Moms of 2+ who work FT please come in

redjetta22 · February 2012

I'm excited to be expecting my 2nd. My two will be about 23mo apart. One of my concerns is time. How am I ever going to get it all done? I already struggle with keeping the house decent. I am far from a neat freak so i can let some things slide, but i need clean floors with a baby crawling around etc. And as it is, I hardly ever cook because of lack of time and energy, and because I'm not very organized with grocery shopping. But for budget reasons, we really need to eat at home more. So I'm asking for tips/suggestions for organization or saving time (while not spending more money... We can't afford a maid/laundry service). What changes did you make to your routine when the 2nd came along?

MammaBear81 · February 2012

j.d.gal:
I don't have a second yet, but I do work full time. A few years ago I started weekly meal planning and grocery shopping and it saves a ton of time and money. We don't eat out much because we have things on hand to make. We throw very little food away because we cook what we intend to cook each week. And we spend a lot less time thinking about what to make, shopping, etc. I pick a few meals a week (easy meals and leftovers for weeknights, more complicated meals for weekends), a combination of old favorites and new things to try. I also try to keep a few meals in the freezer for emergencies or when I'm just too tired.

This, and I will add that we are diligent at putting things away right away. Leaving things until later piles up fast and then you are looking at a huge mess.

blackqueen416 · February 2012

My two are 21 months apart. Routine, routine , routine. Thats how I get thru the day. When DS1 started pulling toys out to play with at the end of each night we sing the clean up song and he puts all the toys away. thats just one of many routines we have. By the time DS2 came along DS1 knew the routines and if I say its bath time. He ceans up his toys and heads upstairs. I cook every other day and we have leftovers inbetween. As for cleaning, I do maintenance cleaning and have a maid service come when needed. I get them at discount rate by buying vouchers through Groupon, Living Social. Anytime cleaning becomes overwhelming I use one. I also added DS2 into as many routines as possible so that DS1 doesnt feel left out. DS1 loves helping and evven though it may take a little longer with some I just factor that in.

MommyRN1 · February 2012

I have 2U2 (5 months & 22 months) & a 10 yr old & a 12 yr old. As others have said, meal planning is a life saver. I hate cooking, but it is a necessity. I plan out a week or two of meals and what ingredients that I'll need. I pull the meat from the freezer on the weekend. Also, the crock pot is a lifesaver! I throw clothes in the wash nearly every day. They don't get folded, but by the time the weekend comes around, all the clothes are clean, they just need folded and put away. I try to do little things every day. Vaccuming, dusting, just a few minutes each day helps. Routine is huge too. We are sticklers w/ bedtimes, etc. Having a routine makes it so much easier to remember everything when you're headed out the door. GL! You'll do fine.

sxyhrdrssr · February 2012

I clean the house at night when the kids are asleep. I also prepare everything I need for the following day. They are asleep by 8:30pm, so it works well.

KRB8 · February 2012

I meal plan every Wed and go grocery shopping every Thursday night after DD is in bed. I do just weekly cleaning every Monday night for about an hour. Just the bare minimum to keep things looking presentable. I then focus on "deep" cleaning a different room each week. Maybe about an hour throughout the whole week. Dishes get done as they get dirty. One load of wash gets done per day and put away the same day. I run the washer while I get ready for work. Then the clothes sit in there until I get home. That's when they go in the dryer. Never had a smell problem. Like PPs said, routine and don't let things pile up.

I even travel for work one week per month. All I worry about when I get home is catching up on wash since DH takes care of the dishes and vuccuming while I'm gone. I plan on doing the same when DD2 arrives.

skyejo · February 2012

My LOs will be 23 months apart too and I work FT. Meal planning keeps me sane. I look at the ads to see what is on sale and meal plan based on that. Very simple, easy meals during the week and I'll make something that's more time consuming on the weekends. I would die without my crockpot. I use it at least twice a week. And I always make leftovers of everything for lunches during the week.

I'm not a neat freak either so as long as there is no chance of getting salmonella in my house I don't stress I only do laundry once a week--Friday or Saturday night after LO is in bed. It's easier for me to do load after load then trying to put it during the work week. I only grocery shop once a week. I run errands during my lunch break.

We'll get through this together. We have no other choice lol!

epopp85 · February 2012

Mine are almost exactly 24 months apart. To start budgeting and get our time management under control, I started using iphone apps and meal planning.

I use ShopperLite (it's free) to help me with the groceries. It lets me track everything I need to buy and even does coupons and tax for me so that I know exactly how much I'm planning to spend.

I'm still a little new to the meal planning, but it has been helping since I am also trying to loose weight. (Which I use My Fitness Pal for. Also free.) The biggest thing has been starting to do crock pot meals and pre-preparing and freezing them. It takes a few hours to get everything ready and chopped up, but I can do it all on a Sunday afternoon and have meals for a few weeks. It helps with time management in the evenings since dinner is ready for the most part, when I get home. All of my recipes are on my Pinterest if you want to poke around on there. Link is in my siggy.

We just have to work at keeping the house clean and try to do things as we go. For instance: the dishes get done right after dinner, toys get picked up right before bed time, the diaper caddies get filled as soon as they run low, that sort of thing. If you can get ahead of it, it's much easier to keep up.

In general, we also do a lot of divide and conquor. I bathe DD while DH bathes DS. He plays with them while I make dinner, and then I play with them while he does dishes. Life got a lot busier, but it's still managable.

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Moms of 2+ who work FT please come in

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