Thursday, April 7, 2011
Clean House?
I once heard a saying, it went something like "Cleaning the house when children are growing is like shoveling snow while it's still snowing." This is how I feel all day, everyday. I am always shoveling and it is always snowing. Before having children I would say I had a clean house the majority of the time. When we were first married and living in an apartment I would spend the first half of every Saturday cleaning, and with that done the place stayed pretty nice the entire week. Even when Savanna was a baby, things were pretty neat at home. I and liked it that way, I still very much like to have a nice, clean home, it make me feel calm and happy. I am home most of the day and it's easier to live in cleanliness instead of messiness. However, as more children came along and those children got older and began to collect a lot of stuff, keeping my house clean has been a major challenge. Preparing and eating 3 meals day here makes a mess. I clean the kitchen at least twice a day. The laundry piles up and as soon as a basket of clean, folded laundry is put away, it is filled up with dirty stuff right away. And then there are the toys, toys and books and crayons and paper everywhere! I try, I really do, but at the end of the day, it looks as if nothing has been done. This has become one of my biggest short comings as of late. I don't know how to keep it all clean. My children have chores to do. They are responsible for cleaning their own rooms and the playroom, and they usually do a good job. Of course, once this is done, they get something out to play with and it is all undone. I want my children to be responsible, to have respect for their home, but I also want them to be kids. How do you find a balance? My goal is to let my kids be kids and play and laugh and grow and teach them to help out and want to have things neat and tidy. I also want to spend time playing with them and not spend all my time cleaning up after them. If anyone out there actually reads this blog, please let me know your secret of finding this balance. This is my mommy thought for the day!
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I feel the same way! Sometimes Mike will come home from work and be like "really" the house is a mess and I'm thinking are you kidding I've done the dishes swept the floor, vaccumed the living room etc...it's so hard! Then days I work or we have play dates even less gets done. So I don't really have any advice ha...when you figure it out let me know. But I will say there only kids once and we gotta enjoy them while it lasts even if our house has to suffer once in awhile!
ReplyDeleteI'm not at that point in my life yet, so I really can't help. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteYou could hire your sister-in law to come clean your house for free! :) From what I can remember, my parents seemed to do the same thing you are. They got us involved in chores pretty early. I think I was sweeping and dusting and washing dishes as soon as I was in elementary school. My mom may have to correct me if I am wrong, but I remember it that way! You are doing a great job Chevon and you are a great example of a fantastic mother! Love you!
ReplyDeleteYou'll get control of it all, when the kids are older and moving out!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I can't believe that Matthew and Jeffrey are gone, Andrew is graduating! But I still have my mess makers, TJ and Robyn. Mostly Robyn. She drags blankets and toys all over the house, takes pillows and cushions of the couch to make forts and then gets in the snack cupboard and has a picnic, crumbs everywhere!
I just decided long ago that there are days, like when I know people are coming, that everything has to be clean. Other wise its a priority list, 1- bathrooms 2-kitchen 3-laundry and so on. There are just days when the school papers and backpacks are going to take over the kitchen, the toys take over the family room and at the end of the day we try and put it all where it goes. Thats the big job, putting it all away. I remember one mom rotated the kids toys so they never had more than one bin to play with at a time and she kept all the other bins in the basement out of sight. I never tried that, but it sure sounded like a great idea.
So don't stress out too much, your doing all the right things! Relax, decide what time of day you want it all put away, what days are most important to have it all clean and try not to let it bug you in the meantime. You have happy healthy children and thats what matters most!