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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
NewFamily09
member
I'm getting overwhelmed, how can I streamline my household?
NewFamily09
member
I feel like cleaning and other chores keep piling up. With 2 kids, I feel like I don't have enough time to clean well enough. I clean the whole house and literally an hour later it looks terrible again. Does anyone have any tricks that can help me get things done in less time or less effort? I know one thing I should start doing is meal plan. Or, does anyone know of a blog or website or something that I could get tips from. I'm a SAHM, but I watch other people's kids some days and will be doing this full time starting in late February. I'll have even less time to do chores when that time comes. I'm going crazy.
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Re: I'm getting overwhelmed, how can I streamline my household?
I'm no help with the cleaning. I do some and DH does the rest. Like others, we do it when we can...not all in one shot. Also, it may sound bad, but I'm ok with the fact that my house is not going to be perfect most of the time. As long as it's not dirty (ie dishes in the sink, dust or grime everywhere) I'm fine with it.
As for meal planning, it really helps! Last week we had a rotisserie chicken one night and I cut off one of the breasts and used it for chicken quesadillas the next night. Also, use the crock pot if you have one. It's great and saves so much time.
BLOG: The Quinntessential Mommy
I work full time and have a tornado-errr.. I mean toddler...
It is hard to keep up. But thankfully I have a husband who helps out and DD picks her toys up.
One thing that helps me is bins and baskets. DD has bins inside her toybox to organize her smaller toys or toys with pieces (Mrs. Potatohead, her tea set, her bowling pins, etc).
I keep a thing of Clorox wipes in the ktichen and bathrooms. Whenever I'm in the bathroom brushing my teeth/or cleaning my ears (or whatever) I grab a wipe and do a light "dusting".
In the kitchen when I'm done with dinner I wipe the counters down.
What really helps is sharing the load with DH and having DD pick up after herself.
I'm struggling keeping up with one toddler, so you're not alone. I do try to have DH take DS outside for an hour (or more) so I can tackle a few things uninterrupted (at least 2-3x per week)...
Sometimes it helps to do a little wipe up every day... and if you're up for just picking up toys at naptime and bedtime, that helps. my friend told me to start teaching him the Barney clean up song and teach him to clean up (which he is starting to do a little) so I guess it will catch on.
I have a package of cleaning wipes in each bathroom and one in the kitchen. I vacuum 3x/week but I may only swiffer and steam clean the floors once a week(hopefully I'll do this more often).
Some people follow fly lady for cleaning. I had a hard time getting in to it but its a good plan.
I'm on pinterest for meal planning ideas. I'm finding a good 10 meals we like to plan for on a regular basis. Meal planning takes time and commitment (at least for me) but its nice when it works.
I like this blog and this recipe:
https://www.kalynskitchen.com/2011/10/crockpot-recipe-for-sweet-and-spicy.html
and this blog https://www.mamalovesfood.com/
I made this a week ago and I thawed it out and we're cooking this tonight
https://joelens.blogspot.com/2010/05/cilantro-lime-chicken-tacos.html
Good luck!
P.S. crockpot meals work wonders! I always have ground turkey, chicken, sweet potatoes and frozen veggies available for quick meals. (and pasta and pasta sauce)
Thanks for all the ideas so far! We have a bunch of tubs of Chlorox wipes that we bought on sale once, so I'll go hide some in each bathroom tomorrow and do a quick wipedown. The idea of meal planning is hard for me because I never know what I'll be in the mood for. Knowing me, I'd keep changing my mind and I'd eventually stop following my plan all together. Does anyone else have this problem?
When I meal plan, I don't stick to it so strict that it's Monday so I have to make pasta. I pick whatever I'm in the mood for off that list.
I totally know what you mean about not being in the mood for your planned meal, since I got KU again I never know what I'll feel like eating on a particular night. You could try allowing some flexibility in when you make things by pre-cooking or even freezing the meat. Lately I've just been going to the grocery store every day, which is inefficient but only takes a few minutes.
Some people I know like https://e-mealz.com/ (it's a paid site but probably worth it) and I also just found out about https://onceamonthmom.com/ and plan to check it out more...
I usually only plan out 4-5 meals at a time, and then I'll freeze meat/fish if we're eating it later in the week. It's hard to get used to, but after a few weeks, it's a really nice way to cook. Even just cooking 1-2 meals on a weekend day is a good start. Find a cookbook you *really* like, and pick out a few things you want to try - I find that trying new recipe is a big motivator for me.
As for cleaning - if you can afford it, hire a cleaner. We had one last winter/spring when my younger son was tiny, but eventually stopped. I'm thinking we'll have them come again once a month. I make a point to scrub bathrooms on the weekends, and that's when most of our cleaning gets done, bc DH and I can tag team with the kids and cleaning. But we clean the kitchen every night (and I clean up breakfast/lunch dishes and mess every afternoon, too), and try to pick up toys before we go to bed. Staying on top of clutter is an easy way to make a house look nicer - bins/baskets/storage containers for everything!! hth
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
I'll tell you that I have finally found a routine that is working for me and my house is cleaner than ever. But I'm nesting too
I also keep children in the house and my best advice about that is set some ground rules from the very beginning. We have a playroom attached to the living room, so no toys leave the playroom and come into the living room. This makes the house look soooo much better. It's the common space that the adults see but isn't cluttered up with toys that I could trip over. Second, I have an extra wide baby gate to the kitchen. My son would love to carry is blankey in there and pick up all the germs and crumbs but the gate up helps me keep the food messes in one place. Paper plates are my best friend! Use them and save yourself some time.
I've started a routine of cleaning floors one day and laundry the next. Things like dusting, disinfecting toys and vacuuming rugs on the weekends. And the wipes in the kitchen/bathrooms are a time saver. Works for us. Good luck!
As for the cleaning, I know lots of ladies that swear by www.flylady.com.
Meal Planning- try the More Time Moms cookbook. I bought it at costco for $11, and it's a complete, 6 week meal plan, with recipies and downloadable grocery lists. It;s a good way to get started if nothing else.