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Starting full time work



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Tehila1




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 27 2018, 3:49 pm
Hi all.
Posting for some tips.

I'm starting to work full time out the house. Until now I was basically freelancing part time and not really restricted to certain hours.

I have active kids, youngest being a year old.
What can I do to make my life easier, when I come home straight into the hullabaloo kids, supper and all the other responsibilities of a wife and mom?

TIA Very Happy
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 27 2018, 4:27 pm
Cook in bulk and freeze in one-day or two-day portions.
Prep for Shabbos a little every day, e.g. shop on Sunday, make soup on Monday, kugel on Tuesday, chicken on Thursday.
Ditto weekly chores: do a little every day.
Set your alarm clock half an hour before anyone else gets up so you can have morning prep time to yourself.
Prep everything you need for work the night before--everything from your underwear to your briefcase and carfare or car keys--and designate a place for it where you can grab it when you need it.
Make a daily to-do list and number it in the order in which you should do the tasks. If it involves outside errands, plan your route so you don't double back.
Use a month-at-a-glance calendar so you can easily plan long-range.
If you haven't already done so, teach your children basic domestic skills and expect them to use them. Assign daily and weekly chores, age-appropriate, even if they don't do a great job. they'll improve. Even the one-year-old, with encouragement and close supervision, can put dirty duds in a hamper or laundry basket and drop toys in a bin.
Make tomorrow's supper tonight. Undercook a bit if you like, so you can finish tomorrow, or cook all the way and just heat it through.
Cut yourself some slack and buy some convenience items if you can afford them. You're not mechuyav to make your own challah.
Google "Time Management".
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Tehila1




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 27 2018, 4:37 pm
zaq wrote:
Cook in bulk and freeze in one-day or two-day portions.
Prep for Shabbos a little every day, e.g. shop on Sunday, make soup on Monday, kugel on Tuesday, chicken on Thursday.
Ditto weekly chores: do a little every day.
Set your alarm clock half an hour before anyone else gets up so you can have morning prep time to yourself.
Prep everything you need for work the night before--everything from your underwear to your briefcase and carfare or car keys--and designate a place for it where you can grab it when you need it.
Make a daily to-do list and number it in the order in which you should do the tasks. If it involves outside errands, plan your route so you don't double back.
Use a month-at-a-glance calendar so you can easily plan long-range.
If you haven't already done so, teach your children basic domestic skills and expect them to use them. Assign daily and weekly chores, age-appropriate, even if they don't do a great job. they'll improve. Even the one-year-old, with encouragement and close supervision, can put dirty duds in a hamper or laundry basket and drop toys in a bin.
Make tomorrow's supper tonight. Undercook a bit if you like, so you can finish tomorrow, or cook all the way and just heat it through.
Cut yourself some slack and buy some convenience items if you can afford them. You're not mechuyav to make your own challah.
Google "Time Management".




Wow! Thank you. That's a lot to start with.
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 27 2018, 4:41 pm
You'll discover your own methods as you go along.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 27 2018, 7:29 pm
Great tips zaq!

If you can have supper ready when you walk through the door after work, that is ideal. The way I like to do this is to use the crockpot one day, a preset oven another day, and another day a preheated oven (and I'm able to roast something for 20-25 minutes after I walk in).

For shabbos I figured out which items I can make in bulk and freeze 4 at a time. Each week I alternate making one of those items and freezing. (1 week I make 4 containers soup, 1 week 4 bags cholent beans, 1 week lokshen...).

Wednesday night I cook eggs and if I'm making gefilte or any other item that needs to cook in a pot and be watched over (and then pots and dishes need to be washed) those get cooked Wednesday too.

Thursday night I cut, season and prep all items for shabbos and clean up.

Friday I roast some items fresh (straight from the fridge all ready in disposable pans) and plug in the cholent to cook.

Laundry 1 load a night so it doesn't get overwhelming.

Good luck!
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Tehila1




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Dec 28 2018, 2:10 am
Thank you ra mom. Much appreciated!
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mom!




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Dec 28 2018, 9:27 am
I second Zaq and Ra Mom.
I can add a few things of my own:
Make a menu in the beginning of the week. Having everything in the house on Sundays eliminates all stress of missing/running out in that hectic hour ect.
Almost all kugels freeze well (some raw, some baked) Double and freeze, it makes Shabbos prep a breeze.
A supper like meatballs freezes beautifully and it really isn't a big deal to roll out another pound or two of chopped meat. It is a big deal to measure, and make the pot dirty and have it splattering on the stove ect. Make a few suppers worth at a time. This also gives you the option of having something to fall back on.
ORDER ONLINE. Even if you like going to Walmart/Target ect. It saves ALOT of time and is at your door in 2 days.
Get up early Sunday morning (even though it is your only day not to.) Getting a head start on all your errands is so much easier than doing it with the rest of the town at 12:00. You will gain much more time.
Invest in some canned fruits. It is a great, healthy, yummy snack for everyone while you just quickly put up spaghetti ect.
I find laundry is easiest twice a week, otherwise I feel like I am never done.
Pack briefcases the night before.
TAKE ALONG A GOOD, FILLING LUNCH TO WORK. Otherwise, you will collapse after a week. (No, cookies are not lunch:)
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mha3484




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Dec 28 2018, 10:24 am
I get a head start on a lot of housework Motzei Shabbos. I can usually get 3-4 loads of laundry done and the kitchen organized for the week.

I make extra side dishes for shabbos and use them again Sunday with a protein cooked from the grocery store so I can have a break from cooking. Since I didnt really cook dinner that night I can prep for the week by cutting veggies, marinating protein making a pot of pasta etc.

I adapted the mindset that one way I can practice self care is taking healthy food for my self to work. Cutting veggies and fruit, making myself a good salad are ways I can feel good about myself and save money. It feels less like drudgery when I think about it this way.
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jewishmom6




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Dec 28 2018, 10:53 am
The above suggestions are terrific. I want to add another thing make sure your dh knows that he is going to need to pitch in. At times it can get difficult and you can't do it alone. You need to do this all as a partnership.
My dh does all the food shopping which is a biggie.
Supper ready when you get home is really important so you can be the best mommy for your kids.
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amother
Aubergine


 

Post Sat, Dec 29 2018, 11:33 am
For sure order groceries online, saves hours. Make a pre-saved list of basic essentials.
Make sure your childcare is well organized and reliable.
Cleaning help is nice if possible, but a teenager for light tidying etc can be a lifesaver for much less cash
Double up recipes & freeze so there is always good food in the freezer.
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Dec 30 2018, 2:59 pm
The key word is PLANNING. Spontaneous decisions are a thing of the past. You have to plan everything on a monthly, weekly and daily basis, right down to whether you're going to eat lunch in the break room or eat while you work at your desk and return a library book on your lunch break.
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Tehila1




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Dec 30 2018, 3:38 pm
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Hope the transition will go smoothly!
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butterfly2




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Dec 30 2018, 11:54 pm
Plan. Plan. Plan. And stick to your plans. And keep in mind that time is money so help yourself in areas where you can cut down on work.
-Make a monthly dinner menu. By doing so you won’t end up having many of the same items constantly because you had time to plan nutritious yet easy meals.
Tip on menu planning: make a list of all your soups, mains, sides etc. Draw a chart and fill in items from your list. If making fresh soup- serve it again the next day, see which sides will be enough to freeze for another night and pencil it in for two weeks later...
-Every motzei shabbos go through the menu to see if you have all the ingredients in the house and make a grocery list with that and everything else you need for the week (snacks, breakfast items etc)
- do laundry motzei shabbos
- go to the supermarket Sunday morning or email/fax order
- cook soup on Sunday and freeze for rest of the week and rotate soups from other weeks each night
-send shirts to cleaners so you don’t have to do the ironing
- before going to sleep: straighten up house, prepare snacks and check dinner menu for next day (in case you are missing an item)
-early to bed, early to rise. Try not to stay on your phone too late at night so you can wake up early before the kids so you are dressed and ready to take care of them when they roll around.
-order online when you can (worth it to invest in Prime!)
-limit your screen time and you will feel so much calmer!
-make sure to have some chill time with shabbos to unwind when the kids are in bed
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butterfly2




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Dec 31 2018, 1:28 am
emcee wrote:
Plan. Plan. Plan. And stick to your plans. And keep in mind that time is money so help yourself in areas where you can cut down on work.
-Make a monthly dinner menu. By doing so you won’t end up having many of the same items constantly because you had time to plan nutritious yet easy meals.
Tip on menu planning: make a list of all your soups, mains, sides etc. Draw a chart and fill in items from your list. If making fresh soup- serve it again the next day, see which sides will be enough to freeze for another night and pencil it in for two weeks later...
-Every motzei shabbos go through the menu to see if you have all the ingredients in the house and make a grocery list with that and everything else you need for the week (snacks, breakfast items etc)
- do laundry motzei shabbos
- go to the supermarket Sunday morning or email/fax order
- cook soup on Sunday and freeze for rest of the week and rotate soups from other weeks each night
-send shirts to cleaners so you don’t have to do the ironing
- before going to sleep: straighten up house, prepare snacks and check dinner menu for next day (in case you are missing an item)
-early to bed, early to rise. Try not to stay on your phone too late at night so you can wake up early before the kids so you are dressed and ready to take care of them when they roll around.
-order online when you can (worth it to invest in Prime!)
-limit your screen time and you will feel so much calmer!
-make sure to have some chill time with shabbos to unwind when the kids are in bed

And one more important thing, please get yourself a cleaning lady for a few hours a week to save your sanity.
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