Doing it all - Work/Life Balance

Suaimhneach

I've thought about this for AGES. Hopefully this is a good place to post it.

When you have a full time job that is demanding (hopefully in a good way), a social life that is busy (in a good way) a home (and all that goes with a home; cleaning, ironing) and you want to be healthy (buying & cooking good food, making time to exercise) and (maybe) you don't even have kids yet, and yet it's nigh on impossible to keep on top of everything while also having any semblance of "off-time", which is vitally important if you are to every enjoy the fruits of your labour, how are you supposed to keep on top of it all?

Surely there are some life-hacking approaches to this?

Firstly, I can think of out-sourcing. Cleaning and ironing services? I'm reluctant to do this, which might be silly but I just have it built into me thats something really rich people do. But it's also not something I want to spend one day of my two days off every weekend doing.

What do you guys think, in general (not of my reluctance to have a cleaner!)?

keith16

Interesting thoughts...

One thing I try to do is get up early some mornings and do stuff like this before heading out to work...your not fully awake, and you don't really need to be

Also, I got rid of my ntl recently, you would be surprised how much of your life you can get back by not sitting and flicking around tv getting the odd good show in between all the ads!

mickeyjo

I've been struggling with this two, esp since we've had a 2nd child. And getting basic things done is hard, and more so to get time for myself. What I do is cut corners-stuff that can do without an iron-doesn't get ironed. And e.g if I'm boiling the kettle, I'd tidy up whilst waiting. But one needs a routine to get it done-this from someone who's on the internet and has a bedroom that needs a major tidy-up

Suaimhneach

Yeah, personally, I'm REALLY bad at house stuff - in general, finding the time is hard, secondly I'm not very good at it cuz I dont do it very often or when I do I dont put a huge amount of time into it.

I welcome small tips, they're always good (ie. not watching TV and multitasking) but I'm kinda looking for a bigger picture outlook too. How do I prioritise ALL of the above, or is that impossible?

Capt'n Midnight

one way to cut down on TV is to highlight all the stuff you want to watch and only watch that stuff.

price outsourcing - and then work out how long it woud take to earn that much and compare it to how long it will take

do the ironing/washing while watching TV


If you avoid greasy food washing up is quicker or even use paper plates ( what is the carbon foot print of a dishwasher ? )

listen to shows while you commute

mickeyjo

do you know I've been thinking about this since yesterday, and I've come to the conclusion that its impossible.
If you work it out-pm me please.
Right now, I'm trying to figure out if I can afford a cleaner or accept that my hse will always be messy

NecroSteve

The less you own, the better off you are.

And I'd get rid of the telly entirely. Nothing but brain-melting crap.

Suaimhneach

So, I dont watch much tv at all, except in the rare instances when I specifically want some brain mush. And I think the time I'd save not-watching-tv wouldnt make up for all the time I'd need to balance all the things I listed...

(I watch TV efficently, with no ads and only the shows that are worthwhile!)

Capt'n Midnight

NecroSteve wrote: »

The less you own, the better off you are.

And I'd get rid of the telly entirely. Nothing but brain-melting crap.

Ted : Dougal, you can't sit around here watching television all day - chewing gum for the eyes!

Dougal : Oh no thanks Ted, I've got these crisps, here.

busbrokers

One thing you could do is spend a morning/evening cooking up for the week and freeze them(a partner comes in handy) also the same with ironing. Then devote 2/3 hours once a week to heavy cleaning ie: bathrooms/doors etc and finally shop once a week or less and double up on some things like coffee/beans/cooking oil etc so that eventually you will be able to go to your own little shop saving you another trip to the store. Now finally when all that is done its Desperate Housewives Time with one or both of your favourites..a man/woman and a glass or smokie.;)

mickeyjo

hi suaimhneach,
my house was, essentially upsetting me and I was getting tiny things done, i.e dishes washed in the morning, and it was stressing me. also the fact if anyone just dropped in, I was embaressed that I had let my hse get this messy. Now its not like a hse on a decluttering programme, but still....
So, I did three things
1. got a cleaner for 2hrs every fortnight. she is brilliant and it is unbelievable how happy a clean hse can make one. It meant that she made a start on stuff that I wasn't getting to, like skirting boards, and now I can concentrate on getting thru the rest of the hse
2. I threw out my big bin, and replaced it with a small pedal bin thats emptied once/twice a day
3. Signed up with flylady.com. Looked at it before, thought it was a load of ocd nonsense, but this time thought lets give it a go. start with one day at a time on the beginners steps, it says to do that, but I did look ahead. I am not putting pressure on myself now about it, just taking one day at a time

the_syco

Suaimhneach wrote: »

What do you guys think, in general (not of my reluctance to have a cleaner!)?

Mother hires a cleaner once a week for €35 to hoover the house, and do bits of cleaning. Cleaner does it all in about 3 hours. Mother found the cleaner through word of mouth (said cleaner also cleans other houses locally). Cleaner also irons a few clothes as well, but does it at the start.

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

If you avoid greasy food washing up is quicker or even use paper plates ( what is the carbon foot print of a dishwasher ? )

Don't forget the price of buying the paper plates & recycling them, and they look very tacky.

NecroSteve wrote: »

The less you own, the better off you are.

And I'd get rid of the telly entirely. Nothing but brain-melting crap.

I don't see the point of working 40 hours a week if you can't enjoying not working. I like "brain melting crap", esp the documentaries.

mickeyjo wrote: »

3. Signed up with flylady.com

That's a rather odd site. Will look at it later.

Detour

One thing I've found saves me a bunch of time is shopping for groceries online. I'm based in NY and use a service called Fresh Direct. As far as I know Tesco deliver in Irealnd. The site will save down your order, and normally will give you a 2hr window to get your food delivered. Do you're shopping from work, and then just make sure you're home when it's delivered.

This has def saved me a couple of hours a week, and saved me from one of the chores I used to hate. Plus you'll save some cash cause you'll just buy what you actually need, instead of a ton of junk when you're walking around the supermarket.

busbrokers

great idea!

Suaimhneach

Lots of great tips guys - keep em coming.

So far, just maintaining a clean-as-you go with occasional deep cleans. But ultimately, cleaning takes time so for me... acceptance is the challenge.

Was going to get a cleaner over for a deep clean but it was like 200 for 3 hours - think I'll try find someone more local instead.

Any other tips for non-housework related things that help improve 'doing it all'?

chicken fingers

Hey suimhneach I know what you mean.
People will say that its impossible, and I would almost agree.

Don't work 40 hours per week is one idea. This might mean working independently or for yourself, or on contracts, or job share rather than full time employed.

Second idea is to get a job abroad, where they will pay for your house, maid, etc.
However your free time in this case will be spent away from friends and family.
This is what I do. I work in middle east and asia and rarely get home. I work hard but I do maybe 28 hours per week these days. About 4 hours a day, every day for months on end. But cleaning, cooking, bills, transport, etc are all taken care of. In other words somebody is being paid to do the logistical administration of my life. So I get to spend a lot of time reading, working out, doing my hobbies and so on.
I do get a lot of holidays, probably about 10 weeks per year.

nesbitt

Time manage your tasks ie plan your day/evening/week.

House work: little and often... Do core tasks regularly. Then make time say once a week for a blitz and just go for it!. De-clutter your home. When your home is untidy you cannot clean it easily or properly. The task becomes difficult and you end up with untidy and then dirty home... Look at your storage needs and then get effective storage for your stuff.

Record your favourite TV programmes and fast forward through the ads.... Cut down on TV viewing.

Work out your on-line hours and cut down/balance accordingly to get stuff done in real-life:)

Dagon

"Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived." Dalai Lama

My plan is to work hard for 6 or 7 months of the year, and then have 4 or 5 months for actually enjoying the fruita of labour. I'm not saying you can't enjoy life while you work, but it's a bit of a juggling act, and time is worth a lot of money imho, especially when you realise that each year you're getting older and won't live forever. Contract work allows you to have this flexibility, as you decide your own holidays.

Shhh

Ironing? Iron as you need, then it's not a job anymore.. What really needs ironing anyway?

Paint your house.. It'll feel cleaner for months and the clear out you do before painting will declutter the place.

Buy a dyson.. Best vacuum cleaner ever so when you do do it it'll be done well.

Better still move somewhere with central vac.. Does that exist in Ireland I wonder....?

Anyone know if that roboty thing that hoovers works?

Only allow flowers in the house when it's clean and tidy -that works with my OH, he has to clean before buying flowers.. Yippee clean house and flowers! Am I mean?

When you find the secret let us know!

garbage bin

Ironning:
If you don't thumble dry, if you give a good wip to the clothes before putting it to the clothes horse you will not need ironing for most of those items

Cleaning:
My mom taugh us well, When we were kids we used to watch cartoons saturday morning, my parents came from shopping and we knew... TV off, shopping stored in correct places and house cleaning ( not just our rooms but other parts in the house). So I'm on my late 20's and still clean every saturday morning, except the cartoons...

Everyday tasks:
While cooking wash on the go... you'll get most of it done by the time you finish cooking, Don't wait long after diner to start your dishes.. If you have a very greasy owen dish, use washing powder and hot water to soften left overs.

General Tidying up:
avoid clutter, try minimalist art for storing items...

Susan Lanigan

I tend to agree with the Meatloaf Proposition i.e. Two out of Three ain't bad. Three out of Three tends to be impossible - something has to give

shanemangan

This thread reminds of my situation when I was in college:

syklops

Anyone know if that roboty thing that hoovers works?

I had one and was quite happy with it, in that i could set it up and do the ground floor while I was in work. We are very disorganised, though things are getting better. Now, I am not sure if I would get another. I'd rather get a dyson instead. The Roomba took quite a bit of time in maintenance. As another person said, get a good hoover so it does the job once. If I had the money I would have both(we have cats).

In fact if I had the money, I would have 2 robots and have them follow along behind the 2 cats. Now that would be a big help.

CruelCoin

Suaimhneach wrote: »

Firstly, I can think of out-sourcing. Cleaning and ironing services? I'm reluctant to do this, which might be silly but I just have it built into me thats something really rich people do. But it's also not something I want to spend one day of my two days off every weekend doing.

I get a cleaner lady in for 4 hours per week.

She leaves the place spotless. Hoover, mop, dishes, clothes, bedsheets, tidy-up, toilet, shower, etc.

She does more in those 4 hours than i could do in 10....

For the sake of €50 per week, i have effectively doubled my free time every week. Best €50 spent.....EVAR!

jcon1913

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

one way to cut down on TV is to highlight all the stuff you want to watch and only watch that stuff.

price outsourcing - and then work out how long it woud take to earn that much and compare it to how long it will take

do the ironing/washing while watching TV


If you avoid greasy food washing up is quicker or even use paper plates ( what is the carbon foot print of a dishwasher ? )

listen to shows while you commute

Dont watch 'live' TV just record anything you think is goid. Skip all ads. Sometimes skip the whole show because its so crap. Result: lots of time saved.

syklops

jcon1913 wrote: »

Dont watch 'live' TV just record anything you think is goid. Skip all ads. Sometimes skip the whole show because its so crap. Result: lots of time saved.

That is a big time saver.

"Get rid of your TV you will have more time for housework!", sounds like a good plan for some, but not for me.

jessie_pinkman

i read in usa you can get liquid which can be used as a substitute for normal foods, and its already prepared and is cheap too , what is this product called?

NinetyForNone

jessie_pinkman wrote: »

i read in usa you can get liquid which can be used as a substitute for normal foods, and its already prepared and is cheap too , what is this product called?

Soylent is one I have seen a documentary about...

Ayrtonf7

CruelCoin wrote: »

I get a cleaner lady in for 4 hours per week.

She leaves the place spotless. Hoover, mop, dishes, clothes, bedsheets, tidy-up, toilet, shower, etc.

She does more in those 4 hours than i could do in 10....

For the sake of €50 per week, i have effectively doubled my free time every week. Best €50 spent.....EVAR!

I was gonna say I'm pretty sure to get an affordable cleaner on a somewhat decent wage it would have to be an independent one who's just doing it on the side!

My mam done it for a while but didn't advertise and it was just through word of mouth!

Ehh I'm currently working two jobs, 7 days a week for the past 5 weeks! I've still got 5 months left of it! It's because I have to do a Mon-Fri internship as part of my college course. I find it REALLY hard to do anything other than work! I've cut TV out of my life so that's freed up a lot of me time, but still not much in the wAy of being able to do things

Alf Veedersane

Since the wee one arrived, time for things we took for granted has been squeezed.

Sunday evening, time is set aside to cook batches of food for the bulk of the week. This is crucial.

As for cleaning, bits and pieces as you go, with a turbo hoover and floor was when the opportunity presents itself over the weekend.

I iron when babóg is having a nap on my watch.

Considering a cleaner following suggestions from colleagues (who get paid as little ) but the idea of paying for a cleaner has always jarred with me, probably because I've always associated it with rich people

syklops

Tesco Home delivery, or any supermarket home delivery gets a big +1 from me. You can browse the aisles from the comfort of your couch any time you want, set a delivery time for when you want it, and unpack the stuff when it arrives.

If you manage to identify the ideal shopping list which covers all your bases, next week/month you can simply go "Order what I got last time", and shopping for that week becomes a task which takes minutes.

Skill Magill

Place your shirts sort of lenghwise in the washing machine. When done, leave them on the line for the day : Presto, no more ironing

Mint Aero

When I get home on a Friday evening, I put on my weeks washing then and iron the lot before bed that night. I don't go out Friday evenings ever plus side is I have all of Saturday & Sunday without any chores to do :cool: I clean whatever needs to be cleaned while the washing is on, and I generally clean as I go so there isn't a whole pile to do.

syklops

Mint Aero wrote: »

When I get home on a Friday evening, I put on my weeks washing then and iron the lot before bed that night. I don't go out Friday evenings ever plus side is I have all of Saturday & Sunday without any chores to do :cool: I clean whatever needs to be cleaned while the washing is on, and I generally clean as I go so there isn't a whole pile to do.

When I get home on a Friday evening I am f^%king knackered.

Alf Veedersane

syklops wrote: »

When I get home on a Friday evening I am f^%king knackered.

Same as that. I've spent all week working and I certainly don't want to be doing it on Friday.

So I do all that craic on Sunday, when the realisation that you've to work the next day sets in.

Mint Aero

syklops wrote: »

When I get home on a Friday evening I am f^%king knackered.

Me too that's why I don't go out :P

Mint Aero

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Same as that. I've spent all week working and I certainly don't want to be doing it on Friday.

So I do all that craic on Sunday, when the realisation that you've to work the next day sets in.

Yer missing out.

Alf Veedersane

Mint Aero wrote: »

Yer missing out.

The value of the doing nothing on Friday is higher than the same time doing nothing on Sunday morning/evening.

Mint Aero

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

The value of the doing nothing on Friday is higher than the same time doing nothing on Sunday morning/evening.

All my hours have the same value and since I've more hours on a Sunday for doing nothing I equate that as being more valuable than the measly tired hours of a Friday evening.

joollyparo

Own little things, just what matters.

DivineMsM

Wipes. I use wipes for most of my cleaning, so I can do it on the go.
Wipes to clean the sink while I am brushing my teeth.
Ditto give the toilet a quick wipe down every day.
Furniture polish wipes while I am watching TV.
Wipe down the kitchen/cooker/fridge while I am cooking.
Floor wipes to clean sections of the floor (saves time on getting mop, hot water, doing whole floor).
Baby wipes are also great for pretty much anything.

I also keep a scrubby sponge and spray bottle in the shower and give it a quick clean while the conditioner sits on my hair.

I have a handheld hoover to do the stairs- again saves the couple of minutes getting the big hoover out & wrestling with cables. I will also use it after I sweep my wooden floor to pick up the dirt (maybe that's just lazy)

If you start with a big clean and then do all the above every day/second day, you can keep your house pretty well maintained for ages.

Completely agree also with online shopping. And if you can afford it, stock up on dry goods, tins, toilet roll etc as you will save time shopping.

And I am a big believer in batch cooking. I bought a small freezer to give me extra storage space, so I will cook 6-8 portions of meals at a time and freeze them. I do all my batch cooking probably once a month- as a lot of my meals have the same ingredients- chopped onions/garlic/carrots/peppers, and again it saves time to chop all at once then split into the individual pots. I recently learnt that you can freeze pasta and rice- so I cook bolognaise sauce and pasta and freeze in portions, same with curry & rice. Means I save time on the 10 minutes it takes to cook pasta/rice when I am in a hurry and hungry.

As regards ironing- as above with the floor wipes & hoover, I think the issue with ironing is that it feels like it takes forever to get the board out & set up. So either I wait till I have no clothes and then catch up on TV while doing all my ironing at one time, or I also have a table top ironing board from Ikea that I set up on the kitchen counter to do a few quick items. If I need one thing for the morning I will iron three.

And learn acceptance. Its never going to be perfect. Once its not filthy, then its OK. I would rather a house that's a bit messy than no social life or laughs.

This one might sound obvious, but clean as you go. This really only works if your place has a baseline level of cleanliness to begin with. So it might be worth doing a deep clean, and then implementing practices of clean as you go.

For example: we wash the dishes as we cook the dinner. We don't leave things sitting there til after the meal. Then when dinner is finished we load the dishwasher and wash any remaining pots or dishes immediately. I cut down on washing by lining baking trays with tinfoil or baking parchment - a soapy rinse and hey presto you're done, rather than hours of soaking and scrubbing.

As said above, wipe down the bathroom every day. Hose it down after your own shower while you are still in your towel. Pop a bit of bleach in the loo/sink and give it a wipe once a day. It takes a moment but the effects are long-lasting and a deep clean is only required every so often.

When a job needs to be done that you are dreading (example, cleaning the living room), set yourself a time limit on it. Here's what I do. Set a timer for 10 minutes, and another for 20. Put on some music and do a rapid tidy. You can do a lot in ten minutes. When the alarm goes, take out the vacuum cleaner and hoover for 10 minutes. By the time the second alarm goes, your room will be in much better condition and you can relax.

No need to be perfect about things. Just a little and often!

Regarding meals, learn to cook fast, tasty meals.

I bought Nigella Express and have a few staples from it regularly, especially coq au riesling - a feast in a few minutes. There are a lot of meals you can cook within 20 minutes, rather than a marathon cooking session.

Very simple dinners:

Couscous/bulgur wheat, salad leaves, veggies, dressing, coleslaw, bread, a couple of boiled eggs or a few slices of cold meats.

Things on toast. Creamy mushrooms. Guacamole. Tomato salad. Baked beans.

Omelette. Nutritious and only takes a few minutes. Eggs of any description in fact.

Soup. Prepare one batch (it will take about 30 mins) and have a couple of dinners out of it in the week.

Pasta, good pesto, salad.

Carbonara - takes as long as it takes to boil pasta.

Asian noodle soup - thinly sliced chicken breast, chicken stock, chilli, ginger, soy, noodles all cooked up together, topped with sliced spring onions and little pickles.

Beige dinner - a chicken kiev or fish fingers, a few oven chips and some frozen peas or corn on the cob. Not every meal needs to be a masterpiece.

Only just realised this is a zombie thread... despite being on the front page.

syklops

Mystery Egg wrote: »

Only just realised this is a zombie thread... despite being on the front page.

I think the mods would agree, creating a new fresh thread for this topic would result in people posting the same tips all over again. Hardly a life hack.

danmanw8

Suaimhneach wrote: »

I've thought about this for AGES. Hopefully this is a good place to post it.

When you have a full time job that is demanding (hopefully in a good way), a social life that is busy (in a good way) a home (and all that goes with a home; cleaning, ironing) and you want to be healthy (buying & cooking good food, making time to exercise) and (maybe) you don't even have kids yet, and yet it's nigh on impossible to keep on top of everything while also having any semblance of "off-time", which is vitally important if you are to every enjoy the fruits of your labour, how are you supposed to keep on top of it all?

Surely there are some life-hacking approaches to this?

Firstly, I can think of out-sourcing. Cleaning and ironing services? I'm reluctant to do this, which might be silly but I just have it built into me thats something really rich people do. But it's also not something I want to spend one day of my two days off every weekend doing.

What do you guys think, in general (not of my reluctance to have a cleaner!)?

Good question, it's amazing how people manage to have time to themselves with kids

iamstop

I don't have kids but what I generally try to do it plan out my evenings for the coming week and try to not to bite off more than I can chew. By this I mean I estimate how long something will take and, mentally or written, plot that into my day. If it won't fit into today then it gets bumped to the next available day. Cramming too much into one day is futile IMHO.

I try to make sure I've an hour or so before bed to unwind, get whatever I need ready for the next day, and to prep for bed.

I always wake up to a drink of water. Sipping as I get dressed and try to have a glass drank before I go downstairs for breakfast.

MickyBest

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119543519#Comment_119543519

I'm not good at accomplishing everything planned for 1 day. So I plan for a week. What day I can get it done is the day I get it done.