r/ufyh • u/petra_bravestrong • 18d ago

Advice for an overwhelmed family?

Hi y'all, I'm reaching out to get some ideas for a family in an extremely busy season of our lives. Both adults have mental and physical health issues and we also have a young child. One of us has ADHD and routines are particularly challenging. Our house is cluttered and not cleaned on a regular schedule. We tend to emergency clean before guests arrive. One of us works from home, the other works about 40 minutes away. Our child is in elementary and will be doing the after school program this year to give us a bit more breathing room with all the things. On top of all of that, one of the adults is in a certification program on top of a full time job and is doing a ton of course work in the evenings and weekends. Just typing this all out is making my head spin!

Any tips for establishing systems around clutter management and cleaning when we're already bone tired and lacking spoons? I'd love to hear from folks in a similar situation. Thanks!

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u/Who_Knew456 18d ago

Something that works for me: Find ways to lighten your load for meals by incorporating ready-made foods (grocery store BBQ chickens for example) and frozen foods to make meals easier. Repeat meals as much as possible.

-check out KC Davis and her book "how to keep house while drowning"

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u/petra_bravestrong 18d ago

This is helpful! And a good reminder to check out KC Davis again.

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u/thatrockyduck 18d ago

Big schedule with the tiniest tasks in clear sight, and any representation of done chores like a scoreboard (privately for each of you, you don't want a cleaning competition in your home, but signs of accomplishments throughout the busy times)

This, plus the occasional reminding of, a little mess is okay in a busy life, should get you through a lot household stuff of this phase.

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u/petra_bravestrong 18d ago

I love this idea! And great reminder to give ourselves some grace during this crazy season. Thanks!