As two full-time working parents with two young kids, the logistics of daily life can feel like an Olympic event. For years, I carried most of the behind-the-scenes load—meal planning, appointments, school prep—until I hit a wall. I was burned out from doing the same invisible tasks every day, and honestly, I think my husband was too. That’s when we decided to completely rethink how we share responsibilities in our home.
How We Handle Meals
Right now, we’re using Lindsay Pleskot’s Make Food Feel Good Again—a four-week meal plan that’s totally done for you. Every Sunday, I copy Lindsay’s grocery list into ChatGPT along with our own evergreen grocery list and ask it to combine them. Then I check what we already have, remove duplicates, and print the final list.
On Monday mornings, our nanny arrives and takes it from there—she preps or cooks meals depending on what the day looks like. Now that our youngest is in part-time preschool, she has a little more time to make delicious, healthy recipes that the kids actually eat (a small miracle).
If you don’t have a house manager or nanny helping with food, Sunday meal prep is key. Prepping ahead means every dinner during the week takes 30 minutes or less, which I think is the sweet spot for healthy meals that don’t taste like “health food.”
The “Driver” System
The biggest breakthrough for us came when I suggested a new system: alternating days where each of us is the “driver” for one child’s morning and evening routine. It works beautifully because we only have two kids—Child A and Child B.
If you have Child A that day, you:
- Get them ready for school, including packing a healthy snack (each child has their own checklist, so as they grow, they can self-direct more).
- Do homework with Child A after school.
- Handle dinner—get it on the table, clean up, and fully own the kitchen that night.
- Do the full bedtime routine with Child A.
If you have Child B that day, you:
- Do their morning routine and snack.
- Handle homework and evening play or activities.
- Lead cleanup at 6 or 6:30pm so both kids can start winding down.
- Do the full bedtime routine with Child B.
This approach eliminated the constant “Who’s doing what tonight?” conversations and brought a rhythm to our evenings that feels fair and sustainable.
Our Task Division
Beyond daily routines, we divided recurring and mental load tasks based on natural strengths and interests.
His Tasks:
- Insurance and coverage updates
- Kids’ dentist and doctor appointments
- House repairs and maintenance
- Mortgage payments
- School pick-up
- Car gas, cash withdrawals, and maintenance
- Fixing kids’ things (which seems to happen weekly!)
- Trash duty
- Planning trips to visit his family
My Tasks:
- Meal planning
- Overseeing kids’ education
- Bathtime
- School drop-off
- Decluttering and buying clothes
- Stocking non-grocery items
- Checking and processing mail
- Liaising with bookkeeper and CPA
- Planning trips to visit my family
- Holiday magic and meals
- Birthday party planning
- Pet care and vet visits
Shared Tasks:
- Nail trimming (Tuesdays in Maple—because otherwise, the kids have talons 😆)
- Nanny management
- Laundry
- Dog walking
We also acknowledge that in this season, my husband naturally does more of the emotional labor with our kids (ages 3 and 6). He’s incredibly patient—something I admire and have to consciously work toward.
The Tools That Make It Work
The reason this system actually works is because it’s supported by both structure and tech. My Shared Task List + Family Responsibility Chart (available through Our Home Flows) keeps our mental load visible, fair, and easy to rebalance.
And Maple? It’s what brings our system to life day-to-day. We use it to track routines, assign tasks, and capture one-off to-dos in seconds. It’s become our living, breathing family command center—so that no one person carries it all.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re drowning in invisible work, know this: rebalancing your home isn’t just possible—it’s transformative. It brings calm, fairness, and a real sense of partnership back into your family life.
— Pace Webb, Founder of Our Home Flows
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