#1 Laundry Service
#2 Food Prep or Delivery Services
#3 Grocery Delivery
#4 Cleaning Service
#5 Babysitting
"Sometimes I feel uncomfortable because it feels so bougie to use them so I figured I’d share to validate others who feel the same and also to tell any mom who might be debating any of these: DO IT, GIRL!"
Once our second child was about a year old and his mobility was starting to add to the chaos, my husband and I came to the tough decision that it was time to take some of the load off by having other people do some of it for us. We had to admit to ourselves that our time together as a family with the least amount of stress on our shoulders was more important than our pride in trying to handle it all ourselves and our discomfort in having other people do it.
This is a list of four services that have seriously brought ease to our chaos and allowed us to focus on what is most important to us. Some of these services help with things that take a lot of time (and I may or may not hate doing) and some help with things that are just harder to do with small children present. I am not affiliated with any of these companies, just genuinely sharing some services that have been super helpful as a parent. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable because it feels so bougie to use them so I figured I’d share to validate others who feel the same and also to tell any mom who might be debating any of these: DO IT, GIRL!
#1 Laundry Service
The one that feels the most uncomfortable to admit that I use but also definitely saves the most time and annoyance is a laundry service! Oh em gee! I use an app called Poplin. We live in the boonies so I couldn’t find a local company that does this. The Poplin “Laundry Pros” pick up your laundry from your porch, wash it, dry it (even hang dry if needed), fold it, categorize it, and return it the next day for ONE DOLLAR per pound of laundry! On average we have about 35 lbs of laundry a week so $35/week plus tip for your “Laundry Pro.” Plus! You can request a certain Laundry Pro so you can have the same person do your laundry each week. It is literally life-changing! It makes our weekends immensely more enjoyable, our house a whole lot more organized, and Mommy feels so much less “Sunday chore pressure”.
#2 Food Prep or Delivery Services
Something else we decided to cut back on was the amount of time I spent cooking. I decided that I would rather have more calm, quality time with my kids in the evenings rather than the mind f*ck that occurs when trying to cook and have the kids all over. I like to cook but cooking just isn’t the same when you’re trying to parent at the same time. It loses the mindless joy of chopping and organizing ingredients, following a recipe, and mixing up something delicious. It feels a little more like a really intense game of tug of war of the brain. At least it does to me. Nevermind the time it took to plan all the meals and associated shopping list. So yeah, we wanted to find some other options.
We found 2 local places that make delicious family meals: Poppies Gourmet and Mars Farmhouse Café. Poppies prepares the meals individually and you just have to heat it up. Mars prepares a family meal that you pick up hot and ready to serve. We also started getting Green Chef for 2 meals a week. So I still get to cook on days that I don’t have my kids or at least don’t have both of my kids. I don’t have to think about the ingredients and the meals are really delicious (most of the time :). We also use UberEats or GrubHub on take-out nights which we generally do once a week. It’s not hard, per say, to go and pick up take-out but it's definitely easier to not get everyone publicly presentable and in/out of the car.
#3 Grocery Delivery
This one was hard and will probably be the first one to go when life is a little less chaotic. I actually LOVE(d) to grocery shop, especially at Costco. And I think that grocery shopping with kids has a lot of benefits BUT it was just more effort than it was worth. I could find time to go without them but there are many other things I would prefer to do with my alone time than grocery shop. So yeah, Instacart to the rescue. We use it for Costco and our local grocery store. I order it in the morning and pick a two-hour window for it to be delivered. That way I can plan my day around it and it doesn’t get left on my porch for too long. We also have a perk with our credit card (Chase Sapphire Reserve) that provides a free membership for a year so we don’t have to pay the additional fees. Thus far, totally worth it.
#4 Cleaning Service
Most people who use a cleaning service seem to have found it really easy to have someone else clean their house. For me, it was really hard to admit that I was not going to do the cleaning myself. Not because I didn’t trust anyone else to do it well or because I didn’t want to have someone in my house. It was because it felt like, as a woman, I was supposed to be able to “do it all” and keeping your house clean was one of those fundamentals. I COULD technically keep my house clean but would I rather use my time and energy for something else? YES MA’AM. Again, it feels uncharacteristically bougie but the first time they came, I just about cried when they were finished. It is money well spent and my girls at Cleanstreak are the best!
#5 Babysitting
I’m not as embarrassed or uncomfortable about using this one as I am the others. Find yourself a good babysitter and enjoy! Ours is the best! Our kids love her and they are so happy to hang with her that they don’t even care that we leave. She even puts them to bed ya’ll! It’s amazing! We do a date night a month in which we usually go out to dinner and then sneak back into our basement and just watch TV! It is so nice to just be able to turn our brains off and know our kids are taken care of. Getting a day off from putting them to bed is one of the best feelings! We act like we are going to do something cooler but then realize we just want to relax with no responsibilities. Maybe someday we can be cool again.
Society tells us we are supposed to do it all but it's BS. If you’re comfortable with it, have the money to add it to your budget, or can cut back somewhere else, these services are worth it. The reduced stress on you is well worth it. It’s okay to take care of yourself. That doesn’t just mean you can get a pedicure AFTER you get ALLLLLL the other ish done. Cut back where you can and bask in the glory of not doing it!
What are ways that you lighten the load?