A Facebook friend of mine once posted, "Cleaning your house with a toddler around is like shoveling snow in a blizzard." I couldn't agree more. And I've used this quote many times since I first saw that.
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| Ahh the books are off the shelf. Again. |
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Note the laundry all over the couch.
And this pic is after cleaning up a significant
amount. |
From personal experience, this is basically how it works. I try hard to keep up with the kids and throughout most of the day, I don't worry too much about all the toys that they have strewn about. Though some days, it really is just horrible. I don't mind a toy here or there, but when they empty the entire bookshelf or dump a whole bin of toys, it does irk me. My toddler is the biggest culprit, but the 8 mo. old is learning the ropes. Most the time, I feel really guilty at my housekeeping skills when my hubby comes home, but not enough to even attempt to make sure the house is spic 'n' span before he comes home from work. I'm not insane. I've tried, really, I have. I attempt to clean up the toys that my kids aren't playing with, but as soon as the toddler finishes what he is doing, something else gets pulled out, then a third thing catches his eye and he drops the thing he just pulled out. It's a never ending cycle and most days I give up. I decided recently that I would clean up a few things every night and eventually it won't be so bad and I might have the house neat enough that I can vacuum it. I did this for several days, but for some reason, I think that a neat house must cause some sort of caveman response in my toddler because it seems the closer it is to being clean, the further he must bring it. So, after a few days of feeling like I made some headway in the evenings, followed by a tornado going through my house as soon as the toddler woke up (and somehow, he can make sure to dump a bin of toys WHILE BUCKLED INTO HIS BOOSTER SEAT AT THE TABLE!), I gave up. I have finally come to the realization that I have to clean everything all at once while the kids are sleeping in order to make enough of a difference that I can drive the vacuum through the house. It'll only take me 5-6 hours, that's ok, I didn't really need that sleep anyway. Now, I need to figure out how to keep the house neat enough to actually run the vacuum since that can't be done while the kids sleep. Hmmm...
Of course, to some, this confession of mine may seem like a bunch of make-believe. When someone comes over, they surely don't see this. That's because for some reason, impending company imbues me with a strange super power that I don't normally have and somehow, I manage to get the house at least moderately put together prior to their arrival. I have no clue how this phenomenon works. I have no idea why the magic doesn't happen on a daily basis, but for some reason, the super power is limited and not easily accessible on demand. Even with the help of the threat of company, most of the time I still feel like I've done an inadequate job. It could be the piles of things that are hiding behind doors that don't get opened when company is around. This is probably a good thing as my guests would likely be trampled by the avalanche of stuff if one did happen to get opened and they were standing too close to the door. Maybe I ought to have search and rescue on speed dial for when we have company... hmm...
I, too, disbelieve certain people when they claim the same thing happens at their house. Most of the time I think they are merely exaggerating. A sort of "mompetition" to see who is worse at housekeeping. This could be because I've been to some houses that are cleaner for a casual gathering than my house is when the president visits. Ok, so, the president has never, and probably will never visit my house, but go with me here. My point is that I don't believe some people when they claim their house was a disaster "just before I came over." Sometimes I feel like dropping in on people unexpectedly just to see how bad it really can get. Of course, that would probably jinx me and I'd have visitors coming over all the time. Hmm... maybe that will bring on the super powers and force me to have a clean house, just in case. I think I may have something there...
