We all had last week off. It was lovely. And one would think that I would have taken advantage of the free time to get caught up on all that is behind around my house. I probably should have. Instead I used the time to sleep in, watch old 80's cartoons with my kids and catch up on a lot of talking with my husband- the 2 of us could talk each other's ears off all day, everyday, but haven't had the time to do so with his busy school schedule. We spent great time with our families on Thanksgiving and ate way too much food. As I said, it was lovely.
But the holiday is over and it's time to get down to business. I'll be honest and say that I don't really want to. (Lazy, remember?) But I will. In the past I've made myself chore lists and schedules so that I know what I need to do when. And I can usually stick to them for a while and things go smoothly. But when anything throws that routine off it's VERY hard for me to get back to it. So I've decided that I should go about this is in smaller steps. Right now my goal is to just get my house to everyday clean. I know for most people this is the way homes always are. Not for us. I am NOT a good housekeeper. Usually our house is a chaotic mess with toys everywhere, piles of clean laundry needing to be folded and put away, mountains of dirty laundry needing to be washed, there are almost always dishes needing to be done and trash to be taken out. We have three weeks til Darby's out of school for the 2 week Christmas break. I won't have the 3 year old boy those 2 weeks. And I REALLY don't want to spend that 2 weeks feeling like I need to be working hard to catch up.
Here's what I think is gonna work:
1) I'll do one BIG catch-up project each of these next 3 weeks:
-1st week: laundry (yes, there is that much to do, it will take all week!)
-2nd week: clean out bedroom closets & dressers and the kids' toy corner to get rid of everything old, broken, ill-fitting and unused
-3rd week: clean out kitchen & bathroom cabinets and drawers and organize the pantry and refrigerator
2) Daily tasks. I will not go to bed at night until:
-all clean, dry laundry is put away
-all toys and shoes are put in their appropriate places
-all dishes are clean or in the dishwasher (even if that means handwashing some because the dishwasher is full)
3) Somewhere in here I'm going to get the Christmas tree put up and decorated.
I know, I know. These are things that normal, productive people do already. Well, that's my goal- to be a normal, productive person. :) I'm hoping this will develop good habits for me and the kids (I won't be picking those toys up everyday!) and get us caught up enough that our 2 weeks together while Darby is out of school can be spent doing fun things and just maintaining everyday clean. Then, when the holidays are over, the real work begins- getting this house ready to sell and continuing to reduce the amount of stuff we own!
I apologize if this is too much mundane information. I'm attempting to hold myself accountable by posting this for the whole world to see.
I've had several people ask how we are going to go about giving and receiving gifts while simplifying during this Christmas season. I hope to write about that later this week as well as share some resources that I've found to be encouraging and inspiring regarding simplicity.
But for now.... Mt. Laundry is calling my name!
7 comments:
I so wish we could do our laundry together today! I have to unpack our bags from Thanksgiving--sigh.
Love you,
Jess
Marta, don't think that "normal" people have clean houses all the time. AND you really must realize that when the kids are all in school your house will reflect that. Enjoy these years. I am not saying don't clean your house. But don't feel guilty about having different priorities. Life is short. Your children will not remember that the house was a mess but they will remember that Mom watched cartoons with us.
I am not trying to demotivate you. Simplifying is something that calls to me especially when I have just been to a third world country and come home and see all the excess in my own home.
Just don't feel guilty about how you spend time. Spending time with the kids is NOT lazy.
Love you and miss you...
Deciding to downsize, declutter, and move has been one of the best decisions we've ever made. I never knew how much easier it would be to keep the house cleaner once we got rid of so much stuff we don't need or don't use.
Just remember, relationships are what's most important, not how tidy your house is. Then again, if your laundry is so backed up that Kyle has to go to school naked that might have an effect on your relationship. But really, if you're so busy doing the dishes and laundry every evening that you've no time to sit down and have an adult conversation with your spouse before the day ends, all that cleaning probably isn't worth it.
You go girl! I'm right there with you on all of those tasks. I struggle with them too and put a lot of pressure on myself to be what I think I should be or what I think the worlds expects (which isn't always good or right). I've also had to learn to lower my expectations, b/c it's near impossible to keep a house clean all of the time with small children, especially when we have things going on around us. But I do think simplifying is wonderful and so cleansing!!!
You can do it! And if a clean orderly house is normal, I'm a total weirdo. :) Glad you enjoyed your Thanksgiving break!
I like your schedule. I have to make myself list too! It is the only way to get it all done :)
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