So, teachers, making your home life run more smoothly?

I keep up with housework doing "7." Every day when I stagger home I do 7 things. Now this can be as easy as putting a piece of mail in the right spot, picking up some wayward trash outside or throwing in a load of laundry. Sometimes just starting the seven things makes me do more. I don't count things I have to do that night as one of the seven (like cooking). By the weekend, my to do list is shorter and I don't have as much to do because I have already done 35 little things throughout the week. When my kids were younger every single thing that they needed to have ready for school the next day was in the car before they went to bed. In the mornings, we never had emergencies.

Last May, my hubby retired. I would highly recommend having one of those. They take up a lot of space, but are very useful.

I'm pretty good with organization of school clothes, kids papers, my grading etc. We get up one hour before we actually have to the house. I shower in the evenings because I like to prep myself for the day in the mornings and not rush around.

What I need to work on is meals. Often, we end up grabbing fast food or eating junk because we get home late and are tired or one of the kids has an activity. I am working out until 5:30 and practices start at 6:30. I'm hoping I can be organized enough to get something healthy on the table before sports. My family does not like casserole type dishes. I tried freezer cooking and it was okay. I have a few crock pot meals that are healthy that will go in the meal rotation.

I find that all my organization and routines that I've established over the summer go out the window the first week I'm back to school with students. I do try to set certain days for big chores such as laundry, floor cleaning, bathroom cleaning, shopping, and meal planning. I have a weekly schedule I try to follow as faithfully as possible. Every day I also do a "five minute clean-up" of the main living spaces in my house - kitchen, family bathroom, living room, family room, dining room, entry. For each of those rooms I set the timer on the stove for five minutes and clean as much as possible in that amount of time. It's actually pretty impressive how much I can get done in five minutes! In 30 minutes the house is presentably clean. I must say that my children are grown so it is a lot easier to just pick up after my husband and myself. I have great respect and admiration for people who manage to keep their houses together and care for their children at the same time. That is hard work! I did it when my children were younger but not well. I'd also say that if I had the chance to go back and do it all over again I would have put my children and husband first and the housework second every single time the choice presented itself.

My DH helps a lot. He does a lot of the cooking. This year will be so much easier because ds will be going to my school, not one 30 minutes away that gets out at 4:30. I think that alone is going to be a huge difference. DH will be home by 2:30 and can take care of the dogs and think about dinner. We don't do meal planning per say but I shop with meals in mind.

I go into work early and leave when school gets out on days without meetings. I do a quick pick up when I get home and a couple days a week start laundry. I try to pick up before I go to bed and have clothes and lunch ready the night before. Ds is a teenager and usually showers at night so he's ready in like 15 minutes. DD is out of school and when she's home she'll start laundry and pick up.

I'm a special educator so I don't have as much planning to do and no grading so I think that makes it easier for me because I don't take work home. Also, having teenagers that take care of themselves saves a lot of time and energy. This fall ds will get his license so we won't have to do any running around.

Lisa D.

I have all these grand plans to organize meals and cook ahead and all that. But, then the school year actually starts, play rehearsals kick in, all the after school stuff starts rolling and I'm done for. I just go into survival mode until the day after Christmas when I can actually relax again.

Mom's chemo treatments threw a kink in my plans for stocking up on freezer meals. Instead of cooking ahead for my house, I'm doing it for her and Dad so it's one less thing for them to worry about.

On the other hand, DH and I have been systematically trying to declutter one room at a time. When we take all our prepped materials back to our offices next week, that will take care of the last piles of books/papers sitting around. I'm also working on doing one load of laundry per day, and we've begun consciously scheduling meals and chores. Since DH and I share the cooking, it's not a huge problem IF we plan meals earlier. DS is doing his part by keeping up with his chore chart. At 16, he's old enough to take over things DH and I have always done: cleaning his own bathroom, bedroom, and man cave; mowing the lawn; cooking one meal a week. Fingers crossed that he has enough time when his homework and play practices kick in.

I think other people have a lot more laundry than I do. When my boys were 7, I decided they should learn that art. Not that is a great time saver.