut corners. Generally we live in a constant state of disarray but I manage to pull it together if I know we are having visitors for example.

But other than that, corners get cut and sometimes lobbed completely off. If 2 things need doing and I only have time for 1, the least important will be skimmed over or left completely.

We have a cleaner 5 hours a week who keeps on top of laundry, housework and closet organization.
DH and I both work full time so I send outlook calendar invites for everything so we both know what's going on.

We also have a large wall calendar at home which has everything either DS might need to do each day (ie - return homework, show and tell etc)

I meal plan consistently most weeks as I want the kids to eat a "proper" meal most days even if we're not all sitting down together.

And finally... I stopped giving a shit. About most of it. If my kids hair isn't brushed it's no big deal. If they only have a bath every other night or every third night with a midweek dunk in our pool, if they eat weetabix for dinner some evenings, if the floor is covered in dog hair... you get the picture.

I'm up and working out 5 mornings a week at 5am, so after kids are in bed DH and I will chill and eat dinner together, watch a TV show or both work a little more if it's busy.

I'm not going to lie, I have a pretty charmed life, I have no "demons" and have been lucky in most areas of my life. I maintain it all by being a very good juggler...

I work 2 full time jobs from home (ones mine, I'm also covering for someone else off long term sick from a sister organization, both are pretty intense "the buck stops here" type roles). My dh travels 50% of the time and we have no family in the country we live (except 2 school age dds and 2 dogs).

I have a housekeeper to clean once a week (no laundry or ironing) and I have a mahoosive to do list for home and work that is constantly evolving. Each day I put stars next to my top 8 "must dos" and tick them off when they're done. Tried lots of planners and apps but this works best for me, also use the calendar on my iPhone for events....

Keep a rolling to do list. Have a "priority of the day" every day. That way at least one important thing gets done if nothing else. Could be make a phone call, pay a bill, meal plan for the week ahead of online shop etc.,
If house is getting on top of you just do 15 minute blitzes. Go in room, set timer for 15 minutes do as much as you can to tidy/clean up a bit in the time then move on to next area. Can make a massive improvement to a messy house in an hour that way.

Watching with interest. I often wonder about this. I have too much stuff in my house and I know I need to EBay a load or just get rid. But it's just another chore. Too much paperwork hanging around waiting to be dealt with.

I could do with a month off work, relaxing, followed by a good clear out!

1. Sticking to a routine as much as possible (e.g set nights for ironing, towel change, sheet change etc ) - when I deviate from the routine due to tiredness for example that’s when the wheels fall off! 2). Lists! If I don’t write things down when I think of something, it gets forgotten. Also, anything from the school that is an event, requires prep etc goes into a shared diary on the iPad with reminder alerts beforehand to do prep or attend the event. Doing admin whilst sat in front of the tv of an evening.
2. Teamwork - ensuring DH pulls his weight and giving dc responsibilities from an early age
3. A cleaner if you can afford one, - ours has been out of action due to an op for 5 months now and am trying to manage without her but am struggling to fit it in without it taking over the family weekend tbh 5). Recognise when the dc are doing too many clubs and there is too much running around being done

The rest I am still trying to figure out 😄😫

Also. ....

dh has set nights to do the gym and I have a regular hobby one night a week which is factored into the ‘routine’

Online shopping !

Our typical day is up at 5:30 get chores, gardening or cleaning. DH leaves for work at 7:10. He does Home admin at lunch. Home by 5:30 to walk the dogs, garden, housework. We eat at 7:00, make lunch and wash up, then sat down to relax by 8:00.

It’s about being organized and fast. If it needs doing it gets done.

I wing it. I work from home but don't let that fool you - house is a tip and I am always too busy working to do housework during the day. 2 kids age 7 and 12 and 2 dogs, one still a pup who is proving impossible to house train....

I don't strive for perfection or anywhere close. If my kids are fed, clean, warm and healthy then that is all that matters. The rest is just noise. The house gets cleaned when we get the chance and the ironing and washing get done as we go. I used t9 fret about how everyone had gleaming houses and great social lives but then I realised we are all just winging it. Everyone has different standards and when I stopped comparing myself to others I felt so much better.

A routine with clear tasks for all household members, including the youngest.

Kids tidy their own mess, even at 1.5 years old. Middle and oldest help with routine chores, such as making lunches or dealing with laundry. Husband and I divide other chores between us.

I do birthdays, kids admin etc, he does car maintanance and paperwork. I have a stash of pre-made cards for all occasions and add to it regularly as part of my hobby.

Bills are paid either via direct debit or first thing on pay day. Big jobs like home improvements are done during the longer holidays.

I get up early to exercise and get work done, so I don't have to do it in the evenings and can spend those with the kids.

Less TV and internet time, or if they're on, it's while getting something else done (cooking, exercising, repairing stuff the kids have broken, ironing etc.)

Most importantly playing the long-term game with the kids: discipline and routines - they do as we ask, they are expected to help in the house and - especially important - they all sleep when they are supposed to. Took a lot of initial input, but has paid dividends in the long run.

Love reading these! The best thing I’ve ever done was de-clutter and go more minimalist (not totally by any means!). Less stuff means less shopping, less cleaning, organising, looking for things, thinking. It’s surprising what a difference it makes. Kon Marie is excellent and so is Jennifer’s Ten Item Wardrobe.

Also extending minimalism to the online world - unsubscribe and delete. Saves so much brain time and effort.

We're a family of four and DH and I work full time.
Cleaner once a week (I love her)
Meal planning & online shopping
Family calendar for school stuff and social planning
Teamwork
Family willing to look after DCs for nights out and the odd weekend away
Admin done on my phone on the journey to work or lunchtime
Washing chucked in in the morning & dried when we come home
No big ironing chore - iron as you go

Not 100% sure what you mean by 'life admin' - bills are paid online, gifts bought online or at lunchtimes, activities/holidays booked on the way to work or in evenings, food shopping done online one evening. All pretty manageable.

Both work full time with two dcs. Sharing pick ups and homework has made a big difference, a wash a day is easy to manage (only 5-10 items each week are ironed), jobs split fairly and a big tidy before the weekend. Cleaner arriving really helps and makes sure tidy up happens. We also have low standards and the belief people visit to see us not inspect our home - and are really comforted if it's messier than theirs!