Productive

I like to keep a clean house. Unfortunately with three kids now, things fall by the wayside. And lately I have been so busy Christmas shopping and running errands that I haven't had many spare moments to scrub the floors and toilets. My house is almost always clean in appearance: no spills on the counter or crumbs on the floor, no dishes piled in the sink, etc. But it's those other tasks, the ones you only do weekly or biweekly that I despise. Vacuuming, dusting, mopping and LAUNDRY come to mind. I hate laundry. We have a bad habit in this house where we will do laundry and leave it in the washer or dryer. And then when it does get folded it usually stays in the laundry basket for awhile. Yes, it is terrible! But the laundry has started piling up on me since having baby #3 and I have to say that it is my most hated chore. I have no problem cleaning toilets, but don't make me do the laundry, please!

So yesterday everything had just been piled up for awhile. I had gone to Target in the morning and got back and surveyed my house to find a huge mess. The living room and toy room were a disaster to say the least, the kitchen island was cluttered with all kinds of things that don't belong on a kitchen island and there were DISHES in my SINK. When did that happen?? I suddenly couldn't wait for the little ones to go down for their naps so I could tackle my house. When it is messy like that, it really makes me feel overwhelmed. So I got to it; I found homes for all the things that were piled up in the wrong places, I swept the crumbs off the floor, scrubbed down the counters and picked up all the toys. I vacuumed the floors (actually, I had to vacuum them one and a half times as I didn't notice the handheld extension was plugged in for half the time and I wasn't really sucking anything up...yes this is the second time I've done that, yes I'm an idiot!!), I folded laundry and I organzied my pantry. I wanted to mop, but Jameson woke up so it was all I could accomplish that day. When it was done, I felt balanced and peaceful again. Funny how something that simple can have such a profound effect on your peace of mind.

And you know what? I am staring right now at a cluttered kitchen island again...will it ever end??