Filth All Around

I cannot get in a cooking/cleaning routine.  I hear what you are saying “geez Sierra, you’ve been married nearly a year how are you possibly not in a routine by now, you lazy slug?”.  I’m just not, here is why:

Feb.-still all googly eyed over being married and trying to remember where I live since I lived in three places in three consecutive months

Mar. & Apr.-Josh was working weird schedules.  Sometimes he would be home at 5ish, sometimes not til 10ish, sometimes at 3ish.

May & Jun.- Josh started working 12 hour swing shifts (fun times).  That was nearly impossible to schedule dinner around.

Jul & Aug-I took a class and wasn’t getting home til almost 10 some nights but I’d be home at 3 other days.  And we got a relator and started looking at houses in earnest.

Aug. & Sept.-Josh moved to a regular schedule but we looked at houses almost every evening and I had physical therapy three times a week.

Oct.-We moved, got settled in, went on a honeymoon.

So now here we are and I still don't have a routine.  Here's the thing with cooking.  Josh wants to eat pretty much as soon as we walk in the door.  I have Maybe 45 minutes to get supper on or he's going to have soup.  That includes prep time, so 45 mins total.  I come home at lunch sometimes and get stuff ready but a lot times that is just dog gone hard!  I know he's hungry, but I don't want him to subsist on soup.  I do use the crockpot and that most definitely helps but I can pretty much only do it with a liquid (ie, soup) because without a lot of liquid the crockpot and I disagree on what is "done" versus what is "burnt to a charred crisp".  Maybe cooking ahead would be the thing to do?  Does anyone do that?  Like make up all the meals we want to have for the week on Saturday and then just slide them in the oven?

Then there is the cleaning.  Saturday is the cleaning day, but I just don't feel like it is quite enough.  Basically I feel like we are wallowing in the filth of our day to day lives the rest of the week, though I hope it isn't quite that bad.  Last night I dropped my sock down the vent and when I went to retrieve it, I noticed how gross and fuzzy/linty everything felt.  Then I had a coronary because I touched a dead squirrel.  Except it wasn't a squirrel, it was my sock; that's when I remembered why I was in the duct work up to my shoulder blades.  Saturday cleaning is great for the weekly stuff, but I need time to wash the walls, and vacuum the vents, and organize the pantry, and, and, and.  You see what I'm saying?

I don't really know what the answer is.  When I come home I am so tired.  By the time I get supper on and the mess put away, I just want to sit down and rest.  And it isn't that Josh doesn't help, he does the dishes and takes out the trash.  I have found out that if I leave on my shoes then I am more motivated to continue cleaning.  So this whole post had a point (are you surprised?).  What are your cleaning strategies?  Especially you women (or men) who work.  What motivates you to keep trucking after hours at the office?  Honestly, right now I am considering a chore chart because apparently I am five years old old.  I think maybe the visual aspect of having what needs to be done right on the wall or fridge would be helpful.  If you are a lurker, this is the time to jump right into discussion.  I need to hear options and personal stories so I kind find something that will work.  Please and thank you for the help!