working mums balancing act... help

[dinnydoo]

how do I balance working fulltime/3 lovely teemagers/cleaning/washing/ironing/walking the dog/keep fit?

oops and spell!... I meant 'teenagers' not teemagers!

deligate some of the work to your teenagers, they can do simple things like loading washing mashine/dishwasher, cleaning, while you go running with the dog

My advice would be to stop ironing anything other than school uniform - but then I don't mind looking creased!

get a cleaner or you will go mad

what are your hours? Do you have a partner?

Agree with getting teenagers to help you. as a teacher I am often surprised at how little most of the teenagers I teach are actually asked to help at home - they do literally nothing to help!

I have a dog walker (no teenagers yet!) wo comes three times a week, and get exercise running with the dog other four days a week.

I also do very little ironing apart from crucial items!

Watching this with interest as I work FT and have a 1yo DS (as well as a hoarding DH ). I'm having a total struggle and my flat is permanently a complete tip these days....

thank you everyone who replied... i'm new to mumsnet. have drawn up yet another rota,for the kids, but hopefully a realistic one. taked to my dh who has promised (again) to help. can only keep trying. 19 years married tomorrow so it's work in progress.. you'd have thought i would have sussed it by now. but you know what they say never work with children and animals! thanks

Hi, I work full time and have a DH who is good round the house when he is in the country but often isn't.
I survive by using a cleaning service once a week, sending my ironing out and by training my DC to undertake household chores. We don'y have a dog but if we did then I would have to use a dog walking service, plus expect DC to walk it.
My DC are happy to help out as they understand that my salary allows them to go on exotic holidays and do all the school trips etc.
Also my house is tidy and clean but has a lived in look

no teens here, but a house trained dh who does the ironing and a cleaner once a week, I do gym about 3x a week, either w/e moning onmy own, or whilst DTs do their own thing at the gym, or after work when DH picks them up, I turn a blind eye to the state of the floor etc anything up to 48 hrs before cleaner comes, make DTs tidy rooms once a week and try to tidy as I go

then I drink wine!

I work FT and have a teenager. The only way to work it is to have everyone pull their weight.

DD has her list of chores and if she doesn't do them her allowance stops. She has to wash the dishes every day, clean the bathroom three times a week, clean her bedroom, change her sheets, wash both cars at the weekend. She also does her own ironing, and cooks once a week.

DP has his list of stuff - he looks after the garden, rubbish etc, cleans the kitchen, mops the house, sorts the cats. Also irons his own stuff.

They both pick up after theirselves. Say picks up cups/papers from sitting room, generally spruces place up afterwards. That way the place doesn't descend into a tip.

You can't do it all on your own (well, you can, but you will resent everyone) and they are perfectly capable of doing it. Just make it a zero tolerance thing. You all live there - you all have to contribute equally to maintaining a well run house.

OMG, GetOrfMoiLand! Your house must be immaculate! My bathroom has NEVER been cleaned 3 times in one week. Am I a total slattern?!

Getting her to cook once a week is a fab idea. It will teach her so much. My mum used to work only a few hours a week and so did everything around the house except tidy our bedrooms. Honestly, we were soooo spoilt. And helpless. When me and my sister moved into our own flat when I was 21 we were on the phone to her constantly asking her daft stuff like "How do you boil potatoes?" We were 21!!!! She made a rod for her own back really as we never appreiated how hard she worked for us all in the house until we had to do it in our own house. My dad has never done anything round the house and would be lost without my mum there - she more or less wipes his bum for him.....

I really don't want to make the same mistake with my kids. I'm slowly teaching DS1 who is 6 how to pour his own drinks, make a cup of tea and coffee, chop veggies etc.

CurlyHair - naaah, it's not that tidy!

She only does a quick clean - say about ten minutes a time, just cleaning out the bath and sink, wahsing down the tiles, mopping the floor. Somehow the three of us trash the bathroom, if it is not cleaned and tidied regularly it looks a right state. She doesn't clean the loo though, she leaves that for me because she says it's a minging job

DP really deep cleans it about twice a year - really takes ages to clean ito to operating theatre level.

Why am I talking about bathroom cleaning to the nth degree?

Anyway, as you were.

My DH has a serious hip problem (4 operations later!)He works full time as a PE teacher which he loves. He pays for a cleaner to do his bit £35 a week. She does some ironing, dusting,hoovering cleans the bathroom & kitchen. That's it (which is a lot) So maybe you draw up a rota for the kids to do everyday things. Rubbish out, beds made, wash-up, load washing machine. Then ask each one if they want to earn some cash and once a week one person get that £35.00 for cleaning. What do you think?