How do you find the energy to keep up around the house after the kids go to bed?

[mullygrubs]

@mae88 I'm no pro by any means and I definitely fail at these same tasks from time to time as I think it's only natural but a couple things that help me.

1.) Toys - my 2 year old knows clean up time and it's kinda a song. He will put his toys away. It's not perfect but he helps. Your older two should be able to help pick up their own stuff.

2.) Dishes - I do them immediately after dinner as often as I can. I get most of them done while my partner is still helping our toddler finish his.

3) Laundry - this only for towels and clothes. I don't take out new ones while the others are in the wash unless it's an emergency need. This way I force myself to get them quickly and back to wear they need to be.

I have to do these things before bedtime starts otherwise I am done. Once I slow down I stop.

 

[dutch_41]

@mae88 Actual answer:

1. Get the sleep you need.
2. Eat properly to keep up your energy.
3. Stay hydrated.
4. Clean as you go.
5. Get kids to help where you can.
6. Get a cleaning routine, it also helps reduce stress because things become more manageable. You can ignore the laundry because you know you'll be doing it Sunday (as opposed to worrying about it on Thursday/Friday/Saturday).

 

[zotah]

@mae88 I include my son in the cleaning process every night. I do the dishes, he picks up his toys, wife vacuums the dog hair. We make sure when he's in bed, we start our "me" time. I'm sure it's harder with more kids but we never go to bed with a messy house.

 

[ghostlight]

@mae88 The way we do it is we trade off evenings. We have 2 (4 and 7) on tues, thurs and sat i put both kids down - sun we split bedtime. On the “off” nights it’s dishes, laundry and other chore time.

Bedtime is ~6-8 so it’s 2 hours of chores every night. We don’t push past that much for sanity reasons. Anything that doesn’t fit in those 2 hours just kinds piles up till we can find time fot it.

 

[ponispop]

@mae88 Take a tip from your kids, you can’t fall asleep if you don’t stop moving. Wife and I tried to have everything pretty much done by the time they went to bed. One would do dishes while the other did bath etc.

Another thing is The 5 year old can help. Hold his screen time hostage. Set screen time helps limit exposure and establish routines. No screens until he picks up his messes / toys establishes it as a reward not a right. Starting out you’ll need to help, especially with the 3 year old contributing to the mess. Bonus Keeps the kids occupied for a while too. Heads up, it takes a good deal of energy and diligence to start the process.

 

[quinn32]

@mae88 Laundry is done once a week, at the weekend. Washing up goes in the dishwasher.

We have a cleaner who comes for a couple of hours on a Monday. That forces us to clear floors and surfaces on the Sunday night. The rare weeks that the cleaner doesn't come, there's definitely a lot more clutter by the end of the second week.

Other than that, the burned isn't actually that high - just essentially cleaning up in the kitchen. Since my son takes forever to eat, normally one of use will tidy up after the rest of the family is finished and we're waiting for him.

Honestly, the game changer is having a cleaner. It started as a luxury, but I'd give up many of the more traditional "essentials" before that. It's not just the actual cleaning time, it's being forced to keep the place clear.

 

[crossislife]

@mae88 Maybe start teaching the eldest two, that they need to help put away their toys before bed.

 

[tom6636]

@mae88 Real talk - drink more coffee/diet soda. I was useless until i started doing this; now i have the energy to clean the kitchen after the baby sleeps. Probably saved my marriage.

 

[aphgoo]

@mae88 Don't wait until they're in bed to clean up the clutter. Do it as part of your bedtime ritual, or even before you start that process. At 5, your oldest is old enough to help clean up his stuff, but if you just constantly keep on top of the tidying as the night progresses, it won't seem like a mountain of a chore at the end of the night. It's also important (I think) that the kiddos see you cleaning up every day, and even participate, so they don't just assume some magic cleaning fairy makes all of their messes go away while they sleep.

Finally, in my humble opinion, staying in their rooms until they fall asleep is making things more difficult for you. They don't need you there to fall asleep. It will be a difficult adjustment to make now, obviously, but sitting in there while they drift to sleep just eats up a decent portion of your already limited "free time" that you have in a day. Falling asleep is something that they can do on their own, especially at 3 and 5 years old. Put them to bed, reassure them, check on them, but its okay if they know that mommy and daddy have other things they need to do, and falling asleep is their job, not yours.

 

[marilyn]

@mae88 Two kids and third born anyday now. Five and two years old.

My wife and I split the work. One of us does bedtime and one of us does the cleaning up. We alternate the days we do each one.

Bedtime starts at 6ish and finishes at 7ish. Pretty loose routine. Bit of play, bath, one story, tuck in. Standard stuff. Nothing fancy.

Never really stayed with kids but never left them either. This is not a cry it out thing. Always support the kids getting themselves to sleep. Only rule is that they shouldn't get out of bed except for the loo otherwise, they can do what they want.

We're nearly always free time for 7ish onwards

 

[sonnyshilling]

@mae88 I do better cleaning in the AM with a cup of coffee.