A bright person can always think of something better to do than housework. —Ruby Lou Barnhill
It’s true! It’s absolutely true or well I feel it’s absolutely true. Housework is one of those things that just doesn’t seem important in the big picture. Reading Books, crafting, playing with my kiddos, researching new things, new ideas, these are important. Housework just doesn’t seem to have a place in a life lived well. And yet…. I do love the idea of seeing my home in a state of complete cleanliness and order.
My Mother was not a housekeeper. The idea of having to repeat the same task from day to day was more than she could handle with out becoming unhinged. I inherited said trait and it is by far the biggest hurdle to homemaking I have encountered. I’ve been wracking my brain as to how to beat the impenetrable foe of housecleaning. Even as I typed the subject line I didn’t have an answer. I was hoping as my fingers moved over the keyboard my brain would explode with methodology not yet tried. Even now, my brain is empty. Dry as dust. So I will make a confession. My neighbor helps me clean. I do pay her, but she isn’t my maid. I need help and so she gives it. She brings over a selection of kiddos to play with mine when she comes. I say selection, she has 7 to choose from. She sings songs to my little ones and even invites them to participate. She comes over most weeks, sometimes I delay because I just can’t get the house picked up. It is a bit pathetic that even with such an excellent support system from right next door, my house is still gross. Let me make some excuses. I have 2 toddlers. They can spray showers of banana bits in a 10 foot radius, including the ceiling. My neighbor once said “cleaning a house with toddlers is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos”. I have never heard a more apt description of how I feel each time I work up the courage to clean. I have 5 cats, and a massive Rottweiler mix that is one really skilled shedder. I have too much stuff and a lot of it doesn’t have a home. My home hasn’t been deep cleaned since we moved in 4 years ago. Walls, blinds, windows all those things need scrubbing. It would take days to really get my house clean and with my kids, I would need to start all over as soon as I was done. Good grief, I am getting exhausted and seriously deterred.
I think I’ll save this post for now and come back to it. I’m worn out just thinking about it.