[sacha]

Well, I'm going back to school 2x per week. I know that's not a lot compared to many of you that do more (full-time work, full-time school!) but I was wondering if you could all give me some tips. I won't have too much homework (this is a language course, 9am-4:30pm) but I'm a little worried as I have a 15 month old who will be going to daycare the first time ever on Thursday () and clean my house and walk my dog and cook dinner and.... well, you get the idea

Thanks for any advice.

[TurboMammoth]

I always prepare my lunch the day before, while I prepare supper Wayyyy less stress in the morning!

P.S. I'm from Qc too!

[alaskanlaughter]

after i put the kids in bed at night, i tidy up the main parts of the house...living room, dirty clothes into the washer or hamper, clean up the kitchen etc...so that it is clean when we get up and mostly clean when we get home at night...on weekends i do deeper cleaning like vacuuming, mopping, cleaning out the kids rooms etc...i make menus and post on fridge, i do a big weekend grocery shopping trip for everything that's on the menu..i take things out the night before to defrost as needed....i write a monthly budget and on saturdays i pay the bills and drop them off....i haul our recycling to the recycle center on saturday mornings only...i make school lunches the night before and have them packed and sitting on the kitchen table for the morning, along with any permission slips, school fees etc...i have an 8th grader and a kindergartener...those are some of teh things that i do to stay on top of all the stuff that needs to get done

[PacSunMama]

I won't be much of a help because my house is almost never, ever clean. That's the thing that is lowest on my priority list. I do school online through University of Phoenix, and while the courses aren't particularly challenging, they do take time, effort, and focus and so I have to allow a good amount of time to get everything done correctly. Just pace yourself and try not to procrastinate with your work. If you have a big chunk of time to get work done, do it. Work ahead if time allows, even, so you won't have to rush and catch up later or if you need a little extra time on a subject, etc.

[XLMuffnTop]

We have a busy household. DH is a full time student, two kids age 4 and 1. I work full time and go to school part time (Tue/Thurs 6:30pm - 9:30pm and Friday morning). I also do some part time work for some local artists. Basically, we're stupid busy.

In my world, something's gotta give and that something is housework. I try to keep my house clean enough that family services and/or hoarders won't be called but yeah. It definitely isn't winning the cleanest house award.

For meals, I cook a lot of casseroles for breakfasts and lunches during the week. For dinner I rely on the crock pot.

Good luck in school! I just started back after a long hiatus myself.

[Gogirl008]

I have to agree with the other posters. House work is at the bottom of the list. I work part-time and I'm taking classes. With 2 kids there just doesn't seem to be anyway to get everything done. I think the best approach is to lower your expectations, really. School takes up energy and time and there is only so much of that to go around. In the end it's all worth it. But for now, don't worry too much about the things that can wait . And best of luck!

[Angie]

Agreed, cleaning goes to the bottom of the list. I spend about 30 minutes per evening on just what has to be done (dishes, wiping counters, bathroom, occasionally laundry) and anything else I try to get to on Saturday or Sunday morning as our schedule allows. AFter that, whatever did not get done just does not get done.

I also try to spend some time on Sunday cooking and making enough so that I can skip making some meals or lunches through the week. Ie/ I'll make a big batch of eggplant/ricotta bake or grill lots of chicken. For my DS I make up sandwiches (meat/cheese/mustard) and then put them into zippy bags and freeze them. They are thawed and cool by the time he eats them at school for lunch.

[April Snow]

Check out Flylady for ideas about how to get on a good schedule to maintain a clean home (have to admit that is more of a "do as I say, not as I do" suggestion but I think it does work if you actually do it!).

Plan and prep ahead as much as possible.

Split things into manageable pieces - I try to do a load of laundry every day or two, so I don't have 4 loads to do all at once.

[sacha]

Thanks so much girls! We started yesterday and I forgot to do dinner, LOL. Will try a crock point tonight!!!

[Gogirl008]

Hope things are working out for you! I was thinking about this thread this morning because my schedule has gotten a little busier lately. One thing that I rely on is lists. I'm a list maker. I make lists of lists. I have a terrible memory and when things get hectic I'm worse. I make a list of things "to do", a running grocery list and ususally a list of quick fix dinners. I keep a little notebook with me all the time. I am constantly updating and crossing things off and moving things to the next day. It is such a part of my routine I don't know what I'd do if I had to stop my lists, lol.

Here's where it's most helpful--when I find that I have 10-15 minutes before I need to be somewhere, or while dinner is on, I can look at my list and find a small job that I need to do, answer a quick email, write a check...things like that. Maybe it sounds too simple and maybe everyone already does this....? Just thought about it this morning and realized how important this is in my routine so thought I'd share.