If your DH is on the road a lot for work/works crazy hours

mlc92404

How do major things get done around the house?  Stuff like repairs, furnace/ a/c issues, basement needing to be sealed etc I consider to be stuff DH needs to handle (this may be partly to do with the fact that anything like this my dad handled when I was growing up).  DH is always on the road for work and the weekends are spent with the boys and relaxing.  We really dont have the money to hire all this stuff out to be done but there are things that just need to be done.  DH has proved that he can do most things but they usually end up done half a$$ because he's trying to get it done fast.  I had to deal with an issue with the pump for the well a few weeks ago and had NO clue what to do and he wasn't around.  I just feel like I do so much other stuff being a SAHM, these things should be his responsibility!

JOEBunny

We have several properties.  We found a good handyman.  He and I are tight.  He charges $35 an hour, which is well worth it for us.  I also had a good plumber until he disappeared recently.  He would work for me on weekends or when he was between jobs.  I miss him. I watch them do some jobs, so the next time I can do them myself. 

WhitePicketFence

DH's schedule changes depending on what projects need to get out at work so, although he generally works a crazy amount of overtime (he often works 7 days a week), he does end up with a few weeks here and there where he works significantly less hours and is home early enough in the evening to tackle home projects then. He also has a ton of vacation/personal days each year so he almost always uses a portion of that time off to work on major home projects.

erstwhile+maven

I do some of  this stuff but most is done by DH on the weekends.  We do hire some of the bigger projects out now that we have DS.  Our dads are both really great at all things related to building/wiring/plumbing/finish carpentry and we sometimes ask for their help on larger projects or emergencies.  When it comes to random household problems, if its broke and needs to be fixed I'll try to call him and talk to him, usually do a Google search to see if there's something I can do (if there's time) and if not, call a service man to fix the furnace, water pump, hot water heater, etc.  He may gripe a little about the cost if he finds that he could have fixed it but he knows he has to be accepting of my household management skills when he's away... especially since toddler juggling is involved.

ermm23a

My DH travels a lot for work, and when he is in town, he always has dinners or meetings at night, etc.  I get so frustrated about little things that he says he will handle, that NEVER get done unless I do them, or I end up hiring someone to do them.   I am a new SAHM with a newborn, and I haven't had any major catastrophies as of yet, but if something major happened, I would have to get it taken care of.  Which would probably entail me hiring someone to come fix it. 

 DH is here on the weekends but trying to get him to do stuff around the house on his down times is like pulling teeth. 

Sammysu

DH works a whole lot and crazy hours too. Things get done with constant reminders usually but I have definately learned to back off a whole lot. He stresses out when he doesn't have time to do it or can't do something right and feels like a failure so I have really tried to learn how to do things or I will call my dad and ask his opinion about it or ask for his help before I get DH involved because he really does not have much time at all between work and spending time with the girls.

 

regenab

Dh is only home 3 days a month. Every 3 months he takes a week of leave so he is here about 10 days on those trips home. He tries to do everything that he can when he is home. It sucks because on the months when he is here only 3 days it seems like he is not spending a lot of time with us because he is fixing things. But we just bought this house a year ago and we are still going through all the challenges of new ownership and replacing things that are original and breaking. On the trips where he is here 10 days he works on fixing normal things then usually has a big project that we had planned and he does that as well.

Here is how I handle things it is kind of like triage.

1) Anything that breaks that is immediate, I call someone. I have an electrian I use, I have an A/C repair man and pool repair man (pool leaks are extremely costly or pump repairs can cause major damage if not taken care of right away). I also know a plumber that does work at night and on weekends for cash, these are side jobs for him. I also have a handyman friend that I keep on call. If something really needs attention before DH can get home, I call Sam and he comes and takes care of it. Like a tree branch crashes through the window and I need a new window installed, Sam is my man for that kind of thing.

2) Anything that can wait for DH to repair, but needs attention as soon as he can do it, I make a list of these for when he gets home. The list is usually long and he may only get to 3 things on it so I prioritze these items. Like the dryer isn't working and I need him to fix it, I can line dry all of our clothes until he gets back, but that is what I want fixed first so I know it gets done.

3) When he is home on his 10 day trips he works through the rest of the things that are waiting, such as the screen needs replaced in the front window. Not an emergency, but would be nice to have fixed for when we can open our windows again in FL, sometime in November. If he gets through the list, then I works on projects we have tallked about that we want to do, but don't need to do on any timeframe. Like we want to remove a small tree in front of our garage. It is not an emergency and it not falling down, so it can wait until he has the time to do it.

He may not like the idea of a "honey do" list, but it really helps to keep on track. And it helps me to not forget the things I want DH to take care of when he is home.

jennylynne_01

If I can't do it myself or DH can't get it done on the weekend then we call a service to come do the job.