Mess Mess

-
Some folks are messy.

Some are neat nicks.

Most fall in between.

I've never fallen in between a line in my adult life.  I am all or nothing, one way or another, here or there.  I remember being normal...some time...maybe in my pre-teen years, but for the bulk of time that I can remember, I have been an extremist.

I like things clean.  I'm not a "clean with Clorox till my skin rots off" kind of girl, but I do get frustrated when my house is in a constant state of disarray.

Having 4 children and a daycare has helped me to change my mind a bit.  I am now resigned that spending 15 minutes in each room every day is enough to tidy up and take care of hygienic cleanliness.  I have learned a hard fast rule of fact that "Either the kitchen or the living room shall be clean on any given day, but neither shall be clean on the same day."  Sometimes you have to let go.

Our oldest daughter, I fear, is sort of a messy girl.  She is a very talented artist and is equally comfortable on a musical instrument as she is with paint, pencil or tape...lots and lots of scotch tape.  I know that artistic folks can be somewhat oblivious of the world around them - so I give her a break on things like cleaning her room and changing her clothes / brushing her hair.  What?  We're a home school family!  Don't be judge-ie!!

My Free Spirit and her little sister The Drill Sergeant
So today when I went to clean her room, I was not surprised that:

a) it took me 3 hours
b) I hauled 3 full bags and a BOX of trash out
c) she farted around and organized her dresser ONLY in that amount of time
d) I will likely be doing this again soon

The goal now is to help her maintain it.  I follow FlyLady to help me stay on a cleaning schedule.  I think it would be good for her to do the same with her room.  All it takes is 15 minutes per day to pick up the things we left lying around.  I hope to not exasperate her with the cleaning thing.  It's necessary for organization and peace of mind, but not life or death.

I just want my little Rock Star to grow and thrive in a somewhat clean environment.  I don't want to stifle her creativity, but I do want her to learn to join the world around her at some point!

Here's to another Saturday spent cleaning a big messy room.  Go Mom!!

Comments

  1. JenSeptember 26, 2011 at 8:57 PM

    I'm a clean girl too and have some children who are not. I've done the whole cleaning out their room with bags of garbage too. Not fun, but I guess I'm envious of their creativity though so it evens out.
    And I love the Fly Lady.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lincoln Marathon Race Report

-
Image
Another beautiful Spring day in Nebraska, another year running the Lincoln National Guard Marathon and Half Marathon! David and I rode our bikes to the start of the race, as we do each year.  Since they recently moved the start line, to accommodate more runners, we need to change where we rack our bikes! The weather on the Saturday before the race was terrible!  Our 11yo daughter, Alahnnah, ran the KFRX Mayor's Run and it was miserable.  It was about 35 degrees with 20mph winds and rain.  We had discouraged the girls from participating - but when a kid tells you "Mom, we signed up for it, we need to do it" - you have to do it. Miss A giving me "the look" Thankfully, Sunday was a little better.  The temps were hovering around 40 and there was no rain.  The wind had died down a bit, but it was still chilly!  I dressed in a t-shirt and a jacket when last year I ran in a tank top! When we got to the race, we lined up waaaay in the back near the 5:15 pace
Read more

Woohoo for Week Two + *sad face*

-
Image
Week Two of training for the Legend 70 went great! Since Week One  was a little weak-sauce, I aimed for perfection for week two.  I stuck to my eating, relaxing and training plans to a "T". Monday - Took a 2.5 mile walk on the treadmill while watching The Walking Dead, stretch and foam rolled.  I did 30 minutes of yoga after work and let myself have some time to relax and decompress. Tuesday - Jumped out of bed for a 45 minute run and a 20 minute strength routine.  Still was struggling a little bit with tight chestedness from last week, but we got through it. Tuesday PM - went to the pool for a 45 minute swim.  My friend who just had bariatric surgery went with me and did her pool laps, too.  I am really proud of her! Wednesday - woke up a bit tired from heavy training the day before, but put my best effort into a 45 minute bike and 15 minute run.  If you do them one right after the other it's called a "brick." Thursday - A tired 45 minute bike r
Read more

Maximum Pressure - Achieved

-
Image
I'm so upset that my arms are numb.  I had a panic attack in the dairy aisle of the grocery store.  Really not sure I've been this stressed out for a while. After a non-stop cry fest from a fussy daycare baby, my tweeny-bopper rushed in the house and up to her room before I could even say hello.  The baby had finally succumbed to napping just before she arrived. She emerged from the staircase sobbing and hysterical.  She had left her gerbil in his ball all day.  He chewed his way out and was loose in her room.  Somewhere. My husband went up with a net as I tried to fix dinner.  David emerged with blood dripping all over the place to report that "Peanut" was back in his cage.  Just then, one of my clients arrived to pick up his child.  Nothing says "Love and Safety" like blood all over the place.  Pretty sure hubs should have had a stitch where that rat bit him. During all of this, our teen was texting form school to say that his trainer wouldn't
Read more