The decluttering diaries

Mid-life Sandwich years

The sandwich years

My highlight this week has been working with a lovely client who is going through the midlife sandwich years.

For those of you who don’t know about this, it’s a time in mid-life when women are raising children and caring for elderly parents- hence the sandwich.

The caring roles usually fall to women, so on top of everything else, women are dealing with the practicalities and the emotional load of these situations.

This adds more stress to an already busy schedule- especially if you’re trying to manage care and helpers from a distance. Add in a stressful job, taking care of children’s needs, organising the family and no wonder your home life becomes a little chaotic.

So how can we manage all this and still keep our homes running and our sanity in tact!

First of all, have a look at your finances. Is it possible to get help such as a cleaner, a gardner or a child minder? It sounds obvious but when we’re in the midst of stress, it can be difficult to see outside getting through another day.

If you’re in a financial position to do so, this will really ease your home life.

In addition, it’s helpful to tell your parents that it’s time for them to do the same.

Accepting they need paid help, is difficult because it means they have to face reality.

Relying on family to do the cleaning etc puts pressure on the women who do it ‘because if I don’t do it, who will?’

It’s challenging, but having an honest conversation about the pressure it’s causing, can help them understand and be more open to paid help.

If there is no alternative other than to accept the situation, it’s helpful to remember that it’s for a season and won’t last forever.

Secondly, by putting simple tools into practice, you can keep information together and let everyone know what’s happening:

1. A family what’s app group so you can share information once only.

2. A notice board with upcoming events and letters to deal with, where everyone can see it.

3. A folder with any information regarding your parents. An accordion folder is handy because you can see every category immediately. For example. Care documents, cleaners info, bank details, insurance etc…

4. A home folder with all your relevant documents.

5. A group schedule with children’s appointments, events, school info, so everyone knows what’s coming up in advance..

   
   

   t’s vital to schedule time in your diary for yourself- without this, you won’t have the energy to keep going. It’s not an added extra, it’s an essential.

   
   

   So sharing the load, setting boundaries about what you can and can’t manage and using simple organisational strategies, can help you keep you on track.

   For those of you going through this at the moment, keep reminding yourself how well you’re managing a difficult situation - you deserve a break and as much support as possible.

   
   
   
   

   Please like or share this post with someone who would appreciate it ❤️

   
   
   
   

6. If you’d like one to one support to make your home and schedule manageable,

   contact me for a free consultation:

   Https://www.create-space.online/contact