Our work week is full of work, 40+ hours of work and of course W . W has come with us to work nearly everyday since he was 5 weeks old. It's amazing and also a struggle especially when W is having a bad day. So during the workweek I still have to worry about the upkeep, laundry, food, and worrying about what is going to happen during the weekend and how to prepare for it. Thursdays and Fridays H starts his time here and so we have to worry about homework and getting to school on-time and remember school lunches, and school events while also trying to maintain our work schedule as well. Fridays are so packed that it's a miracle we've finally got a partial system. If there is a night during the weekend where we have fast food or a quick skillet meal it's this one, otherwise we probably wouldn't eat until midnight with as long as it takes us to get all the kids and get back to the house.
I know that most people don't care about my life schedule but I'm just trying to give a little insight into what and why it seems I'm continually trying to find a solution to make our life easier. We have no time to ourselves. We are so busy there are some nights that we find something for W to eat but don't eat ourselves because it's too much work to make a meal for 2.5 people and clean up after ourselves. There are some nights when we leave before the sun comes up and don't get home until after the sun has already set. So yes, it is extremely important to me now to find a system that will give me a little time back to myself (and sanity with it). So here are a few things I have currently implemented and or intend to implement to save time, help me stay organized, and save money.
1. Clean a little everyday-I know this sounds like common sense, and really it is, but I find that there are some nights I can't bring myself to do anything. So to combat the nights I can't do anything I have made myself a check list with different chores spread out each night/day of the week with a focus on knowing that some days/nights I'll be too busy to do much. What does my Chore list look like? Well here it is....
- MON- 1 load laundry, Sweep & Mop Floors, Dishes, Take out trash
- TUES- 1 load laundry, Clean Bathrooms (we have 3), Kitchen Counters, Dishes
- WED- 1 load laundry, Floors, Dishes
- THUR- 1 load laundry, Dishes, Change Bedding (that's 6 beds, count it SIX)
- FRI- Kitchen Counters, Dishes
- SAT- Floors, Clean Guinea Pig Cage, Dishes, Dust
- SUN- Grocery Shop, Dishes, 1 load laundry
So for some this may seen extremely simple to follow, but when you factor that some nights we don't get home til after 7pm and we have to be at work by 8am that doesn't leave a whole lot of room for these chores.
2. Create a meal plan-I used to sit down every week and plan out exactly what we would eat over the weekend so that we were prepared when the ever so frequent I'm Hungry, can I have a snack? came about. I fell off the bandwagon and it has cost us a pretty penny since shopping at the grocery store down the road rather than going to Wally world where I can price match based off of all the local ads, use my coupons, and my rebate apps to save my family money. If you are interested in finding out a little more about couponing or the rebate apps I recommend two websites that really help you start the process hip2save.com which was recommended by a woman in front of me at the wal-mart checkout and thekrazycouponlady.com which is another great resource with tons of video tutorials.
3. Pare down on our belongings-It is our future goal to have our own home, some land, some chickens, and little house to go along with it. We want our lives to be about each other and our relationships but to do so it has come to our attention that we have too much stuff. This excessive stuff is what is causing us to have to constantly clean, and pick up and makes me feel like our house is closing in on me. I spend so much time focusing on the messes and making sure they are being picked up that it seems we lose countless hours with our kids, friends, and family just trying maintain.
So right now this is what I am really focused on implementing. I have a desire to spend more quality time with my family and this is how I intend on making it happen. It may not be easy but I have to make it happen or I just may tip the scale.
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