I love this so much. I often don't have the mental space either to think too far ahead of what possibly could make my life easier in the future. My meal planning consists of making sure we have a stocked fridge/pantry of food so we can easily make lunches and dinner and during the week we just figure it out. I'm responsible for ordering the groceries, my partner picks them up, and my kids put them away. It's an easy way to spread responsibility of the chore to the household and with my kids putting groceries away they know what we have so there's no, "What's for dinner?" it changes to, "I saw pasta in the pantry, let's have that for dinner tonight."
Speaking of chores, as a young mother, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what realistic ages you start your kids on different chores. My 2yo helps with cleaning up the playroom at the end of the night (I still do about 80% of the work), and we ask that she take her plate to the sink after dinner. What are general ages your kids reliably and effectively carried out different household tasks?
Try checking a Montessori site for appropriate ages for practical life skills. If you have a choice, giving a chore to the youngest capable child reaps big benefits. The first time my husband set up a footstool so our 6 year old granddaughter could cook the breakfast eggs (obviously with his supervision), she asked me, "Mommom, does Poppop know I'm just a kid?" Now she starts planning what she will make the night before.
I could not agree more! I make my lunch in the morning. It takes less than 10 mins, probably less than 5 some mornings. Same with dinners. I usually make fresh dinners in 30 mins or so (sometimes with longer cook times - but I don't have to be in the kitchen while it's baking). I *could* do all that on Sunday - but I would resent it so much. To me Sunday is about relaxing and getting mentally ready for the week. I like to read, write, and play on Sundays. I don't want to be giving up my afternoon for the week to come. (And honestly, times when I've tried, I often end up wasting food because something in the week goes sideways and a meal never gets eaten.)
Dee, I agree. If I create a ton of food in the beginning of the week, by Thursday/Friday everyone is either bored of that option or it's slowly turning into a science experiment in the back of our fridge!
I just feel like tasks expand to fill the time you give them. If I've only got 10 minutes, I'll get something done quickly and efficiently. If I've got 45, I'll faff about "perfecting" things. I find this with teaching prep, I shove it into half a day, because if I give myself all week, I'll start redesigning things, and I don't think it actually improves the student experience.
I have started putting all my son's uniforms into one laundry basket, and he picks from there, which does help.
I love this so much. I often don't have the mental space either to think too far ahead of what possibly could make my life easier in the future. My meal planning consists of making sure we have a stocked fridge/pantry of food so we can easily make lunches and dinner and during the week we just figure it out. I'm responsible for ordering the groceries, my partner picks them up, and my kids put them away. It's an easy way to spread responsibility of the chore to the household and with my kids putting groceries away they know what we have so there's no, "What's for dinner?" it changes to, "I saw pasta in the pantry, let's have that for dinner tonight."
Speaking of chores, as a young mother, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what realistic ages you start your kids on different chores. My 2yo helps with cleaning up the playroom at the end of the night (I still do about 80% of the work), and we ask that she take her plate to the sink after dinner. What are general ages your kids reliably and effectively carried out different household tasks?
Try checking a Montessori site for appropriate ages for practical life skills. If you have a choice, giving a chore to the youngest capable child reaps big benefits. The first time my husband set up a footstool so our 6 year old granddaughter could cook the breakfast eggs (obviously with his supervision), she asked me, "Mommom, does Poppop know I'm just a kid?" Now she starts planning what she will make the night before.
I could not agree more! I make my lunch in the morning. It takes less than 10 mins, probably less than 5 some mornings. Same with dinners. I usually make fresh dinners in 30 mins or so (sometimes with longer cook times - but I don't have to be in the kitchen while it's baking). I *could* do all that on Sunday - but I would resent it so much. To me Sunday is about relaxing and getting mentally ready for the week. I like to read, write, and play on Sundays. I don't want to be giving up my afternoon for the week to come. (And honestly, times when I've tried, I often end up wasting food because something in the week goes sideways and a meal never gets eaten.)
Dee, I agree. If I create a ton of food in the beginning of the week, by Thursday/Friday everyone is either bored of that option or it's slowly turning into a science experiment in the back of our fridge!
I just feel like tasks expand to fill the time you give them. If I've only got 10 minutes, I'll get something done quickly and efficiently. If I've got 45, I'll faff about "perfecting" things. I find this with teaching prep, I shove it into half a day, because if I give myself all week, I'll start redesigning things, and I don't think it actually improves the student experience.
I have started putting all my son's uniforms into one laundry basket, and he picks from there, which does help.