This is my good friend Ali. We went to graduate school together. We are fellow graphic designers. I was in her wedding, she was in my wedding. You get the picture. On her blog, Surviving Motherhood, she talks about how she survives the day-to-day of being a mom. Ali has 2 darling boys, and just recently decided to go back to work outside of the home part-time (which I think still totally counts as a "working mom"). So how does a working mom do it? Especially when she has a hubby who travels lots for his job... Here's what she had to say:*****
AROUND THE HOUSE
The biggest helper to keeping my house clean, shopping done, kids cared for, is a daily and weekly schedule: Meals, naps, shopping, cleaning, trips to the dump, play dates, and when I am at work, are all on a schedule. Everyday is planned and I have certain things that I do on certain days of the week (i.e. grocery shopping on Monday morning, Dump run on Tuesday, Luke's playgroup Thursday Morning etc.).
I also enlist the help of some great tools to help me get the cleaning done. My favorites are the Swiffer sweep mop, the Shark steam mop, and the Dyson Hand Vac:
IN THE KITCHEN
I put everything in the dishwasher, EVERYTHING. Even all my things to be recycled. Instead of washing/rinsing these items I pop them right into the dishwasher. Baby food jars, yogurt containers, soup cans, butter container and even an empty jar of peanut butter go right into the dishwasher. Not only do I save water and energy by NOT doing these items by hand, but it is a time saver too. Plus it gives me NO excuses for not recycling. We all have done. "I don't have time/feel like washing this, into the trash it goes." (be sure to remove paper labels before putting into dishwasher otherwise you will end up with paper all over your clean dishes) Yes. I have made this mistake already.
For cooking/meal planning, consider starting a casserole club with some other moms/neighbors. How it works: Once a month you each cook one meal in bulk (enough to divide evenly among the members of your group to feed their families). Meals that freeze well work best. Place meals in containers and label them. Arrange a time for members to meet and swap meals. If you have 4 members in your group, you each go home with 3 different meals ready to freeze then heat when needed in a pinch. Cooking in bulk can save time as well as money.
My favorite cooking helper is the Crockpot. I can prep a whole meal (like beef stew) in the morning, turn it on, have it cook all day and it is ready when I get home from work. It also holds 8 servings, so I can freeze half for another time or get a few meals out of it.
*****
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i am totally putting everything in the dishwasher from now on. what a great tip.
Great ideas! I love the idea of having specific tasks for specific days. However, I need tips for staying motivated to stick to my schedule!!! I can be such a procrastinator some days...
I know... that sounds pretty goonish. I'll work on the discipline!
I think I agree with Shorty. I think I need tips on staying motivated. I too am a procrastinator. Love the working women though! Great job she is doing!
I love the dishwasher tip- that's very do-able! I also need to use my crock pot more often, even though I'm usually home most of the day, I have more energy for cooking in the morning! Thanks for all the great ideas!
Another tip: I use my pizza cutter for more than cutting pizza. French toast, pancakes, even grilled cheese. It is a fast way to cut stuff into bite-sized pieces for little tots learning to feed themselves.
Thank you for those Crock Pot recipes! I'm excited to try: ) And the little tips like pizza cutter usage? Gold.
Awesome.
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