Balance or burn-out

How do you parents do it? Honestly, I don’t even have kids and yet I can’t seem to get any time to myself! I generally work 9-5 through the week (we do have some late nights here and there), which is pretty manageable. But I also have a one hour and 15 minute commute each way to work. (The math? That’s 2.5 hours a day and 12.5 hours a week!)
 
What that means is when I get home it’s usually a rush to make dinner (I try to do as much prep as I can on the weekends so that I usually only have to make sides and cook the meat). Once dinner is done, it’s a rush to clean up the kitchen, get lunches ready and try to find some time to read or watch a little bit of T.V. before I hit the sack. (And no, that’s not actually a lot of time because I sleep early since I wake up pretty early.)
 
That leaves the weekends to relax, right? No. The weekends are spent buying, washing and marinating meat so that we have food to eat during the week. Getting the grocery shopping done. Tidying the clutter that accumulates over the week. Cleaning the bathrooms (we have three.) Vacuuming. Dusting. Doing laundry. Getting errands done. And trying to see family and friends. There’s not really much time for relaxation in all of that.
 
What does that mean? My baseboards are gross; my fridge is overflowing; my floors need mopping; my windows could do with some TLC; my oven needs scrubbing; and now that the weather is warmer, my garden is beckoning. I’d also love to do some baking – from scratch.
 
I’m lucky to have an awesome husband that helps me out and a wonderful mom who will often cook for us; but by Sunday nights I’m wiped out and feeling completely stressed about all of the things on my list that still haven’t been crossed off. My goal is to always get things done in bits and pieces over the weekend so that by Sunday afternoon, I’m free to relax and veg. But that never happens.
 
So parents, PLEASE, give me tips! How do you do it? And will I be able to cope once we do decide to have kids?