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Prepare the day before for the next day
Can we avoid the rush morning and evening? Maybe not every day, maybe not completely, but it can be alleviated in any case. By preparing as much as possible the night before, you will start your day more serenely. : children’s clothes, yours, the breakfast table, school bags, etc. “It is also preferable to write down the night before anything that you fear to forget the next morning (no more than three to five priorities per day), explains Diane Ballonad *, founder of the site Zen and organized. By placing the list on the breakfast table, you can quietly read it the next morning while drinking your tea or coffee. And it is strongly recommended to get up at least half an hour before the children. You will be able to benefit from a decompression airlock, a moment just for you to get started slowly. The first five minutes will seem difficult, but the payoff will be real! As for the evening… If a babysitter takes care of your children after school for snacks and homework, or if you have a nanny at home in shared custody, delegate the shower or the bath to her. Moms tend to want to take on this care considering that it is a moment of complicity. But when the minutes are counted and you come home exhausted, it is better to save yourself this step. And a bath every other night is really sufficient for young children. The evening slot must be the subject of negotiation within the couple. Men tend to argue that they cannot come home early and the management of the infamous 18 p.m. to 20:30 p.m. still very often falls on mothers. This is not normal and the consequences on women’s careers are felt.
The best way to make the evening a peaceful one is also not to waste too much time in the kitchen and in last minute shopping. So that meal preparation does not become a daily chore, you have to plan as much as possible. “The first thing to do is to establish a weekly menu, advises Diane Ballonad, then to make a shopping list, possibly in the order of the shelves of your supermarket. »Many mobile apps help you in this mission (Bring !, Listonic, Out of Milk…). And remember: the freezer is your best friend! Make sure that it always contains some raw vegetables (freezing does not affect their nutritional quality) and ready-made meals. Do you know elsewhere the batch cooking method ? It consists, as of Sunday evening, to prepare all its meals in advance in anticipation of the week.
When it comes to household chores, we prioritize
First, a basic principle: you lower your requirements, unless you have the means to delegate to an outside person. With two or three children, it is better to give up the idea of a perfectly maintained house. Another golden rule: a little cleaning every day rather than devoting too many hours to it on weekends. And prioritize. It’s best to stay up to date on dishes and laundry – because scratching a pan will be more difficult if the food has had time to stick … However, the vacuum cleaner can wait.
We don’t hesitate to ask for help
To get help, of course you have to rely on your spouse. Rather than asking for help or participation, we can even aim for an equal distribution of tasks. Also think about grandparents, if they are close and available, but for that you have to learn to delegate. Parents around you can also provide you with invaluable help. We all encounter the same difficulties, the same rushing moments, we might as well distribute the burden. If you live in the city, make arrangements with parents of students living nearby to take turns for home-school trips. More and more towns, like Suresnes, are setting up “pedibuses”, a pedestrian school bus system with volunteer parents. For city dwellers as for rural dwellers, parent network sites are being created. On kidmouv.fr, families can advertise to find other adults likely to accompany a child to school or to an extracurricular activity.