Tips for a newly single parent?

Can you afford a maid? Even once a week? That would help tremendously.*

*I'm not a parent, much less a single one, but when my life was CRAZY hectic like yours, having one made a huge difference.

GOOD LUCK.  

If you are already working from home in the mornings, could you ask your company to make that one or two days per week? That would cut down on commuting time and add to your work productivity. 

Would it also be possible, that when your kids are at their activities, you could run/bike in the neighborhood?

And I second the maid. Even once a month for a good cleaning would help.

I should also add that I'm not a parent, but you're being a great mom by thinking all of this through and helping everyone to have a balanced life, including yourself.

We have a good schedule during the week.  My wife works longer hours, so I'm in charge for the 7 and 8 year old after school.  Homework right after school, Piano for 20 min, whatever activity they have for that evening (Gymnastic or B-ball) then home.  They get a half hour or so of "Electronics" before bed.  They can stay up later in the room if they are reading.  We let them loose for more electronics or playtime on the weekends.

We also do not have smart phones or the data plans that come with them.  We use the money we would spend on that for cleaning ladies twice a month.  It is really nice to come home to a clean house.

We also have become good friends with a few neighbors, and it is no big deal to drop-off, or have kids dropped off at each others houses for a few hours..

Good luck with everything Mighty Mom!!

On the weekends, prepare larger quantities of food, then freeze them in individual or family size portions.  Then pull them from the freezer as you want to eat them.  It can save a huge amount of time throughout a week if several of your dinners only need to be heated up to eat.  Good options are soups & stews or casseroles.

I've got my 4 kids ~70% of overnights and my girlfriend is probably more similar to you in that she has her 2 kids essentially 100% (though her ex does take them to basketball practice/out to dinner here and there). So I know what has worked and hasn't worked for me and I see how she handles her similar situation.

For me, before and after school care (YMCA Y-Care) on site at the school has been an absolute necessity. If I need it, I've got coverage for them from 7am to 6pm. I know money is tight in your situation, but I don't know what I'd do without it. I can extend my work day enough to even get a run in at lunch (on site fitness center).

Putting a reasonable limit on activities (soccer, scouts, etc) and thinking about what logistics are going to work best before signing up has been another necessity. For my 2 girls, Brownies/Scouts has been great because their regular meetings are right at the school. They can from school to scouts to Y-Care without me having to run them anywhere. My girlfriend's boys are in more sports, but her oldest is 17 and gets himself to practice.

Make sure you are networked into some of the other parents at school, especially other single parents. I've got a core group of single parents (mostly moms, that just how it works) and we help each other with getting the kids to activities, having the kids sleep over so there is a kid free night once in a while (I've never actually had a chance to have all 4 kids out of the house at once, but maybe someday), stuff like that. 

I'm never caught up on housework. I just face the fact that someone is probably going to be pulling socks out of the dryer at some point during the week. Laundry is a killer. I'd read some tips that have helped - have the kids help when they are old enough, move the clean clothes to the kid's rooms to be put away as it is folded, don't sweat sorting colors/whites as they outgrow most things before mixing colors does much damage.

Find a couple of good/reliable sitters and treat them like gold. I try not use sitters when I have the kids unless I have to take one to an activity that isn't practical to bring along the whole gang. I've only gone on one or two dates where I had to get a sitter for the kids, that's what my 30% of non-kid overnights are for. My girlfriend has a high school age neighbor who has full access to her house and serves the role of sitter, messenger, courier and personal assistant as needed.

I leverage ready to heat dinners from Costco alot. I try not to eat out more than once or twice a week. On weekends I have more time to cook, but during school nights, it is nice to be able to call my son as I'm leaving work and tell him to throw dinner in the oven. Keep things simple, try to be as healthy as you can and remember they'd probably rather eat kid friendly food anyway.

Another tip I've found useful is to keep their kid safe cups, bowls, etc in a lower cabinet where they can reach them. Your 6 year old can help set the table, get water from the fridge dispenser, etc. They can also help put things away if they don't have to reach an upper cabinet for their things.

It gets easier/more flexible as they get older. It will be 3 years that we've been following this routine in March. My oldest is almost 15 and can watch the younger ones when needed. Everyone is expected to help with chores, can take their own baths, etc. It is still a crazy amount of work, but it shifts from taking care of almost every need they have to sharing more quality time with them. 

I'm sure there are million more things don't even register. If you have any specific questions, let me know.

Thank you all for the suggestions. They are giving me lots of ideas.

I'll price out the maid service for at least once a month.  I don't mind the dust bunnies but, yeah, if they hang around much longer I'll have to name them. 

I'd love to work from home. I am so much more productive but my dept head is a bit of a face time person. I'll brainstorm with others and see if I can come up with a good proposal.

My kids do have age appropriate chores already and it is helpful but I think I need to put up a chart so it's a visible reminder to them and hopefully I won't have to remind them... as much.

I do have morning extended care.  AM and PM would be cost prohibative and the Y isn't convenient. Oh, but I might be able to talk to a couple friends/neighbors and set up regularly scheduled playdate to give me some free time.

Love the idea of finding fellow single moms. Swapping pick up/drop off would be such a help. I'll have to think of how to appropriately inquire.  I feel like there are only a handful of working moms as it is in my town. 

Groceries/cooking/food clean up are my least favorite things in the world.  I did purchase a chest freezer on Black Friday to try my hand at once-a-month grocery shopping/cooking.  I started this month and while I'm doing great at minimizing grocery shopping trips (only two trips so far and I'm probably done for the month) I didn't do so great at preparing weekday meals.  So cereal or french toast for dinner!  I have learned a ton and think Feb will go a lot better. I definitely need to cook/prep ahead bc the bare minimum gets done during the week. 

Thanks again and if you have any more ideas please share!

I haven't been doing as much with the crock pot lately, but it is a great suggestion.

These are a must have in that department - Slow Cooker Liners

My mom (not a single mom, but a mother of 5) used to do these things called Dream Dinners.

I'm not sure if there is anything similar in your area - but for a base price, my mom would go (usually with us in tow) and create a few meals to stick in the freezer.

They had everything you needed - meat, veg, starch, seasoning, sauce, etc - and you'd throw it together according to the lists they gave you. You'd then seal all of the prepped meals and put on a sticker with cooking instructions.

Super easy, a little more expensive, but we kids really enjoyed going and prepping the food, and there was no clean-up involved. http://dreamdinners.com/main.php?static=how_it_works. Plus, it was tasty and a nice change from the usual home-prepped freezer meals.

This type of thing seems to be becoming more popular.  We have a similar thing in our neighbourhood which i think we will do before our first is born - it's call 'supper solved' - and another common one is Supperworks.  We did this for my mom when she was starting chemotherapy but we had them do the prep and deliver everything. Comes with instructions on heating at home.  By all accounts everything was really tasty.

This^

When i was separated, the slow cooker was a godsend

One trick is to prep the crock the night before and leave it in the fridge.

In the morning just plunk it in the heater and go.

I used a lamp timer to go on at 11am for some meals that needed less cook time, because by the time I got home it was pushing 7. The mass of the crockery kept the meat well chilled for a few hours till the heater kicked on.

Insta-supper! And always make enough for leftovers another night. 

 And wish you best! Sounds like you are going to be great.