I can’t be the only one who struggles to balance the want tos with the have tos, right? I mean, who wouldn’t rather curl up with a book each afternoon enjoying the quiet once the kiddos are napping rather than pushing the vacuum and digging all the building blocks out from beneath the couch? My house looks like Hurricane Julia ravaged the area and the governor has yet to declare a state of emergency.
Really. It’s that bad. Maybe worse.
For the next 30 Days, I will work to break my bad (read non-existent) cleaning habits to straighten and polish my house. By establishing habits, hopefully I’ll save myself time in the long run and not be embarrassed by the mess when neighbors stop by unexpectedly.
Some back-story: I’m a stay at home mom of Julia, 2, and Max, almost 6 months. I am busy with kids and often get caught up in kid things—the park, children’s museum, play dates, stroller time. So by the time I have my two hands free, my attention isn’t focused on making the house clean. Then, on top of my sticky kids, I have Harper, the Labrador Retriever, and Josie, the tabby cat, and their fur seems to make matters, well, furrier.
I don’t have any hope of ever being museum clean. None. But to have floors I feel okay about putting my son on or counter tops not cluttered by daily minutia would be a welcome change. I’d like to establish a routine for keeping our home clean, so regular maintenance won’t feel quite so overwhelming.
Here are some photographs to honestly display what my house looks like this morning. Yeiks.
This is my living room. Yes. There’s a tent in there, and my daughter’s tea set. While tea parties with a pretend Goofy are very cute, the mess isn’t so much.
This is my den. From above, you can see the vast expanse of toys and junk. That’s the dirty clothes basket from Max’s room.
Here is a close up of what is happening in the den. The dog hair is courtesy of Harper, the rest is just a mess.
And before you think it’s all the kid’s and pets who make the mess, this is the kitchen. It’s a lovely kitchen with bright blue walls and white cabinets. I really love the room overall, but lately it’s been taken over by the clutter and mess as well.
Wish me luck.
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