» Women | Working Mother of a Toddler on Parenting, Motherhood, and WAHM Issues

Working Moms: How Do You Manage Housework?

As a full-time working mom, it’s very hard for me to keep up with the household duties. I’ve posted before about the expectations - false no doubt - that I’ve set for myself.

Elizabeth over at Career & Kids touched on the subject recently, when a friend of hers realized there’s not enough time in the week. As she mentions, when you’re working all week, you want to use the weekend to spend time with the family. That is when I’d like to take a trip to the zoo, the park, or sometimes it’s just a matter of the “must” trips - like grocery shopping that needs to be done.

What can working moms do to manage the housework?

I’m not sure I have the answer just yet, but I AM trying something new.

I’ve set up a weekly chore schedule and broken down the housework to a little each day - there’s even a day off!

Here’s my schedule:

Sunday: clean bathrooms
Monday: wash laundry
Tuesday: fold laundry
Wednesday: sweep & mop
Thursday: vacuum
Friday: OFF day
Saturday: change bed sheets

Plus, every day is de-clutter day, since this can be done simultaneously with the other chores. That means, putting away toys, clearing the day’s mail, and other small tasks. The chores scheduled on the weekend can be done quickly in the morning before heading out for the day.

To keep track of my schedule, I’ve printed out Hannah Keeley’s Total Mom Chore Chart, but any calendar will do.

I’m hoping this will help keep me on track and make things a bit more manageable. I’ve just made my list this week, so I’m only starting to put it into practice.

How do you manage your housework?

technorati: balance, housework, working mom

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Posted in The House, Women, life on April 2nd, 2008 by ModernMami | | 9 Comments

Would you Hire a Maid?

I saw a maid at the neighbor’s house earlier this week. It made me think…

Would I ever hire a maid to help out around the house? Even if it was just once a month?

I’ve spoken before about the high expectations I’ve set for myself.

Would hiring a maid bring shame to my housekeeping abilities?

Or, is it ok to ask for help every once in a while?

Is it really admitting defeat?

Tell me – would you hire a maid if you could?

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Posted in Women, life on March 15th, 2008 by ModernMami | | 2 Comments

Working Mothers - A Delicate Balance

It’s Wednesday!

What a hectic week so far.

Work is super busy. Of course, the home life is always hectic.

I find that more often than not, I have an inner battle going on.

Part of me knows that I can’t possibly keep up with everything - home, work, husband, daughter, myself, parents, etc.

Yet, the other half, for whatever unknown ridiculous reason, has it in her head that she should be able to keep up with everything. Not just should, but MUST.

It’s insane.

I realized the other day that this is probably due to years of brainwashing from my mother. And, when I say brainwashing, I mean that in the nicest way possible. Obviously, she did not set out to corrupt my mind. But, through example, it happened.

You see, my mother was a stay at home mom - way before that was even a term; in fact, I believe the term at the time was “housewife.”

Anyway, since she stayed home with us until I was about 12 or so, I watched her keep the house in an impeccable state of cleanliness. She had no clutter, no baskets of laundry just waiting to be folded, no dust, and always had dinner on the table when my father came home from work.

Even when she did start working, she still managed to come home from work, and get right to the kitchen. Maybe it had something to do with our Puerto Rican culture. But, whatever it was, it still amazes me how she did it.

I struggle on a daily basis to be able to just put a quick dinner together. To spend some time with my baby girl after a long day at work. Don’t even mention trying to squeeze in some time for the husband.

I think (well actually, it was brought to my attention by the husband recently) that because I grew up seeing her manage so well, and because she often talked with me about having to be a “good wife”, I now have these extremely high (and false) expectations of myself.

It’s very frustrating.

How do you manage to keep up? Do you find you have false expectations for yourself?

technorati: balancing work and life, managing household, motherhood, working mom, working mother, sahm

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Posted in Motherhood, Sahm, Women, Work on July 11th, 2007 by ModernMami | | 17 Comments

New Resource for Working From Home

I found a new site that looks to be pretty promising.

eMomsAtHome is both a great resource and blog for motivation, networking, and work at home ideas.

There’s a lot of content on both the main site and the blog and I’m just starting to peruse it, but I think you’ll find some useful information.

For my curiosity only, do you find sites like these useful?

technorati: eMoms at home, motivation, networking, work at home, wahm

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Posted in Sahm, Wahm, Women, Work on March 29th, 2007 by ModernMami | | 0 Comments

A Must Read - The Care Crisis

A baby is born. A child develops a high fever. A spouse breaks a leg. A parent suffers a stroke. These are the events that throw a working woman’s
delicate balance between work and family into chaos.

This is how the article The Care Crisis by Ruth Rosen begins. You can read it in its entirety at The Nation.

It’s a really interesting article and touches on many topics that we often talk about, discuss, and experience. My favorite part of the article would have to be the following paragraph:

Men in dual-income couples have increased their participation in household
chores and childcare. But women still manage and organize much of family life,
returning home after work to a “second shift” of housework and childcare–often
compounded by a “third shift,” caring for aging parents.

I say that’s my favorite part because I can completely relate. That is exactly how I feel most days. Yes, my husband pitches in and does a really good job in being a “team member” when it comes to the housework and such, but I still feel highly overwhelmed most days and like I’m at a second job. I haven’t yet dealt too much with having to care for aging parents, but I see hints already that this will one day fall on my lap also.

After reading the article, let me know what you think.

technorati: the care crisis, ruth rosen, the nation, parenting, aging parents, motherhood, working women

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Posted in Articles, Motherhood, Parenting, Women, Work on February 28th, 2007 by ModernMami | | 3 Comments

Video of WAHM Tips

Take a break from your daily activities and watch this cute video of work at home tips. You’ll be sure to get a good laugh. After watching the video, my first thought was, she doesn’t even have kids around her! That would definitely be even more distracting!

Enjoy and have a great Monday!

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Posted in Motherhood, Sahm, Wahm, Women, Work on February 26th, 2007 by ModernMami | | 0 Comments

I’m a Moms United contributor!

I’m definitely excited, honored, and just blushing, because I am now a contributor for the Moms United in Business Blog!

The Moms United site explains their concept best:

We are not merely a business community, promoting WAHMs and their
businesses. We are a community offering inspiration and support not only as
a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and/or friend, but as a woman in your own
right!

Go on over and check out my introduction to their community and my first post. The blog has a lot of good topics - business advice, inspirational posts, and parenting - just to name a few.

technorati: moms united in business, wahm, motherhood, business, women

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Posted in Blogging, Motherhood, Sahm, Wahm, Women, Work on February 15th, 2007 by ModernMami | | 0 Comments

New Site for Business Moms (and dads)

The owner of MommysCompany.com has recently launched a new site!

Called BusinessMom.net, it can probably be best explained in her own words.

From the site:

Welcome to BusinessMom.net, the social and business networking site designed
especially for mother entrepreneurs.

All are welcome to join

BusinessMom.net is a place for you to meet other business oriented moms,
network, trade services, and much more. Getting the word out about your fabulous
business is easy!

Go take a peek!

http://www.businessmom.net/

technorati: business moms, business dads, mommys company, entrepreneurs

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Posted in Motherhood, Parenting, Sahm, Wahm, Women, Work on February 8th, 2007 by ModernMami | | 0 Comments

Mommy (and daddy) Resources Part III

Back when, I started a series of parenting resources and I still have two more parts that I haven’t posted! I’m such a slacker. Anyhow, here is part 3 of the four part series.

These are various sites with information on pregnancy, parenting, ways to connect with other moms (or parents), newsletters, free tools, etc.

technorati: pregnancy, motherhood, parenting, free, newsletters, clubmom, parents, connecting moms, parenting resources

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Posted in Motherhood, Parenting, Pregnancy, Sahm, Wahm, Women on January 31st, 2007 by ModernMami | | 0 Comments

There is just not enough time!

No Time I came across a new site the other day for WAHMs appropriately called All WAHM. It’s got some pretty good tips and advice. The latest posting was about Balancing Work and Family.

It got me thinking that these are not only good tips for those who work from home, but also for those who work outside the home. I know that working full time, spending time with my lil monkey, being a wife, and taking care of the household (plus a gazillion other everyday tasks), takes a heavy toll on me. I feel like there is just not enough time to get everything done. And on days when I am extra productive, I feel overly-stressed, tired, and grumpy. I’m glad I was productive, but my head feels fuzzy and clouded. I then need to re-organize my thoughts and breathe, but of course, the next day is just as busy if not more.

The endless cycle begins all over again.

How do you manage to balance your family, work, and everyday life?