r/stayathomemoms • u/OpportunityPretend80 • Nov 15 '25

Misc Tale as old as time

Damn the fight between I want time to myself vs I need to go to bed (bc work starts early and NO BREAKS) is sooooo hard.

10 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

3

u/resourceful_rotini Nov 15 '25

Revenge bedtime procrastinationnnnnnn!!! 🤪🫠

2

u/abz-zabz Nov 15 '25

Every dang night!

1

u/WildMaineBlueberry87 Nov 15 '25

When you say "work" do you mean housework and kids, or do you have an additional job on top of all that?

3

u/OpportunityPretend80 Nov 15 '25

No I mean the job of being a SAHM

1

u/WildMaineBlueberry87 Nov 15 '25

I've been a SAHM for almost 19 years and I can tell you what's really helped me if you'd like. You didn't as for ideas so I don't want to overstep.

1

u/OpportunityPretend80 Nov 15 '25

Yeah share away! Thanks for asking and not just doing it.

4

u/WildMaineBlueberry87 Nov 15 '25

You're welcome.

My husband is 10 years older than me so I started having kids young. I was 22 years old and had a 2 year old and a newborn and we had just moved 3 hours away from everyone we knew too (My boys are 18, 16, 9, and 5 now. ) My husband was growing his business so he was never home and he started traveling too for 1 week every month so I was really on my own a lot. But I like to get up early so it's been 5 AM for me for years and years. I get so much done then and because I have that time I don't worry about finishing at night before bed. That way when my husband got/gets home we have quality time together and as a family.

I find that it's also easier to stay on top of everything than it is to always play catch up. With 6 of us I need to do 2 loads of laundry everyday and that's one of the things I accomplish first thing. I clean all my toilets, sinks, and countertops everyday too so they're quick. I do certain things on certain days, like changing bedsheets on Fridays, tubs and showers on Saturdays, grocery shopping on Wednesdays. If it's not that chore's day I don't sweat it.

I think the 2 biggest things though are that I don't worry about clutter and I finish 1 thing before I start another. I take care of dirt and gross like the toiles and sinks but if there are toys left out or a jacket on a chair or some other clutter? Clutter just shows that someone lives there so if I don't get to it, it's not a problem. By finishing what I start I mean that I don't get distracted from the task I'm doing. Otherwise I'd have 50 things half done and I'd feel completely overwhelmed!

The way I complete the chores and work around the house gives me lots of time in my fruit and vegetable gardens, walks on the beach, and since I'm the only SAHM in my neighborhood, I watch my neighbors' kids all the time when school is cancelled or delayed, when the kids are sick, or whenever they need me.

I hope none of this sounded presumptuous because I promise I don't mean it to. I just know that this is what really saved my sanity for the last 18 years!