How do you fit it all in...?

[Justkeeepsmiling]

How do you full time workers who live alone fit it all in? How do you manage house work, gardening, food shop, laundry, clean the car, walk the dog, cook dinner, and see friends and family? I work 5 days a week, out the house from 7am - 5.30pm. In my 2 days off, one of them is usually spent cleaning, tidying, maybe gardening (well, I say gardening, it's just mowing the lawns really). The other day is doing a food shop, laundry, ironing for the week. And that's if I don't need to go to town for anything, like clothes for the kids, school uniforms etc. It's never ending. In the evening after work, I'm cooking dinner, then cleaning up after dinner, walking the dog. Its now 3.50pm and I really need to clean my car out but I just can not be bothered! How do you all do it? Any tips will be gratefully received - Or failing that...a maid, cook and a gardener if anyone has one spare?

Oh also.....dramatically lowered my standards!!

When ds was little I was a single parent.

I used to get up early, walk the dog, do 20 mins of cleaning. Get ready for work. Get ds up and get him ready and drop him at school (breakfast club) at 8.

Go to work, pick him up. Get home run his bath whole dinner was on and I would do a bit of house work then. If I did a bit morning and night, I kept on top of it. When ds got out of the bath we would have dinner and chill out.

I kept ironing to a minimum. Made sure there was no clutter to make cleaning quick. The garden was just low maintenance, just needed mowing every few weeks in spring/summer.

I would then do more on a Friday night. A bit on Saturday morning and it was all OK. Food shop was usually Friday lunch time and I had freezer bags so it stayed in my boot. I would take my lunch break at about 3pm. So it was only in the car for less than an hour.

I generally made sure Saturday afternoon and Sundays were for relaxing or doing something fun.

Thought I haven't cleared my car out for about a year. I just keep a bag in there for rubbish and empty that out. If it needs a good clean, I admit I pay to have it done

I agree with OP. I'm retired now and I look back at the days of work and kids and wonder how i fitted it all in and I only ever worked PT! My standards were a lot lower then but even so I look at my diaries from 20 years ago and marvel at how much I used to do in a day.

I work from home full time.

I have a cleaner and a gardener and a dog Walker (I do mornings, she does afternoons)
I get my shopping delivered by Tesco
DD goes to her dads 2 nights a week and every other weekend

When all my support disappeared over lockdown and I was trying to deal with kid, dog and a job I nearly imploded. My life only works because I pay for help. I am lucky enough to have a very senior role which pays enough for all this.

And please remember, my version of keeping on top of it, may be different to yours.

My house was clean and fairly tidy. It was never repossess though.

Have you heard of the organised mom method? Wortha Google/find it on Instagram. I

I don’t have a garden, car or dog, so perhaps I’m not the best person to answer this, but schedules schedules schedules. Monthly, weekly, daily ones.

Big monthly schedule with key dates and recurring tasks such as renewing/cancelling subscriptions or insurances, bedding and towels rota, other admin, all that goes on here. How often does the car need cleaning?

Weekly schedule done every Sunday night - I’m freelance so each week is different and by sitting down each Sunday and organising my week, I make sure all tasks are written in. Instead of relying on remembering to do the shop on Tuesday instead of Wednesday for X reason. Cleaning, laundry, all set on a weekly schedule.

I try and have one small task each day that I do before leaving in the morning. You start work quite early so this might not work, but quick stuff like wiping the bathroom sink and mirror, putting recycling out, or ironing one set of clothing - it takes 5 minutes but that’s already one thing done for the day.

The minute I deviate from the schedule, it all becomes chaotic. It’s important to be flexible and just ‘re-route’ the jobs that you’ve missed, but trying to adhere as much as possible to the plan.

Thanks everyone.

I am deffo gunna start online shopping more - Even if its just for food.

I cant afford to pay for help, so I am going to clean a room a night.

Ironing will still have to happen, as I need to iron school stuff and uniform, but, I might start doing that on an evening too, maybe while dinner is cooking,

Ddog is old, so doesn't have a long walk anyway, DS does play with him in the garden most nights, when weather allows. But feel he still needs that walk.

I could probably afford to get the car cleaned maybe once every other month.

Lets see how I get on.

@Justkeeepsmiling

How do you full time workers who live alone fit it all in? How do you manage house work, gardening, food shop, laundry, clean the car, walk the dog, cook dinner, and see friends and family? I work 5 days a week, out the house from 7am - 5.30pm. In my 2 days off, one of them is usually spent cleaning, tidying, maybe gardening (well, I say gardening, it's just mowing the lawns really). The other day is doing a food shop, laundry, ironing for the week. And that's if I don't need to go to town for anything, like clothes for the kids, school uniforms etc. It's never ending. In the evening after work, I'm cooking dinner, then cleaning up after dinner, walking the dog. Its now 3.50pm and I really need to clean my car out but I just can not be bothered! How do you all do it? Any tips will be gratefully received - Or failing that...a maid, cook and a gardener if anyone has one spare?

Be a tidy person, so less "big cleaning" to do at weekend. Never iron. Don't wear clothes that need ironing. Dry things flat. Order clothes online. Cook quick 30 min meals. And yeah, some people gets cleaners in.

I don't. Things don't get done as often as they should. On an evening I just have to prioritise what absolutely needs to be done. I work in a school so luckily get the holidays off. I'm really looking forward to the summer just so I can clean and organise the house, how sad is that!

I use my lunch breaks to get chores done around the house as I'm lucky enough to WFH and do as much shopping online as possible. I also no longer even own an iron.

DD broke up from school on Friday for the summer holidays, while she was in her swimming lesson yesterday morning I had 30 minutes of sitting on the side of the pool waiting.

During that time I ordered all her school uniform for next year which will be delivered Tuesday, and did the weekly grocery shop which will arrive tomorrow night, I also booked us in for a session at the trampoline park tomorrow afternoon.

Clothes go in the machine before bed, I set the machine on a timer so it turns on at 6am then when I wake up I just get it out on the line and bring it in while dinners cooking in the evening.

All dinners, unless we're having something special and fancy, are 5 minutes prep, 30 minutes to cook in the oven and minimal trays to reduce washing up. I buy big trays of chicken breasts, legs, thighs, pork loin steaks. Break them into meal sized portions, stick them in ziplock bags with different flavourings (sundries tomato and basil, coriander and lime, soy and lemongrass, honey and mustard, bbq sauce etc) and freeze them. Take them out to defrost the night before then either bake for 30 minutes in the oven with roast or steamed veg on the side or stir fry with noodles and veg on the hob.

Basically I try to be organised where possible and lazy where necessary to keep task as minimal and simple as I can.

@Justkeeepsmiling

Thanks everyone.

I am deffo gunna start online shopping more - Even if its just for food.

I cant afford to pay for help, so I am going to clean a room a night.

Ironing will still have to happen, as I need to iron school stuff and uniform, but, I might start doing that on an evening too, maybe while dinner is cooking,

Ddog is old, so doesn't have a long walk anyway, DS does play with him in the garden most nights, when weather allows. But feel he still needs that walk.

I could probably afford to get the car cleaned maybe once every other month.

Lets see how I get on.

Definitely shop online. For everything!

Why cleaning a room every night? Surely not every room needs cleaning every day, especially if there is only two of you?!

What school stuff needs ironing? Everything out of the dryer and onto hangers. If your DS has to wear a white shirt, buy the non-iron ones - but even still, hang up straight out of the washer/dryer and no need for ironing.

Don't bother cleaning the car! It really doesn't need it.

You're a bit in danger of being a victim/martyr here if you're not careful.

@Blackhawkdown2020

So you are single and can’t cope? Are you super messy and disorganised? Is your time Management poor?

Wow! Why be so aggressive to someone who is clearly overloaded and asking for help? She's asking for tips, not criticism! OP, short answer is that a full time job, DC and a dog are going to be hard to manage, particularly if you don't have funds for a cleaner/gardener. It is exhausting. My version was 3 DC and no dog but I did have DH, who was working long and irregular shifts.We managed, but if anyone was ill or not performing at the top of their game, everything fell apart quite quickly! Online shopping and lower standards might help. Tidy as you go, and use your time wisely - have Simplenote or some other note App on you phone so you can keep important info to hand and keep updating - eg what do you need to do next time you go to town, make sure you have shopping list/meal plan to hand. But don't feel bad about struggling sometimes, you've got a big load and you're not failing just because you find it hard. Anyone would.

do some shopping on way home from work,that saves a while

Part time here

I can’t imagine being able to do everything as a single parent and work part time

How often do your children go to their father’s

Ddog is old, so doesn't have a long walk anyway, DS does play with him in the garden most nights, when weather allows. But feel he still needs that walk.

Honestly, that's guilt talking. If your dog has a walk in the morning and play/company in the evening, he really doesn't need another walk.

How old is your child op?

Not single mum so I have utmost respect for you managing as well as you do. But my tips for time saving are:

1.) Don't iron. Get non-iron school clothes and make sure all your own clothes are non-iron.
2.) Cut right back on cooking. Meal plan. Order food online to arrive once a week, and to include at least 3 very easy dinners e.g. filled pastas with pesto and salad or fish fingers, sweet potato fries and peas, chicken pieces that you sprinkle with herbs or spice, roast with a few ready chopped roasting veg and serve with microwavable rice. All of these are 5-10 mins to prep. Assume at least 3 times a week you will be too tired to prep anything more complicated. Make one night a week beans on toast with fruit and yoghurts. DC love it and you have almost no washing up.
3.) Clean the house with DC for one hour on Saturday mornings. They can tidy, feather dust and polish. You hoover and scrub. DC can enjoy small easy win jobs like polishing taps while you polish mirrors. Put on bouncy music, give them lots of praise for how lovely it all looks.
4.) Set up really easy routines. E.g. every morning while kettle boils, stick on a washload. Every night, as soon as you get in, bung it in the dryer or hang it out. Then either last thing at night or first thing in the morning, depending on when you have more energy, fold the clothes and put them away. Get a system going: Monday is towels, Tuesday is sports kit, Wed whites, Thurs darks, Fri bedding, Saturday school uniform (so there's never a rush to get it ready on Sunday evening). Sunday delicates/wool etc. The advantage of routines is they take no mental effort. You don't even know you are doing them and can enjoy music/coffee while they seem to do themselves.

Ah 11

You iron school uniform??
But pretty most of uniform these days is “non iron”! I have never ironed uniform and it looks… perfect!

@Cowbells

Ds is 11. He shouldn’t need coaxing and bouncy music to do cleaning

My two have to leave their rooms tidy, clear floor and bed made every day without fail.
In the evenings they have specific “jobs” eve recycling, hang up washing.

8 and 11

It needs to be ingrained from early on and then built up. Single parent here.

Make a schedule so that you get into a routine. I do a maximum of 30 minutes of cleaning/housework each day to cover the essentials, and I set a timer because it speeds me up. I do mine in the morning before work but you leave early so maybe as soon as you get home instead. Mine is Monday hoovering, Tuesday clean bathroom, Wednesday order food (for delivery), Thursday clean kitchen, Friday one load of laundry, Saturday second load of laundry, Sunday errands (pay bills online etc). By doing a bit each day it doesn't build up and it means I can relax a bit over the weekend.

I don't know how you can on your own to be honest.
Online shopping, get organised and book your slots weeks ahead.
Do not iron. My DC survived through to adulthood without me ironing their clothes (or mine).
Cars don't need cleaning inside or out.
Lower your standards until the DC are old enough to help out.

Shop online, shop online, shop online.
No need to ever visit a supermarket or really many shops in town. Only go to the actual shops 3 or 4 times a year.
Why are you trawling round getting school
uniform? Shoes yes but the rest just buy online?
Owning a dog takes up time. For that reason I don’t own one.
Cleaning- just do the bare minimum. Use anti bac wipes- they are my saviour. I just do bits and bobs as I see them and often multi task eg, whilst kids are cleaning their teeth, I wipe the bath. Whilst they are reading their school books, I fold clothes etc
Laundry I only do 3 loads a week and I have 3 kids.
Ironing- only do the bare minimum of the kids uniform that is mega creased.

@MikeHat

I don't know how you can on your own to be honest. Online shopping, get organised and book your slots weeks ahead. Do not iron. My DC survived through to adulthood without me ironing their clothes (or mine). Cars don't need cleaning inside or out. Lower your standards until the DC are old enough to help out.

I find it easier alone.

No drama ever. And I cook precisely for me and the children. And everything to my standard. I’m queen of my domain!

Oh and my car gets cleaned once a year- often before we go on holiday