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Post by iamkristinl16 on Aug 31, 2015 0:24:49 GMT
Doing housework? I work a full time job and a part time job. DH works full time as well and usually works weekends and has a day off during the week.
I feel like I spend every weekend doing housework. Saturday's are usually spent cleaning and Sunday's I get groceries (which seems to take forever) and other shopping if needed, then come home to prep food for the week. That takes a majority of the day by the time things are cleaned up. So, we spend the weekend "working" and I still end up feeling like the house is a mess and I didn't get everything done that I needed.
So, this is partly a vent but I am also wondering how much time people spend on things like planning meals, grocery shopping, prepping for meals, etc. If anyone has tips on how to streamline this, I would appreciate it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2015 0:30:07 GMT
I work full time. Most of my week end is spend doing various household chores (indoors and out) grocery shopping, vehicle maintenance and anything else that needs done. My house is never as clean as I'd like it to be.
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Post by freecharlie on Aug 31, 2015 0:30:12 GMT
Your weekend sounds like mine. Saturday is football and cleaning. Sundays is grocery shopping and watching football and cleaning
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Post by hop2 on Aug 31, 2015 0:34:12 GMT
I went back to work a year ago. However, everyone else in the house seems to feel I ought to still do everything I did when I was home. I can't.. I won't try. Too bad I don't care
I menu plan on tues or wed
I grocery shop Thursday night
I do all food prep every day
I do all the cooking everyday
I do all dishes every day
I do all the laundry tues, thur & sat
I clean all the bathrooms on sat or sun
Anything else can wait too bad
So I estimate I soend just iver one full day doing housework probably 26/28 hours?
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Post by papersilly on Aug 31, 2015 0:34:02 GMT
I find that if we tidy up along the way, we don't have too many chores piled up. Well, that, and my cleaning lady once a month to do the deep cleaning.
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bethany102399
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Post by bethany102399 on Aug 31, 2015 0:35:15 GMT
Yep. I was just thinking this today as I fought the crowds at Aldi and Hy Vee. I hate going to more than one store for groceries, but Aldi is SO cheap on some things it's worth my time.
I find that if I can do one cleaning activity per night, we have hardwoods upstairs, so one activity is sweeping. I sweep the dining room on Mondays, the living room on Tuesdays, etc. that I can bring things down to a manageable roar on the weekends. Of course we started soccer and scouts mid August and my little cleaning schedule took a massive hit. DH and I have split up the soccer duties and I'm hoping to get back on it this week.
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Post by kelbel827 on Aug 31, 2015 0:37:07 GMT
I don't clean.
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Post by chaosisapony on Aug 31, 2015 0:39:59 GMT
I tend to do most everything except laundry in the evenings after work that way all I have to do on the weekend is nothing and laundry. But there's only me living here and it's a small house. It might not be as easy in a larger house. I'm also pretty relaxed when it comes to house keeping in general.
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Post by padresfan619 on Aug 31, 2015 0:40:53 GMT
I work full time and try to make an effort to keep up with housework during the week so I can have weekends free, or at least just one day to relax. I don't have kids and am lucky to be married to a tidy man, so we don't have to combat too much to keep our house clean. We also both work at jobs with flexible hours so if I need an oil change or something minor I can take care of it by going in early or late, as long as I fulfill my full shift.
I like shopping mainly in bulk by going to Costco once a month, and then I pick up smaller stuff as needed. It really helps cut down on the need to do a big weekly shop.
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Post by Woobster on Aug 31, 2015 0:40:30 GMT
I work full time and go to school full time. Thankfully, I have three day weekends. I spend one whole day each week cleaning and doing laundry. (Other than my kitchen, I really don't do much upkeep during the week.) I don't mind it too much.., it's a great workout, and it helps me burn off some stress each week.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Aug 31, 2015 0:49:30 GMT
Sounds like I'm not the only one. I have four kids--two in sports so far--currently football and fall baseball. We have practices several nights a week and will soon have a football game on Saturday mornings and then both boys will have double headers on Sunday's (not on same team). So, I have a feeling things will get worse not better. I used to shop on Friday nights and might need to go back to that. I would get home
Really late but at least it didn't feel like I was wasting a whole day. Then I could clean and prep Saturday's.
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Post by littlemama on Aug 31, 2015 0:53:15 GMT
We do laundry throughout the week. On weekends, DH cleans- upstairs one week, downstairs the next. I run errands and figure out meals for the week. During baseball season(s), we have to change things up on the fly. In the summer, DS does a lot more than he does during the school year- he has been cleaning for years, and now that he can drive, he has done some grocery shopping on weekdays after we have been travelling all weekend for baseball.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2015 0:53:57 GMT
Very little... we wipe down the bathrooms, do the usual kitchen cleaning, sweep the floors, tidy up whatever toys and stuff is out, and I do my work clothes laundry on the weekend so my stuff can air dry and then I iron on Sunday night. I also prep some lunches for myself on Sunday night. With the exception of ironing and lunch prep, it's stuff that gets done every day, anyway.
Dh might run out to grab some groceries, but he goes to the store about 3-4 times a week, so it's never a major shopping trip.
I try to do more major cleaning tasks on occasion rather than dedicating an entire day to cleaning. Sometimes we have a Saturday morning family cleaning event -- I make a list of things that need to be done and we all just go down the list and check off stuff as we finish it. These kinds of cleaning chores include stuff like dusting bookshelves and surfaces, wiping down cabinet fronts, mopping, vacuuming the couches, etc.
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Post by myshelly on Aug 31, 2015 0:54:11 GMT
I feel like my best advice to you would be to figure out why it is taking a whole day a week to clean your house and fix it.
Are your kids not picking up after themselves?
Is there too much stuff coming into the house?
Is there no organizational system in place?
If you start with a clean and organized house it really takes very little time to *keep* it clean and organized.
Everyone picks up after themselves here and I do one chore a day (dust one day, vacuum one day, etc.) so I never feel like I have to spend much time on housework. I throw a load of laundry in everyday.
I grocery shop Monday nights after bedtime (7:30). The store is not busy, I can shop alone, and there's no lines. So it takes less than an hour. I grocery shop at Target so I can get all our household needs when I get the groceries without running errands to multiple places. I don't meal prep. I don't think it saves time to do a huge chunk in the kitchen on the weekend versus a few minutes each day.
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Post by littlemama on Aug 31, 2015 0:56:09 GMT
I dont recall how old your children are, but I think they are of an age where they can be helping with some chores, like putting away dishes, loading the dishwasher, changing over loads of laundry, and dusting and vacuuming. I will say, as far as kids cleaning, you will have to lower your standards to am extent.
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Post by melanell on Aug 31, 2015 1:12:28 GMT
Sometimes none and sometimes nearly the whole darn weekend.  I do really, really try to avoid stepping foot into a major grocery store, or heading into the areas with the malls and big box stores on a weekend, though. Those places are always crazy from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon. I don't mind hitting a little local store, but that's it. |
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Post by cmpeter on Aug 31, 2015 1:14:33 GMT
Very little. I have two teens and a husband who all participate in household chores just as much as I do. Three of us work and both kids are in school.
Today I washed towels and sheets and dusted. Dd cleaned the guest bathroom. DS worked and DH finished up an interior painting project. In all, we might have spent 30 minutes each. We tend to take that approach daily. We do have a set schedule, just do things as we see they need to be done. My teens aren't good about taking the initiative on their own but will do any chore I ask them too without complaint.
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kate
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Post by kate on Aug 31, 2015 1:43:32 GMT
DH does a lot of the laundry when he has weekday hours free. Sometimes I do it on Sunday.
I order groceries on the internet on Thursday for delivery Friday evening - I can do the ordering on the bus during my commute, on my lunch hour at work, or in the evening after the kids are down.
Cleaning is a whole-family activity. One of the kids has a music lesson at home on Saturday afternoon, so everyone pitches in to tidy up, vacuum, wipe down kitchen and bath, etc. before the teacher arrives. The house is not spic-and-span, but that's how we keep the mess down to a dull roar.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2015 1:52:01 GMT
DH does quite a bit, but honestly the best thing I did when I went back to work FT (both in TX and now in NC) is that we hired someone to come in once every two weeks. Otherwise, we grocery shop sunday afternoon and hit Costco and other stores on Saturday.
Agree that you need to get others involved more! If they don't want to, then you just need to put it in the budget.
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georgiapea
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Post by georgiapea on Aug 31, 2015 1:58:41 GMT
Yep, housework. Run the roomba and laundry. I used to have a real utility room and did laundry most every day. Now my washer/dryer is right off the kitchen and I find the noise intrusive so I do it all on the weekend. Usually Saturday with any catch up on Sunday but yesterday I felt crummy and let it all go till today. Everything is now dry and folded, ready for DH to tote it upstairs.
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Post by peasapie on Aug 31, 2015 2:00:13 GMT
Doing housework? I work a full time job and a part time job. DH works full time as well and usually works weekends and has a day off during the week. I feel like I spend every weekend doing housework. Saturday's are usually spent cleaning and Sunday's I get groceries (which seems to take forever) and other shopping if needed, then come home to prep food for the week. That takes a majority of the day by the time things are cleaned up. So, we spend the weekend "working" and I still end up feeling like the house is a mess and I didn't get everything done that I needed. So, this is partly a vent but I am also wondering how much time people spend on things like planning meals, grocery shopping, prepping for meals, etc. If anyone has tips on how to streamline this, I would appreciate it. Wow. You really have a lot on your plate. Can you order groceries online and have them delivered? A lot of places by me are doing that now. I used to have various family meals in a word doc with shopping items next to each menu. I'd copy and paste different meals into a separate word doc and a shopping list for the meals was ready to go. I hope your kids are helping you at home! |
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Post by anniefb on Aug 31, 2015 2:12:11 GMT
I work full time and my Saturdays are usually taken up with household chores too - housework and gardening. I live alone and try not to create too much mess, but there always seems to be something to do. I have a big garden and need to do an hour or two a week to keep up with it.
When I was really short of time a few years ago (more demanding job and longer hours including weekends) I used to do my grocery shopping online to save a bit of time and get help with cleaning. Hope you can find what works for you!
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Post by quinmm14 on Aug 31, 2015 2:20:02 GMT
I work full time but get a day off during thee week if I work 4 hours on a Saturday. I used to spend my day off cleaning and running errands. Since dh retired I do very little housework, he does all the cooking (yay, because I hate it and I suck at it) but I do have a once a month cleaning lady for a deep clean up. I don't mind the laundry, so I do most of it.
ETA: I forgot to answer the question, I don't do any cleaning on the weekends, unless we're having guests over, then just a quick pick up.
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Post by cindyupnorth on Aug 31, 2015 2:20:53 GMT
I work full time. I do a bit on Sat's, but I do NOT do housework on sundays. I have 2dds. When they are here they have chores like dishes, vacuuming, garbage, dusting, etc. No way do I do it all by myself. Also my dh does ALL the outside work, and helps with the dishes when the girls are gone. You do NOT have to do it alone.
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SabrinaP
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Post by SabrinaP on Aug 31, 2015 2:23:58 GMT
Saturdays are spent attending the boys' sporting events at my house and Sundays are housework and school work (DH and I are both teachers). We usually do all laundry, grocery shopping, and much of the housework on Sundays. We keep the house pretty picked up during the week, but I need to do some of the deeper cleaning on Sundays.
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Post by mikklynn on Aug 31, 2015 2:32:35 GMT
Lately it seems like I spend all weekend running errands and cleaning. It's killing me. DH retired and was doing most of the cleaning and all the grocery shopping. We had a sudden setback in his cancer battle that has him using crutches and a wheelchair. He can lift nothing. So, back to trying to do it all and work full time.
I try to do at least one load of laundry each night and do one cleaning chore. I buy a lot on Amazon and stock up at Costco. When I make things like soup or chili, I double up and freeze a meal or two. I'm going to start ordering my groceries online and picking them up at the drive up lane - a service offered by a local grocery store.
Is there anyway to give up your part time job? You are working way too much for a woman with four kids to manage.
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katybee
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Post by katybee on Aug 31, 2015 2:38:28 GMT
The best thing I have done for myself is pay for a cleaning service twice a month. I pay $81 and leave a $20 tip--so $200 a month. I completely realize that is not in everybody's budget. But it is worth it to me to make sacrifices in other places so I can afford it. It brings me so much peace of mind…
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2015 2:44:20 GMT
I work full time. Most of my week end is spend doing various household chores (indoors and out) grocery shopping, vehicle maintenance and anything else that needs done. My house is never as clean as I'd like it to be. Pretty much this. I find a stopping point on mid Saturday afternoon to relax and do what I want, but on Sunday's I am usually back at it - laundry, food prep for the week, sweeping, bathroom cleaning, etc. It's never ending. |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Aug 31, 2015 2:48:54 GMT
Part of the reason it takes so long is that I am taking care of four kids--feeding them, stopping fights, helping them with what they need, etc. They are also like little tornados going through the house. They are horrible at picking up after themselves. DH does a lot of the laundry and mows the lawn. He takes the garbage out and picks up some, but he doesn't do any major cleaning, organizing, de cluttering, etc. I am working on going through the house to declutter and I am hoping that helps. We are also getting back on a school schedule this week. We are going to have a family pick-up at a certain time each night and hopefully that will be helpful as well.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Aug 31, 2015 2:52:02 GMT
@mikkilynn--I am sorry to hear about your husband. I hope that these changes are only temporary.
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I do really, really try to avoid stepping foot into a major grocery store, or heading into the areas with the malls and big box stores on a weekend, though. Those places are always crazy from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon.
