Working Mom Life Hacks?

[grace_alone]

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[grace_alone]

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[quedee]

@grace_alone I haven’t been able to get my head above ground long enough to think 2 weeks at a time, but that is my goal.

Love the ground beef idea! We just bought 1/2 a cow and have lots of frozen uncooked ground beef. I could see how helpful it would be to have some cooked and ready to go.

 

[grace_alone]

@quedee The reason I do two weeks at a time is so I can save time and do two weeks of groceries at once. Then we just have to grab milk and bread in between, maybe fruit if we’ve gone through it faster than usual

 

[quedee]

@grace_alone It makes a lot of sense!

 

[thedeconverter]

@grace_alone as in ground beef? what do you do with it after? how do you typically use it quickly?

 

[grace_alone]

@thedeconverter Yes as in ground beef. I buy a big pack and cook it. I freeze it after cooking into portions. Some of it I will even pre-spice so I have taco meat or for spaghetti. My son also loves sloppy joes and goulash so that’s another fast use, or on a weekend I might grab a couple packs and make lasagna. I also use it in chilli.

Then it’s just taking it out to defrost in the fridge in the morning as I leave for work and reheating when I’m going to serve. Tacos, for example, are on the table in the time it takes me to grate cheese and cut lettuce.

At least one or two of the meals we plan each week will have ground beef so it’s a huge win to have it ready.

 

[jacqueline52]

@quedee Everyone in my house has to clean for 15 minutes each night after dinner. It doesn’t matter what you clean but you have to pick up something or organize something for at least 15 minutes. That way it saves me a whole hour on the weekend!

 

[quedee]

@jacqueline52 Amazing! Have you seen the posts about assigning everyone a zone in the house that they are responsible for. I would love to implement it when my kids are a little older.

 

[chloe25726]

@quedee We eat the same menu every week. We can’t do meal services because of allergies but my picky eaters have a limited diet anyway.

Write the calendar out every Sunday. Goes on the fridge.

Saving this thread because beyond those two things life is a wing and a prayer.

 

[katrina2017]

@quedee -Got rid of half the toys to reduce cleanup
-monthly gardener & house cleaner once a month
-we have a dirty laundry basket and one clean laundry basket so we wash one load of laundry a day/every other day but only fold clothes 1-2 times a week (while watching a fave tv show)
-roomba
-wash dishes once a day

 

[thatjudekid]

@quedee I hired a personal assistant for 5 hours a week to stay on top of my personal admin tasks. I’m a single mom with a demanding exec job so super helpful.

 

[quedee]

@thatjudekid That’s awesome!

 

[samarami]

@quedee For the yard, we simply couldn’t keep up without a grass cutter. It’s $35 per cut, it’s so worth it. They come 1-2 weeks during spring/summer and less frequently in autumn/winter.

We do hello fresh, premade/frozen meals from the grocery store, or takeout. Don’t have the mental energy to meal plan and do a ton of cooking!

During weekend nap times I pick one small project to do. This weekend I organized our storage and cleaned out some junk. Next weekend we’re going to hang a gallery wall & I’m going to do a closet clean out. He’s going to clean up the garage. I don’t do big projects, not sure how I’d ever have time for that! lol

Mostly just divide and conquer! Can get so much more done if mom & dad are both doing something productive!

 

[ayleeann]

@samarami $35 per cut is amazing. I’m paying $100. My yard is almost half an acre though.

 

[samarami]

@ayleeann My in laws have almost an acre and pay $65! Maybe price out some other options? I also think prices are good here bc there is a lot of competition for lawn care companies and a lot of folks willing to give a reasonable price to get your business

 

[quedee]

@samarami Divide and conquer is the only way these days.

My dad keeps encouraging me to look into hiring a landscaper to help out, I just don’t want to spend the extra money, but $35 a cutting is very reasonable. I need to price them out.

 

[samarami]

@quedee Definitely inquire! I was surprised how reasonable it was.

 

[goonie]

@quedee Baskets. Baskets for toys, for clutter, for mail. It helps keep things organized without having to have everything perfect on a shelf.

Grocery delivery or pickup. It saves us a ton of time and money.

Seconding eMeals. We’ve used it this year and love it.

 

[jackos]

@quedee Agreed with some of these. Yes to the dishwasher hack. Clothes prep I’ve used since my daughter was in daycare. Pick an outfit the night before and she dresses on her own.

I use robot vacuum to vacuum rooms during the day.

We visit the library once a week and take out books. Books I return and don’t have to buy.

We loosely meal plan to leave room for a random takeout or possible dinner with friends. We do Costco/ Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods semi & prepared food section. Costco has like good frozen chicken option you can just throw over a salad kit & we all eat that.

Leftovers hack is my daughter will take left overs for lunch. She’s probably one of the few kids who brings Sesame Chicken in a thermos for lunch but sometimes that’s just what lunch is. Most days I make her lunch in the morning.

I slice dried mango as a snack option, she gets some fiber in the snack. That’s my healthy hack.

My kid loves Mac & cheese so I gave her Annie’s but now switched to Goodles which has veggies in it and is healthier. That’s my switch to healthier option hack.

I fold laundry in the evening and catch up on stand up comedy. It makes the task less mundane and I can enjoy what I’m watching.