In our house there is just a short break of maybe 2 months in between sports. Often, that break gets filled up by clinics and skills practice leagues.
So how does a mom with a full-time job, twin babies, and a busy 4th grader get anything done?
Well for starters I couldn’t do it all on my own! That’s just nuts. My husband is pretty awesome, and we take on the tasks of parenting and housekeeping together. Even then, it takes some serious planning and organizing to make life work. We do errands on the weekends, grocery shop once a week, make a weekly dinner menu ahead of time, and have a checklist of chores that we want to accomplish.
Here are the details of my weekend checklist:
• it has to be pretty short. Let’s be reasonable, there’s only so much time left over the span of 2 days when there is usually a youth sports event and church to take into account for.
• only do the stuff on the checklist. If it says ‘clean downstairs bathroom’, don’t get over zealous and attempt to also clean carpets.
• Don’t freak out if it’s not all done. I usually include a chore that would be nice to get done, but can wait until next weekend if time runs out.
• keep the checklists for next week. I date them and keep them in a notebook. Not that I’m so busy I won’t remember what I did last weekend, but you never know. Also, when we make the current week’s checklist we can look back at what has/hasn’t been done in a while and add what’s needed. Haha, as if it isn’t obvious that it’s been 3-4 weeks since the windows were cleaned! 🙂
• include the usual stuff too. We always do grocery shopping on the weekends, so that just automatically goes on the checklist. We know we’ve got to do it, but there’s a sense of accomplishment that comes from checking it off.
• relax. The weekend is also a time to unwind and recuperate before the work week starts again, so I really try not to kill myself on cleaning and chores. Like I said before, you can only do so much. Some days it’s all I can do to get a (somewhat) healthy meal in the table!
That’s about it. I’d love to read in the comments about how you stay on top of life’s demands. Feel free to share your ideas!