How I Do It All: Evening Routine Video (YouTube Collaboration)

So how do I do it all? As a wife and mother of twins with full time job, a blog and a YouTube channel, I’m often asked this question. I love doing DIY projects, I love cooking, baking, organizing and all things home decor and party planning. So how do I do it all? Its really easy….I DON’T! I have a very busy life, and there just aren’t enough hours in the day for everything to get done.

Today I have a video for you of what my actual evening routine looks like, this is what I strive for but sometimes it doesn’t happen and I’m ok with that. In addition to my tips on how to ‘Do It All’ I also have a treat for you, I got 7 other moms from YouTube to share their routines with you as well. Check out my video and theirs at the end of the blog post. But first thing here are 6 tips to help you Do It All:

1) Let It Go

Elsa and Anna were on to something here. Yes sometimes the dishes will be in the sink when you go to bed. Yes sometimes the clean laundry will be in a dryer for a few days. Sometimes the twincesses leave toys all over the room and I just want to go to bed. SO what? Sometimes we put some unattainable or unrealistic standards on ourselves and we just need to let it go.

2) Enlist Help

My husband is a huge help around the house, he does a lot of the laundry and I fold the laundry. He does a lot of tidying up. Dishes he doesn’t do, cooking umm no, so its finding that balancing act and trying to find a happy medium we both can live with in terms of divvying up the chores. And yes the twincesses are only three, but they are starting to contribute too. They have their own mini brooms which they use to clean up under their chairs after they eat. They wipe the table after they eat. They help me unload the dishwasher and they help put up their toys and books in their playroom and in their bedroom. Yes sometimes, I could do it faster without their help, but they are learning early that they need to clean up after themselves. And last but not least, enlist the professionals if you can. We have a cleaning crew who comes once a month to help me do the deep cleaning, that way its easier to maintain throughout the month. They can do all the things I don’t have time for like baseboards, blinds, ceiling fans and walls.

3) Set Realistic Expectations

Before the twincesses, my home was spotless! I love to cook, and the hubster would get three course dinners every night and huge breakfasts with waffles and omelettes on the weekend. Then Jordyn and Peyton showed up and I suddenly realized….ain’t nobody got time for that!! Kids are time consuming and tiring, I commute two hours a day, I work 9 hours a day, the last thing I want to do when I get home is cook and clean. I had to explain to the hubster that a change had come! and it started with more shared responsibilities and less perks. I’m only one person after all. Its still something every few months we have to remind ourselves of but we are getting used to the new normal.

4) Do what you can on the weekends

On the weekends I do a lot of cleaning, laundry, meal planning, grocery shopping and bulk cooking. I showed you how I meal plan and its a big help for grocery shopping on the weekend. Once I get home I cut up all the fruit and start cooking bulk meals that we will take to work all week. I also fold laundry while catching up on shows from the week. This is also when I do all my blog pictures and filming so I can edit during the week. The weekends are awesome cause you can stay up late and get things done because you don’t have a set time to wake up for work.

5) Get rid of the distractions

TV and Internet are such time sucks! I hardly ever watch live TV any more. I DVR all my shows and watch them when I have time, aka on the weekends or after the girls are asleep. You can really get sucked in to just laying there surfing the web and next thing you know hours have gone by and you haven’t gotten anything done. I also hardly ever talk to people on the phone once I’m at home. Once I’m home, its time for hubby and the kids. I do all my calls to my friends and family in the car on the way to and from work. That’s 2 hours of my day I have to spend driving anyway, might as well multi task (don’t worry its all hands free through the car phone).

6) Take Care of yourself

Rest when you need to. Your body tells you when its tired, listen to it. Its easy to let yourself fall last on the list. But its important to not put yourself on the backburner, go to the gym, take some time for yourself. The things that help me to achieve this is that I don’t cook every day.

I cook on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Which means Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (Saturdays we eat out) we are eating leftovers and instead of coming home to cook I try to go to the gym and workout. Key word try, sometimes I just come home and rest but I am trying to really commit to going to the gym this year, so that’s the plan. Remember even God had a day of rest! Friday nights is my night off, its every man for himself, cause momma is not cooking! I like to do a bath, catch up on all my shows from the week, sometimes all I do I watch a movie on the couch with hubby but the important thing is I don’t feel obligated to do ANYTHING!

I thought you guys might enjoy a video on what my routines actually look like. Now of course, this is an optimal day, sometimes life happens and it doesn’t get done this way.

I’ll do Morning and weekend routine videos in the future but right now check out my evening routine video. I did this video in collaboration with other moms on YouTube, check out all their videos as well for different looks at how other moms do it! Links to their videos are in the description box of my video on YouTube. While you’re there please subscribe to my YouTube Channel as well!