Somewhere in the middle of scrubbing the tub, I usually think “Wasn’t I just cleaning in here?” One of my least favorite parts of being a housewife is the upkeep of our home. This is rather problematic since the home features prominently in the titles of stay at home mom and homemaker. I’ve never been a terribly tidy person. Both my mom and grandmother keep very nice, neat homes. I didn’t get that gene. It doesn’t bother me to step over something on the floor for several days in a row. I work fine when I have numerous piles on my desk. But now that I’m at home full time, there really isn’t an excuse for letting the house get messy. But it does. Toys migrate their way to all sorts of nutty places. Cheerios and pasta bits lodge themselves in the rug. Boots and shoes accumulate at the door. Laundry wrinkles in the dryer for a couple of days.
The daily maintenance is a struggle for me. There are few moments of feeling “success” in the housekeeping department. The dishes are always getting dirty. Clothes are always finding their way to the hamper. Early on I tried to tackle one task a day like dusting on Monday and mopping on Tuesday, but then the house never felt completely clean. Now, I try to do all the big chores at the end of the week, so at least the house feels pleasant for the weekend. I like it when the house is tidy. So you’d think that once it was clean, I could somehow do a little each day to prevent the clutter from returning. And I do toss in the laundry and keep the kitchen straightened (which means that I feel like I’m always either cooking or cleaning in there), but the rest of the house quickly slides downhill until Friday.
My goal for March/April is to spring clean my house in hopes that once things feel organized and sparkly, I will be more motivated to keep up with it. So far I have cleaned one closet and ¾ of my kitchen. I guess I need to step up the pace to get it all done before the happy days of spring begin to call me outside.
That is a great goal to have! I am with you. I have a very strong urge to declutter my entire home. It may take the whole spring, but I am going to try!
ReplyDeleteI could have written this post. And I am shocked by my ability to just step over stuff. One of the gifts I am desperate to give my children is the innate ability to stay organized (can you give an innate ability?) When I was working I was able to keep track of tons of details while surrounded by a mess. Now I am surrounded by a mess and happy that I know where both the kids are (cats and dog - I think I saw them in the last 24 hours.) If you discover a secret, please share.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good goal to have. In any case, yeah, cleaning can get pretty troublesome at times, so it's best to have some ideas on how to clean stuff up efficiently. Don't worry, once you get the hang of it, it'll become easier and easier! Good luck!
ReplyDelete-Eddy Wisseman