Cleaning house and cooking and spouses

[beachbum3]

My house is the biggest mess it has ever been. I do what I can, but its not much beyond keeping the dishes and laundry under control, and sometimes that doesn't happen. The cooking is always done by me. On my busy nights it tends to be leftovers or something quick and crappy like frozen pizza or mac and cheese. I'm not married, but have been living with my bf (soon to be fi, according to him) for 2 years and he is fairly understanding, but does get annoyed from time to time with the crappy meals and messy house. He works a 1.5 hr drive away and works from 10 am to 8 pm, so its not like he is really here to help much. He does clean up some on the weekends, but most of the time both of us are so worn out we don't get alot done, its more important to us both to be able to relax when we can. I also have 3 kids from my previous marriage. Is anyone else experiencing this? How do you deal with it? I've basically told him tough crap because I'm beyond busy, and am doing the best I can do. He has learned to deal with it for the most part, I think.

[lainith]

I have no comments about your DBF not helping around the house because mine is just as bad. He works full time and I work part time and go to school part time, PreN. I do EVERYTHING around the house because I cannot stand the mess it gets to be if I wait around for him to do something. I make cooking, taking care of the pets, and doing laundry my top priorities AFTER school work and studying. Everything else has to wait.

AS for cooking, here are some of my tips: do as much cooking on your days "off" as you can. I LOVE my crockpot! You can buy those great frozen dinners to put in them now, too. They aren't exactly healthy but are good for something easy. I make my favorite recipes, double or maybe TRIPLE the servings and store everything extra in the freezer in individual servings for later. I do this because I am following Weight Watchers and measure my food portions but it is great for either of us to just grab something and pop it in the micro and go! I make up pasta bakes with whole wheat pasta and low fat cheese, stuffed shells, chicken dishes, lots and lots of soups, etc. I don't make anything that requires a whole lot of time. Also, I buddy up with my mom and we both cook things at the same time and then split everything. We get TWICE the meals and treats and baked goods for the same amount of work. We sync up our grocery lists, too, and cook meals together to freeze. I also buy lots of healthy canned soups, frozen dinners, boxed meals, side dishes, etc that I can add to our meals. Also, while stuff is baking in the oven, I clean up around the house or study flash cards, etc. I keep REALLY busy on my "days off" but I know it will be worth it in the long run.

Hope that helps!

[MS. ICANDOIT]

okay keeping in mind that we're all students and broke for the most part....

I just had a baby in September and have an 11 year old with the social calendar of Paris Hilton so I too found myself overwhelmed with studying, mothering, cooking and cleaning. I called Molly Maid. The first visit was the most expensive and most worth it. They did a top to bottom cleaning baseboards, cobwebs errything! Then they come out every two weeks and clean the bathrooms do all the sweeping, mopping and vacuuming wiping counters making beds etc. You tell them what you want done and they price accordingly. we have a fairly large house and it costs us $90 (plus a tip if you want). My hubby grumbles but LOVES the clean house this gives me a chance to cook a few more home cooked meals a week and be less of a grumpy grump. Cooking ahead works wonders (if you can get that organized, i'm working on it)