A few years back, when both Jason and I were working full time, we used to think we were so busy all the time that it was difficult to keep up with the household chores. Back then, we would take 3-4 hours on Saturday or Sunday each week and deep clean the whole house. Floors were always mopped, every room picked up and dusted and vacuumed. Bathrooms bleached and scrubbed. No dog hair anywhere. No fingerprints. After it was all done, we'd light a few candles and I'd just look around and feel accomplished... everything smelled clean and looked organized. And, it would stay that way, at least for a few days.
I feel like I've been trying to get my house to look like that, even if it's just for ONE day, for over 2.5 years now. If we thought keeping our house clean was challenging before, oh my were we wrong! These days, I feel like I'm chasing a tornado.. or sister tornadoes (brothers actually). These kids have so much crap. Everywhere. And, because we have a decent sized house, I swear their stuff just breeds and spreads and takes over each and every room. We've tried so hard to isolate the disaster zones to certain parts of the house, but that proved useless. Creating a "safe room" as a playroom is great, but the idea that it would serve as the primary location for all their junk is absurd. Ludicrous even. Laughable. It just spreads like the plague and takes over each and every area of the house.
My goal these days is to try and tackle one room at a time. If I can just get one room fully clean.. dusted, vacuumed, windexed.. no dog hair, no fingerprints.. no toys!! I feel like that's a success. The problem is, even on the days when I can actually accomplish this, the second my little terrors get back in, it's all wasted energy. I found myself writing my accomplishments on our whiteboard almost as PROOF that I actually did do them, because at the end of the day.. every day.. it looks as if I didn't straighten up or clean a single thing.
And, the laundry! Dear god the laundry! There is always laundry that needs to be washed, folded or 4 baskets somewhere that need to be put away. Tack on the fact that someone is always outgrowing a size and needs to have their clothes sorted through to rid anything that doesn't fit anymore and it's just the most tedious task in the world. I don't mind washing the clothes.. and, honestly, I find folding kind of cathartic.. but, putting laundry away is one of my least favorite tasks. And it doesn't matter if I spend ALL DAY LONG doing laundry, because the second I think YES! there's no more dirty laundry! I realize that it's almost bed time, and with bed time comes 1/2 a load of wash that needs to be done.
This too shall all pass. I do look forward to the day when my kids are all old enough and I can give them chores of their own.. when they understand the concept of not making a mess after I've JUST cleaned.. and when I can buy new furniture that won't be destroyed. But, then I look back at their baby pictures and realize just how quickly time actually is going, and I take back wishing away these young years in exchange for a clean house.. I'll choose playtime with my kids any day .. even if that means baby laughs and toddler giggles in a house full of dust balls and fingerprints. These years truly are the most incredible moments I've had in my life.
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