Tips to make life easier going back to work.....please.....

[spiderinthebath]

Back on Fri after 10 months off and pretty scared! have done it 2 times before but have had longer off this time for dd maternity leave....just wondered if any of you lovely ladies had any tips on how to make life easier around the home/organising your day/practical tips that you use....can you tell Im needing organising help! thanks

Get all clothes, school stuff, lunches etc ready the night before

Have your hair cut in a style that won't take half an hour to do

slow cooker , cleaner , house diary ,online shopping.

Or an army of staff !!

does anyone really do cooking in advance? I've never mastered that

lower your standards

enjoy cuddles every evening (or morning if you're only seeing them one end of the day)

if you can afford a cleaner, get one, if you can't, get the kids to help as much as poss and define what's important to you (like a clean bathroom, whatever)

and RELAX. It feels stressful for a bit but you'll get back into the swing of it really quickly.

lol @ enjoy cuddles every evening. I thought you meant with dh.

With the childrne, yes

already doing slow cooker, online shopping but will investigate the others! hair long but just tie it up and run...thanks

Get up early

Cook at the weekend and put it in the freezer for easy weekday meals

never turn the telly on in the morning

lol

Its the only time I have been glad of a dd being an early waker...at least I will get to see her before I run out of the door at 6.50am! thanks for your tips, have been in denial that I need to get up earlier but MUST do that. Standards lowering as I type . Off to cook a few bits for freezer.

Make sure dp/dh does half the housework/childcare/school runs etc. Accept no excuses.

I'm just about to increase my working hours and wondering about getting a cleaner - is anyone able to give me any idea of what they pay? We have a 4 bed detached house.

hi 2mad - I had a cleaner before I went on mat leave who I think I need back now Im going back to work! It cost me £120 a month for One and a half hours a week 2 ladies coming we have a 4 bed house...HTH

I second doing everything the night before. Menu plan and online shop accordingly. Do bathrooms and hoover once a week unless there is some sort of filth explosion/MIL visiting. Some rough idea of who does what (in our house DH usually does hoovering/washing up for example)

On maternity leave so just had to let my cleaner go but I paid £9ph in commuter Kent and had 3 hours cleaning & 1 hour ironing per week. I didn't have the entire house spotless in that time but toilet/bathrooms were all done, floors mopped or hoovered & dusting done which was an absolute godsend (not to mention it made us have a mega clear up & tidy once a week!) plus shirts & duvets all ironed.

LCN

If you have two bathrooms (one downstairs) leave spare toothbrushes, toothpaste etc) there so kids don't have to go upstairs to brush their teeth. Shoes and coats at door ready to put on also helps.

Both my husband and I work fulltime. Our baby is 11 months old.

I hoover and dust for 1 hour max at the weekend and my DH cleans bathroom and kitchen in 1 hour (weekend time with LO is precious so house standards have dropped!).

DH and I both menu plan for whole week and shop for groceries in weekend (just meat and veg and then big online order).

I do laundry weeknights after LO in bed.

I pack LO's bag and lay out her clothes and my own clothes for the next day each and every weeknight after she goes to bed.

I clear away all clutter each weeknight after she has gone to bed.

She goes to bed at 7pm so I manage to do this within an hour and by 8pm I can relax (dinners during weeknights are simple and quick).

DH does most of the washing up.

Without DH's contribution to housework, I would not have coped with working fulltime.