Most families I know have two working parents. Often one, or both of the parents, spend time commuting. With kid(s) in daycare/school, and extra curricular activities, it's hard to imagine where parents "nowadays" (I sound like I'm 80) find time to fart, let alone fold the laundry.
Well, since I've returned to work after baby number two, here are five things we've done in an effort to stay sane:
This was our first priority. With both of us working full-time, we quickly realized we didn't want to spend our oh-so-precious free time cleaning toilets (and with a son who now loves to STAND while he pees, trust me: our toilets need extra cleaning). When looking for a cleaning company though, we were very picky because my Mom used to have her own cleaning company, so our standards are very high. It was also important for us to find a company who used 100% natural cleaning products. We don't keep chemical cleaning products in our house (partly for the environment, mostly because I'm terrified of my kids coming across them) so I was ecstatic when we found PureClean. They sent two amazing women to our house, and to say we were impressed is an understatement. They also left us a little gift, so I clearly I fell in love with them even more (and cracked that vino as soon as I got home!)
Lucky for me, my husband likes to cook. Every other weekend or so, we plan one or two recipes that we can easily double or triple in volume. Then my husband does his thing in the kitchen, and we freeze Ziploc bag portions of the meals. Our deep freezer downstairs has a small inventory of meals that we can easily thaw throughout the week. We also use our slow cooker all the time, and write out a quick (not fancy) meal plan and put it on the fridge before we go grocery shopping on the weekend. This helps us make sure we aren't running to the grocery store throughout the week for silly last minute items that we need for dinner.
When my mom moved in with us two years ago, she had a semi-concerning addiction to popcorn. The problem was, whenever she made popcorn (every night) we wanted some too. (I dare you to smell popcorn and try NOT to eat it.) So, in an effort not to eat our weight in melted butter every week, we cut down our addiction to Monday and Friday nights. I know it's silly, but this little weekly tradition brings us so much joy at the end of a long day. I don't know how many times my mom has texted me after a tiring day with the kids to say "TGIPN" (Thank Goodness It's Popcorn Night!)
This one is pretty self explanatory.
Our house isn't new, therefore, there is always something that needs to be fixed or could be improved in some way. Pinterest and HGTV have a tendency to make you feel quite inadequate when it comes to home renos, don't they? However, at the end of the day: what is important? Playing in the sprinkler with your kids on the weekends? Or re-grouting your bathroom floor so that the shade of grey better matches your decor? I'll have time for perfection when my kids are older. Then again, maybe I won't.
Tell me, what are some of the things you do to help keep things on track while both parents are working? Feel free to add to this ever-expanding list!
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