Working 7 days a week ? Exhausted

[playfelt]

In the grand scheme of things I didn't think the odd tub of laundry is going to make a lot of difference to your bill at the end of the year considering how high the daytime bill is going to be anyways from all the lights on, furnace/air not turned down since you are home not at work, use of stove etc. Besides the way I look at it is that we will end up claiming some of that on our taxes anyways.

You also have to look at your life. Just because some things are easier or harder or cheaper or more expensive also has to be weighed against your well-being. Deciding to do laundry or bake at naptime is a small cost to pay for an evening of free time and certainly cheaper than eating out on the weekend because you are so exhausted.

One thing I have wondered though is now that time of use for hydro comes into play will there be a way to adjust our forumulas to figure out the hydro differently so that we are claiming 10 hours per day at the high rate and not having to average the entire day. ie claiming the real cost of using electricity in our business. Would love to see the response from revenue canada on that one.

[mlc1982]

I have been feeling super stressed lately and have been learning to let things slide a little more. I've also been doing things a little differently with my time. For instance, I have created a rough meal plan. I will now go do a big grocery shop at the beginning of every month to pick up everything needed on my list. I will pick up fruits/veggies/milk as needed or hubby will stop on his way home from work when asked. Instead of feeling like I'm in the kitchen all day, I will make enough food for dinner that we can have leftovers the next day for lunch. I will do this with breakfast foods as well. If I'm making sausage or pancakes for example, I'll make up extras and freeze them. That way I can just throw them in the microwave again in a few days or so and it saves time. I have also stopped doing dishes after every meal/snack and will do breakfast/lunch together during quiet time and then do snack dishes with my evening supper dishes. I used to hate having dirty dishes on my counter but it works for now. I will do dishes and usually fold and put away some laundry during quiet time. Heck, sometimes I'll go lay on my bed for a few minutes and watch some tv. I deserve a break as much as anyone else with a job outside the home. I've recently purchased a stick vacuum that I keep charged in my kitchen and I run that over the floor every day. That way I only have to pull out the big vacuum once a week and it saves time. I also purchased a Vileda pro mop (or something like that) which again saves me from hauling out the mop and bucket on a regular basis. It gets the floors clean without a ton of leg work. Hubby and I have started a new thing with cleaning where we do one thing a night (dusting, bathrooms, etc) Instead of trying to get everything done in one day and taking a few hours, we'll split it up so it only takes 30 min or so each day. That usually leaves us with at least one full day on the weekend to ourselves. My hubby plays a huge role in helping me de-stress. If I had to do this all on my own I would probably have a complete meltdown. Oh and I`ve also cut back on the crafts as well. I`m not going to lie, the kids have had a lot more free play time lately but you know what, they are still happy. I`m realizing that although routine is good, everything doesn`t have to be so structured. I would rather see the kids have more free play time and me be sane, than me have a breakdown and all these kids be stuck without a day home or have to go find a whole new group of friends.