If you're suddenly not homeschooling anymore...?

[TKDmom]

How would you spend your days?

My whole motivation for homeschooling was gifted kids and a struggling school system. We've moved, the schools are (supposedly) excellent, and I was burned out, so all my kids are in school. Homeschooling was my main purpose in life for soo long. Now, I help various kids out the door until 9am, then they start trickling back home around 2:30. For the past couple weeks I've been trying to keep the house clean and reading novels while I figure out what's next. It's a little disorienting. And frankly, I still hate cleaning the house.  :ack2:  I'm not particularly motivated to be a productive member of society just yet.

 

Just curious what would you do with 5 hours of free time everyday?

[PeterPan]

Do you have a hobby that you could use for charity work? There are groups around here that sew for newborns and donate to the hospital, etc.

 

You could plan very involved Disney vacations. That would suck up your time pretty easily. :D

 

You have Christmas planned out yet? 

 

When I retire, I plan to quilt more and do charity work. You could tutor. My aunt got trained for an adult literacy program and finds it very rewarding. You could visit nursing homes. You could write letters to soldiers. I haven't done it, but I've heard it's a thing to do. 

[freesia]

How would you spend your days?

My whole motivation for homeschooling was gifted kids and a struggling school system. We've moved, the schools are (supposedly) excellent, and I was burned out, so all my kids are in school. Homeschooling was my main purpose in life for soo long. Now, I help various kids out the door until 9am, then they start trickling back home around 2:30. For the past couple weeks I've been trying to keep the house clean and reading novels while I figure out what's next. It's a little disorienting. And frankly, I still hate cleaning the house.  :ack2:  I'm not particularly motivated to be a productive member of society just yet.

 

Just curious what would you do with 5 hours of free time everyday?

 

This made me laugh a little, because every spring I think--if the kids were in school the house would be so clean and then in the summer, when I have the time, I realize that I hate cleaning even when I have the time.  So, I get it.

 

I would use the time to decompress, declutter and clean (even though I hate it, I'd probably set a time limit, though), I'd read and take some hikes, I'd get a good exercise routine going.  I'd look around for possible future volunteer or work opportunities.  I'd probably go to the woman's Bible Study at church, too.

 

[EKS]

I have done various things:

 

Gotten depressed (not recommended)

 

Done volunteer work

 

Done a bit of tutoring

 

Gotten a master's degree (and currently getting another one)

[Sneezyone]

This will be me in about 10 months time. I figure I will spend some time reading, sleeping, surfing the web, teaching my kids to make a few more basic dinners, making sure my youngest is managing the transition to school OK, and getting depressed (also not recommended). After that, I will look for a new job, hire a cleaning service to come once a week, and enjoy talking to adults again!

Edited September 13, 2017 by Sneezyone

[jen3kids]

I worked full time for 3 years after my kids all went back to school.  I quit a year and half ago and am happily a SAHM again.  

 

My house is anything but decluttered and clean.   But I do try to do one decluttering/cleaning job each day. 

 

I spend 1.5-3 hours at the gym every day and I love it.    

 

I read.

 

In the fall,  I coach for 3 hours every afternoon.  

 

I volunteer at the local nature centre leading field trips for schools.

 

 

[Janeway]

How would you spend your days?

My whole motivation for homeschooling was gifted kids and a struggling school system. We've moved, the schools are (supposedly) excellent, and I was burned out, so all my kids are in school. Homeschooling was my main purpose in life for soo long. Now, I help various kids out the door until 9am, then they start trickling back home around 2:30. For the past couple weeks I've been trying to keep the house clean and reading novels while I figure out what's next. It's a little disorienting. And frankly, I still hate cleaning the house. :ack2: I'm not particularly motivated to be a productive member of society just yet.

 

Just curious what would you do with 5 hours of free time everyday?

I am in the same exact position.

[regentrude]

I went from working part time to working full time, took on a big responsibility at work, and started working seriously on one of my hobbies.

[solascriptura]

haha!  I was exactly in your shoes one year ago.  I put all 4 kids into the elementary school.  I really enjoyed the first few months of relaxing (I was horribly burned out from homeschooling) and taking care of myself.  What this means is catching up on all of the doctors and dentist visits that I had put off for 8 years.  Hello, how do you go to the GYN with elementary and preschool age kids?  They were too little to sit alone in the waiting area and too big to watch mom getting pelvic exams. 

 

After a while, I started working out a lot (again to regain my health) and made a plan.  The kids are just getting close to college and how would we pay for that?  I'm now back in school in order to get a career going.  This career will help pay for college, take some financial stress off my dh, and give me something to do as future community service/ministry.  It's also important for me to show my kids that I can do something that I'm not "good" at (science)if they work hard at it.   As an aside, almost all of the women/moms that the kids know are stay at home moms.  I want my kids to see that women can do anything, whether as a stay at home mom or a high powered career woman.   I'm excited to see how all of this works out!  

[Ali in OR]

For now I have a long project list--decluttering, cleaning, etc. I want a little job--trying to get on the sub list in the school district right now. Ideally I would love to teach 1-2 math classes--I'll apply at the local CC (nothing likely to happen quickly there). If this whole year ends up just catching up at home, that will be fine. But ideally I'll find some little job--no career desires here--just a little extra money.

[Carrie12345]

Enjoy a house that wouldn't need nearly as much cleaning.

Take fun classes, independent study, read, write.

Spend more time volunteering in the community.

Take my time shopping!

Get back into more complex cooking.

 

Me, being me, I would probably still find ways to overextended myself and wish I had free time. @@

[heartlikealion]

How would you spend your days?

My whole motivation for homeschooling was gifted kids and a struggling school system. We've moved, the schools are (supposedly) excellent, and I was burned out, so all my kids are in school. Homeschooling was my main purpose in life for soo long. Now, I help various kids out the door until 9am, then they start trickling back home around 2:30. For the past couple weeks I've been trying to keep the house clean and reading novels while I figure out what's next. It's a little disorienting. And frankly, I still hate cleaning the house.  :ack2:  I'm not particularly motivated to be a productive member of society just yet.

 

Just curious what would you do with 5 hours of free time everyday?

 

I was going to make volunteering suggestions but...

 

there's always Netflix, Hulu, Amazon... :D

 

[MEmama]

I'm going to extra yoga classes, putting in extra volunteer hours, planning out fun things to put in DS's lunch (seriously. I love it. It feels like such a "normal" mom thing to get to do â¤ï¸ ), and today I picked up a job application. I'm so excited about this transition and I'm looking forward to working (part time) outside the home. Ideally I can still participate in the morning routine and be home when he gets back from sports, at least most days.

[maize]

Get a part time job and pay someone to do the cleaning!

[EMS83]

Whatever I intend to do as an empty-nester, except somewhat less of it.  The one thing it's not is paid employment.  I don't personally believe that paid employment = contributing to society.

[Mommyof1]

Sleep

[Garga]

This is just me and based on how I'm feeling right now and what I've been working on.

 

I would go through living spaces of the house, room by room, and fully and thoroughly declutter and deep clean it. 

 

Once I had a clean slate, I'd create a cleaning schedule to keep it nice all the time.  I've lived in dusty, cluttered houses for 25 years and I'm tired of it.  This summer I finally did the above and so far, it's working.  I had a clean slate, and I'm maintaining it.  If you haven't lived in dusty, cluttered houses for 25 years, this might not be a big deal for you.  :)

 

I would expect to spend about an hour a day maintaining the newly cleaned house (dusting baseboards, cleaning out the fridge, moving beds and vacuuming underneath--not all in the same day, but a few of those sorts of "big" jobs every day for an hour)

 

I'd spend about another hour keeping up with daily things (like dishes, laundry, taking out the trash, making the bed.)  The daily jobs would be spread out throughout the day and would be done while other people were at home and while I was alone.  

 

I'd get on a solid exercise routine--at least an hour a day.  

 

I probably would shower after the exercise routine and while the kids are in school, so there's another 20-60 minutes of time depending on how spruced up you get every day.  (Arrange hair or just comb and air dry?  Makeup?  Pick out a fun outfit or just toss on sweats? etc)

 

I'd do all the errands during the school day--which would probably eat up one day a week.  

 

Then, and this is just me, I'd work on those hidden places in the house that are driving me nuts:  my scary basement, my cluttered attic, the ridiculousness that's my screened in porch, and the mess that's the yard (a brambly mess of weeds in the back where the neighbors can't see).  I'd work on those places for an hour or two a day until they were done.  

 

1 hour deep cleaning

1 hour exercising

.5 hour showering/dressing

.5 hour doing daily chores

2 hours on basement/attic/porch/yard

 

That would fill 5 hours a day, and a lunch break would need to be tossed in.

 

Once the projects were done (basement/attic/porch yard), I'd have their 2 hours to play with.  Honestly, I'd just watch tv and read books for about 6 months.  After that, when I finally had truly hit a limit on leisure, I'd reassess at that point what I really want to do. 

 

For me, I'd do these sorts of things, and not all at the same time:

 

Spend time researching how to eat better. 

Volunteer to pet cats at the SPCA so they don't go feral and so they make good pets if they're adopted

Volunteer at the library to decide once and for all if I'd like to go to school to be a librarian

Take college classes toward some sort of degree so I could work fulltime when the nest is empty.

  

 

 

[JudoMom]

Decluttering and cleaning would top my list, along with all the little home repair projects I never have time for.  I'd also spend more time cooking for my family.  These are things I enjoy (or at least enjoy the results of), but get shoved aside because I have no time.

I have no desire to work on anyone else's schedule, especially while I've still got boys at home.  

[Arcadia]

Nap

Dinner prep

Read whatever I want instead of reading curriculum (assuming I don't need to after school, else it would be after school prep)

Swim (condo pool) or make a grocery run if there is time left before fetching kids. My oldest public school schedule was 8:15am to 2pm and it was a 10mins walk down the road or 15mins walk from the grocer.

[Spryte]

Just prior to homeschooling, I was self employed.

 

If we were to stop homeschooling, I would probably start up a similar business, though not the same or as intense. I cannot manage the same travel schedule now (I was gone 30 weeks each year, and am not willing or able to do that with kids), but I'd explore other options.

 

After a few weeks of vegging and just generally recharging. :)

Edited September 13, 2017 by Spryte

[LifeLovePassion]

My kids started mid August. I have been tackling some neglected purging. I have surgery Friday (not recommended) so I will have time to recover and not focus on school.

 

After I am better, I want to work on menu planning, and will plan Christmas and hopefully have more time to sew quilts for Project Linus

[AnniePoo]

Same thing happened to me. It was like an identity crisis. And I still had 2 at home! I'm done to one who will be in k next year.

 

I had to make a plan so I wouldn't get depressed. I had gone from feeling like I was responsible for way too much to being chauffeur and cook. Nothing wrong with that, but it was just a huge change.

 

My plan:

Give myself a whole year off to decompress.

After that:

Volunteer 1 hr per week

Learn a new skill (i OS programming)

 

I'll figure out what's next in a year. Strangely, now that I have this plan I'm perfectly content to not do anything. 😳

[Guest]

I want to be you so badly right now. Five hours of free time sounds amazing!

 

I'd suggest starting a new hobby, even something like cycling for a few hours around town or geocaching. Anything you find interesting. A part time job might also not be a bad way to go,if you have a skill set where you can swing flexible hours.

[DawnM]

Probably not much help, but I got a full time job.  

[momacacia]

Omgosh! I'd declutter and organize our basement. Paint the baseboards, find someone to redo backyard patio and supervise them to shopping for my fall wardrobe and.get my ears pierced so I could look like a million bucks, workout, keep my nails and makeup looking nice, Enjoy cooking in the peace and quiet of my home, and then I might go house shopping for our next home.

 

Color me jealous for those 5 kid-free hours a day.

[Mrs_JWM]

We stopped homeschooling in December of last year, but I was already taking classes, so I continued doing that. I get to go to class during the day now, though, instead of at night or on Sundays! This semester, I'm taking one online class and studying a ton, going to two fitness classes a week, and volunteering with Hospice for an hour or two. My daughter is gone from 8:30 to 3:30 each day, so it's a nice chunk of time. [emoji4] And she LOVES her school and takes the bus, so that's awesome!!! Each semester when my classes end but she's still in school, I wallow around and watch TV the entire time. It's also awesome.

 

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[Rosika]

I have a million "projects" that are perpetually on hold because of the time suck that is homeschooling. Things like sorting old photos, filling in the kids' baby books now that they're all teens and adults LOL, de-cluttering the junk drawer, and organizing the mess of fashion jewelry and scarves that have taken over a corner in my closet. 

 

If I suddenly weren't homeschooling I'd probably think about tackling those projects every time Netflix asked me if I wanted to continue watching .... and after a year of "de-schooling" I may even tackle them!

 

In all honesty, I'd treat it as I would any retirement. I'd seriously take time off to just decompress. Then I'd slowly add in "things I'm supposed to do" (cleaning) and "things I've put aside" (projects) and "things I ought to do" (exercise/better eating plans) and a hobby or class or side job. 

[EmilyGF]

I would sign up to be a substitute teacher. That way I'd have flexibility but something to do, and hours similar to my children's. Also, I could easily go back to homeschooling if problems developed.

Emily

[Lecka]

The first year my youngest kids went to school, I felt at loose ends and couldn't manage my time well. I got a part-time job and then another part-time job. It really gave some structure to my day that I needed. I got more done and had some built-in social interaction (due to the nature of the two jobs I had).

 

Then we found out we were moving. I spent almost a year getting ready, doing projects I never did with all my kids home.

 

In general -- I try to get the house and food ready for the weekend on Thursday/Friday. Monday is straightening up from the weekend. My husband wants to spend almost all weekend hanging out with me a lot of the time. And I want to hang out with him, too. It is new that our little kids don't constantly distract us and keep us from being able to relax at home together. We need it.

 

We have moved now, and I haven't done any real gardening yet. I spent a few hours pulling weeds one day. I am feeling like my to-do list is shorter now and I am starting to want to garden.

 

I try to do errands (I include taking a walk somewhere pleasant as an errand) either right when my kids leave, or soon before they get home.

 

It can help to make a schedule where I leave right after them. It can give a good structure to my day.

 

I need to have some routines in my day or it is hard for me to have a structure.

 

It takes effort to figure out what works and then to do it. It is easy for me to not get anything done and not have any idea what to make for supper.

 

I am pretty motivated to get the house ready for the weekend. I don't like feeling like we have to do house stuff while my husband is home on the weekend. Yes, sometimes it is needed. But I begrudge not having time to hang around, and my husband won't hang around if he thinks there are things that need to get done. That is a pretty easy routine for me to maintain.

[TKDmom]

Get a part time job and pay someone to do the cleaning!

 

I think this is the best idea I've heard so far! It's been so culturally ingrained in me that I should do all house things myself that I feel lazy and selfish for wanting to hire it out.

[TKDmom]

I have done various things:

 

Gotten depressed (not recommended)

 

Done volunteer work

 

Done a bit of tutoring

 

Gotten a master's degree (and currently getting another one)

 

I so want to get a master's degree. I dropped out of grad school when my oldest was born. I have only seen PhD programs in my area of interest, and I'm not quite that committed.  :001_rolleyes:

[AnniePoo]

I want a masters degree so badly too. I don't even know what I would get it in. I'd just like to be really educated in one area.

[Mommyof1]

Other then sleeping I would go to work.

[maize]

I think this is the best idea I've heard so far! It's been so culturally ingrained in me that I should do all house things myself that I feel lazy and selfish for wanting to hire it out.

Yeah, somehow a lot of us women have picked up on the expectation that we should feel privileged to make a career out of being an unpaid housekeeper. We'll hire out all kinds of other things--pay people to grow our food, weave our cloth and sew our clothes, dispose of our trash, build our house--but we feel ashamed if we don't mop our own floors.

[Lecka]

I think it's a good idea. Someone would be happy to have the work! And some people are really fast and efficient at cleaning, I think it is a legitimate skill that some people do better or worse than others.

[TKDmom]

This is just me and based on how I'm feeling right now and what I've been working on.

 

I would go through living spaces of the house, room by room, and fully and thoroughly declutter and deep clean it. 

 

Once I had a clean slate, I'd create a cleaning schedule to keep it nice all the time.  I've lived in dusty, cluttered houses for 25 years and I'm tired of it.  This summer I finally did the above and so far, it's working.  I had a clean slate, and I'm maintaining it.  If you haven't lived in dusty, cluttered houses for 25 years, this might not be a big deal for you.  :)

 

I would expect to spend about an hour a day maintaining the newly cleaned house (dusting baseboards, cleaning out the fridge, moving beds and vacuuming underneath--not all in the same day, but a few of those sorts of "big" jobs every day for an hour)

 

I'd spend about another hour keeping up with daily things (like dishes, laundry, taking out the trash, making the bed.)  The daily jobs would be spread out throughout the day and would be done while other people were at home and while I was alone.  

 

I'd get on a solid exercise routine--at least an hour a day.  

 

I probably would shower after the exercise routine and while the kids are in school, so there's another 20-60 minutes of time depending on how spruced up you get every day.  (Arrange hair or just comb and air dry?  Makeup?  Pick out a fun outfit or just toss on sweats? etc)

 

I'd do all the errands during the school day--which would probably eat up one day a week.  

 

Then, and this is just me, I'd work on those hidden places in the house that are driving me nuts:  my scary basement, my cluttered attic, the ridiculousness that's my screened in porch, and the mess that's the yard (a brambly mess of weeds in the back where the neighbors can't see).  I'd work on those places for an hour or two a day until they were done.  

 

1 hour deep cleaning

1 hour exercising

.5 hour showering/dressing

.5 hour doing daily chores

2 hours on basement/attic/porch/yard

 

That would fill 5 hours a day, and a lunch break would need to be tossed in.

 

Once the projects were done (basement/attic/porch yard), I'd have their 2 hours to play with.  Honestly, I'd just watch tv and read books for about 6 months.  After that, when I finally had truly hit a limit on leisure, I'd reassess at that point what I really want to do. 

 

For me, I'd do these sorts of things, and not all at the same time:

 

Spend time researching how to eat better. 

Volunteer to pet cats at the SPCA so they don't go feral and so they make good pets if they're adopted

Volunteer at the library to decide once and for all if I'd like to go to school to be a librarian

Take college classes toward some sort of degree so I could work fulltime when the nest is empty.

 

It's a thing to volunteer to pet cats??  :001_wub:   DH is allergic, and I grew up in the crazy cat lady house. I'd love to go get the kitten time I've been missing out on for the last 20 years!

 

I want to do all of these things. I think we're twins. 

 

I spent the year before our move doing Kon-Mari decluttering, but it's like a never-ending job! Before the move, I'd have this recurring dream, at least weekly, that I was trying to get on an airplane (or train or something), but my suitcase had come open, and I was trying to stuff enormous amounts of junk into my suitcase. Anytime that dream comes back, I know it's time to declutter some more. But it's much better now that we have things like coat closets and a basement. I don't feel overwhelmed with stuff when there's actually places to put the stuff.

 

I just saw today that one of the kids' schools needs a volunteer to reshelve books. Yes, please. I can do that.

[Rosika]

I think this is the best idea I've heard so far! It's been so culturally ingrained in me that I should do all house things myself that I feel lazy and selfish for wanting to hire it out.

 

Well, I consider it doing my part to sustain our local economy. I'm not lazy, I'm a patriot! 

 

(I can almost say that with a straight face whenever moms give me the hairy eyeball when they find out I outsource cleaning. I figure we all get to spend our money however we want, and they can have their lattes and fancy curricula or big SUVs or mani/pedis. Ima have me a cleaner house, and hideous toenails, 7-11 coffee and a car sized for a hobbit LOL.)

[Garga]

It's a thing to volunteer to pet cats??  :001_wub:   DH is allergic, and I grew up in the crazy cat lady house. I'd love to go get the kitten time I've been missing out on for the last 20 years!

 

I want to do all of these things. I think we're twins. 

 

 

Yes about the cats!  At least around here, yes.  

 

When we got our last set of cats (yes, a set of two--siblings) we got them from PetSmart (or one of those chain pet stores.)  The cats themselves were part of the SPCA.  The store employees couldn't get the cats out for us to look at.  We had to wait for a person from the SPCA to be there tending to the cats to get in to see them.  The people that come to pet the cats and clean their boxes are SPCA volunteers who come just to pet the kitties a couple of times a day to keep them tame around humans.

 

In fact, it's on my to-do list in October to decide if I have time to do this for a few hours a week.  Last school year I had no free time, but this year is shaping up differently and I think I'll have time to be a volunteer.  I'm just waiting for the school year to be fully underway to see if there's enough time in my schedule.

[Lizzie in Ma]

I got a part time job, I work Mon, Wed, Friday.  Tues and Thurs are my clean the house, do things for me, read, binge watch things and/or errands days.  I also pick up dd at school on those two days and we hit Dunkin on the way home and hang out and I love it. 

[ondreeuh]

I feel like I'm able to keep up with housework, and I already take a French class I enjoy, but it would be nice to have more time to myself! Right away, I would hire personal tutors for piano and French. I would then set up a schedule for myself in which I would set aside some time for housework, piano, French, and prepping dinner. I would also join a community club or volunteer group. For my "free time" I would watch tv shows in French, knit, and read books (or listen to audiobooks while knitting!). I would plan great vacations, but they would be more difficult to take if we had to follow the school calendar. Eventually I would take some courses and work on building a career.