Strategies to plan/manage all the household tasks?

[cantseeme]

I'm a single full-time working mum of a nearly 3 year old. This summer we moved to a flat with a garden (yay!) that needs more cleaning and attention than our previous place (boo!) and and currently struggling to stay on top of work as well as all the cooking, housework and so on. I'm lucky to be able to work from home half the week which gives me some flexibility with time, but I'm finding that I'm constantly doing stuff on the run - stopping work to do laundry and cleaning when I think of it, planning what to have for dinner half an hour before I pick up DS, going to the supermarket too often (conveniently close but takes time) as I need an extra ingredient - and I am really finding it hard to have enough time both to work and to get to all the other things that need to be done.

Have finally come to the realisation that I need some kind of plan to manage all the tasks and to do some meal planning, so that I can just get on with things on "automatic" and manage time better. I'm usually a pretty organised person but realising that I need more here than just shopping lists on the fridge.

Please help me out! What are your strategies to manage the household tasks (grocery shopping, errands, laundry cooking, cleaning etc)? Are there any great apps/planners that help you? Feel free also to inspire with quick and tasty evening meal ideas (DS allergic to milk so no cheese etc). Thanks!

Batch cooking - freeze portions

I don't have young children any more, but my daughter does and we both meal plan and cook at the weekends. That way, you can make a couple of things that just need reheating. As @alwaysmovingforwards said, batch cooking will save time. If you don't have time for that, double up. So if you make a pie, some soup or a cake, make two and freeze one. The following week, you've got one meal ready to take out of the freezer the night before.

Declutter if you have a lot of stuff to cut cleaning time, and consider a robovac. Put a load in the washing machine at night and turn it on first thing. Mine has a half hour wash that uses about the same as the cheapest programme, so I can hang it out before I start. Now it's moving towards winter, I might do a load after work, so it can over the airer overnight.

Don't know how low your standards can go, but you can probably leave the beds longer before changing the sheets, eat the same dinner two nights in a row to save cooking and things like that.

We’ve just started the organised mum method of half an hour every day and then on a Friday focus on one room. It’s working so far, I’d much rather do a little bit every day and keep on top of it. I’m quite ruthless with clutter. Weekends are free from cleaning. I do the washing on my work from home days.

I only ever get shopping delivered, weekly, and plan what I’ll be eating in advance. DH batch cooks, I’d burn the house down if that was left to me!

Friday I meal plan and write a shopping list, Saturday I do it, and Wednesday one top up usually for fresh fruit.
keep the lists on your phone to revert back to for ideas/ crossing checking.
fit your chores in around your day- LO eating breakfast put a load on- hang it up in your break/lunch break. Clean the bathroom whilst you run her bath. There isn’t time for a big spring clean with kids, it’s little and constant!

Following on as I’m in the same position… DD older but SEN so doesn’t always act like it!

I have specific days for specific colours of washing to keep it organised. For eg today is Wednesday, DD’s worn PE kit two days of the week and is mostly dark, so I put darks in the machine before bed, wash on in the morning, hang out in either the evening or on lunch break if wfh. Fridays are for whites, Mondays are for colour.

I clean the bathroom on Thursday evenings, and give myself a nice bath in the middle to reward myself & make it feel more manageable- I wipe down sink, do toilet, windowsills, empty bin while bath is running, have a lovely indulgent soak, get out and wipe round the tub & wall tiles afterward.

Other than that the house is chaos so I’m lurking for more tips.

Don’t have guests. Meet people in public spaces. Make your home function just for you and don’t worry about what other people think.

Do a half an hour every morning before work after you have dropped your little one. Flat out. Kitchen/ dishwasher/ etc. Tidy every night after little one in bed..again flat out. I find really tearing into to it for twenty minutes is better than doing bits here and there as get to sit down and relax then. Get used to working fast.
And definitely cook once eat twice..every time. A 3 year old won't mind but probably enjoy seeing a familiar dish.

I meal plan but try to do similar things each day. So chicken on Mondays, soup on Tuesdays, pasta on Wednesdays etc.

Definitely batch cook as there's just 2 of you. How big is your freezer? I discovered very late in the game that frozen chopped onions/carrots etc. Really make cooking quicker and easier.

Same with cakes and biscuits. I now batch cook them so the DC eat more homemade snacks and less industrial stuff. Good activity to do with little ones. My 8 year old now makes cookies by himself.

HUGE difference was by decluttering. But for motivation I started watching youtube videos on minimalism (Joshua Becker, the Minimal Mom) and that totally changed my outlook on how much stuff we really need. And gave me permission to really streamline down. Everything became easier after that.

I have a timetable for everything, right down to dog-bed washing day! It breaks it up into manageable bits.

Thanks, these are all really helpful. I like the idea of the organised mum method, though I have to admit I'm happy to do most of these tasks less frequently than she suggests!

We have a robot vacuum which is indeed really helpful, house is pretty much decluttered (just moved) and I can't really cut down on guests (we're Jewish and frequently have 8-10 for a meal at the weekend or overnight guests - it's a big part of our culture).

I realised though that there are other tasks like sorting laundry and ironing (I iron minimally, but still...) that never really get done properly - dry laundry just piles up in laundry baskets. So I'm trying to make a timetable inspired by the organised mum, that allocates time particularly for the things that never get done, and also to allocate all the other tasks because I don't really get the point of separating out cleaning from all the other tasks.

I also realised that I spend way too much time preparing food, and we eat quite a few things that don't really freeze well. For people who batch cook, what kinds of recipes work for you? Do you manage to get a whole meal out of the freezer, or do you do rice/pasta as and when needed? Looking to add a few staples to our regular meal list.

Our freezer staples (home madd) change over time. Now, it's lasagne (veg), shepherdess pies (without the mash), pizza bases to go in air fryer, tomato sauce to go on bases, grated cheese (cheddar and mozerella togo on pizzas and to mix with breadcrumbs as topping), breadcrumbs (stale bread whizzed), rough puff pastry (to go on top of cheese sauce and veg), cheese sandwiches (for toasties), crumble (to go on top of fruit), individual servings of soup, fishcakes, mash and veg coasted in breadcrumbs, beanburgers, split baps for burgers.

In my freezer:
chilli con carne
beef stew
chicken soup
bolognaise
tomato sauce

then cook the carb at time of cooking and eating

I keep a bottle of bathroom cleaner, bleach and a couple of cloths in the upstairs bathroom - so it is easy to just give it a quick clean when I am up there (after teen DD's mammoth showers when it is all damp and steamy is often a good opportunity!) rather than having to make an effort to get out the cleaner/cloth from the kitchen, go up, clean, empty bin, bring everything back down. (I also keep a roll of bin liners for bathroom and bedroom bins in the bathroom cabinet drawer). It seems like such a small thing, but feels like a major time saver.

When I can, I try to organise tomorrow's dinner this evening as much as possible. MAKING A DECISION on what we will eat! Taking things out of the freezer to defrost (a batch cooked meal or raw meat). Peeling and chopping veg, storing in airtight tubs. Maybe marinating meat. Maybe mixing veg and seasoning in a ziploc bag. Rooting through the cupboard to find the seasoning mix/jar of sauce/tin of tomatoes etc, (or realising I need to buy something while out at work - not in the middle of cooking!). So tomorrow, I can walk in and start reheating or proper cooking rather than the prep stuff. (If I am really organised, I will prepare something that I can set up in the oven on the timer in the morning, so it's already cooked when I get home - great to do but needs things to be cooked at the same temp for the same length of time, or really easy accompaniments to cook/heat in a hurry - but lasagna, chicken joints with large diced veg and halved baby potatoes, or a slowcooked leg of lamb with boiled petits pois and either couscous or potatoes diced small for fast cooking and mashing...all work well).

We tend to keep on top of washing and drying laundry during the week. But all clean clothes go into a hamper downstairs and are only folded at the weekend when someone (or 2) is watching a movie so can throw them on the floor and sit there to fold for 30 minutes. Everyone has enough clothes to hopefully not need things cleaned urgently during the week, but they know where they are to root through if needed. Ironing is done by DH while watching countryfile on a Sunday evening, and I am making dinner at the opposite end of the room.

As to batch cooking, I don't tend to do a batch cooking day and fill the freezer. Instead, when doing "sloppy dinners" (pots of meat in sauce), I tend to make enough for at least 2, if not 3+ dinners and freeze the leftovers. Then just reheat those on stove while I cook pasta or rice - but that meal can be mostly ignored once turned on while I empty bags, hear the day's stories, organise laundry from washing machine (which has run during the day while I am out) on to clothes horse, empty bins or other small chores etc.

Spag bol.
Chilli con carne
Various chicken or lamb indian curries
Chicken or prawn or veggie Thai curries
Mac'n'cheese (mine has bacon and loads of veggies in it - I reheat it as a pasta bake, and similar with tomato sauce based version rather than cheese sauce)
Lasagna
Chicken and mushroom pie with mash or pastry top
Smoked fish and brocolli pie with mash top

I am trying to do more "1 roasting tin" dinners - in 1 or 2 roasting tins (sometimes I like potatoes in with everything in 1 tray, sometimes I want proper crispy potatoes done separately):
Chicken joints, chunks of veg and potatoes/sweet potatoes
Lamb chops, sprig of rosemary (from garden), chunks of (tomatoes, onion, peppers, garlic), baby potatoes
Sausages and thick sliced onions, and a second dish (pyrex type - not tray) to reheat leftover mash with extra milk and some baby peas

Thanks - @BiddyPop for your great posts. I love the idea of the one roasting tin dinners. Could chuck that in when I go to pick up DS from nursery and it will be ready and cooled down by dinnertime. Not had so much luck freezing veggie curries (go mushy and gross) but yes to lentil ones.

Haha single mum here but I could definitely do with a DH to do the ironing :)

great ideas! thanks

I need to improve on time management too, but I find meal planning for two weeks or a month at a time easier than doing it each week - also means we don’t end up feeling like we’re eating the same things all the time (I have silly rules like chilli once a month, bolognese twice a month, jacket potatoes twice a month so I can space things out).

When meal planning, plan in a day each week of sandwiches or beans on toast, especially on a day you know you’ll be busy or tired.

I like making soups, it’s as easy to make a big pan full as a small one, they freeze well, they’re healthy, all you need is bread to go with it. My current favourites are leek and potato, sweet potato and red pepper, and curried butternut squash. With sweet potato or squash based ones it’s easy to add some red lentils to make them more filling and nutritious too.

I do FlyLady

If you can afford it then Ocado reserved weekly on the same day each week is a life saver. I know on Sunday morning I need to plan the weeks shopping for delivery on Monday morning so it forces me to check the fridge and do a menu plan.

also I do most batch cooking on Saturday and Sunday morning when I’m up far too early with the kids. Chop some veg, fry some meat, put it in a casserole dish and let it bubble away all morning. Then you e got dinner sorted for that evening and for 2/3 other evenings over the next couple of weeks

also plan a REALLY easy dinner for busiest days. I

I have a nearly 3 year old too and it can feel impossible to keep on top of everything. She can be very needy so even though I work part time I struggle to do anything without her needing me or needing to keep an eye on her.

A few things that have helped though.

• when she's in the bath I often do things like clean the toilet, sink and maybe fold a few clothes. Sometimes I do this when getting ready for bed myself.
• I have a dishomatic filled up with bathroom cleaner which lives in the shower cubicle. I try and clean round while waiting for my conditioner to work for example.
• sometimes I set washing machine to go through the night and hang out first thing in the morning.
• get my 3 year old to help! She likes to help me dust (or try to - at least I can keep and eye on her whilst I'm doing the proper job)
• I am trying to take the pressure off myself with certain things. For example, I don't change our sheets weekly and I don't mop the floor as much as I should. We're still alive!

Hi all - stumbled on this thread! I'm building a 'Productive Mum' type community - focused on supporting mums who carry the mental load, are balancing work/life, are the default parent etc. We provide hacks/tips/support/safe space. I have an instagram and facebook page - let me know if you'd like to join.