This weekend is "clean your butt off" weekend at our house. Gabriel's 1st birthday party is just a week away and with 20+ people coming, I want to make sure my house looks great. Why is it suddenly so hard to keep my house looking orderly with a kid under one? It's not like he's writing on the walls yet or tipping over potted plants. So if it's not him, then it must be me. Maybe I've gotten a little lackadaisical when it comes to cleaning.
My whole life I've been a cleaner. Every time I would make a trip home to my parent's house, I would clean. They love clutter, which is exactly the opposite of me. I can't stand it. It makes me nauseous. After we were married, and we'd travel back to Mom and Dad's, my husband would find me scouring their sink and organizing spice racks at 2am. Alright, I'm not just a cleaner...I'm a freak.
I've always tried to keep my house as clutter free as possible. But since giving birth, my personal rules have fallen by the wayside. As I type this posting, I can glance into my living room and it looks like Fischer Price, Little Tykes and other random toys made in China threw up all over the floor. The bar in our kitchen seems to grow paper and other clutter weeds every day. It's not like I don't try to keep my house orderly. At least once a week, I try to purge the bar of all the things Michael and I have a hard time putting away. Receipts, magazines, mail, random articles of baby clothing, cups, etc. We do a load of dishes each night. And each night we pick up all of Gabriel's toys, but usually they just get shoved in front of our fireplace, making it yet another Clutter Zone. I just can't seem to get a handle on it. Is there hope? Is there a clean life after baby?
My answer is: I don't know. Right now, the outcome looks bleak. Soon Gabriel will be displacing more things and my carpet will inevidibly endure more stains. And what happens when we have TWO kids? I'm going to have to go back to work just to hire a maid. Oh well. For now, I'll just focus on getting the house looking good for next weekend. It's only got to stay clean for a week. That's manageable...right?
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2 months ago
You forgot to mention that you're also a grad student on top of being a baby mama. Sounds like you're doing a phenomenal job! I'm right with you on the cluttered bar thing. It drives Bill absolutely crazy, but I've trained myself to ignore it.
ReplyDeleteWe're in a cleaning frenzy, too, because Bill's parents are coming in from Vancouver next Friday. I'm not ready! I'm not ready!
It DOES get easier. Babies just seem to have a lot of toy type things that are BIG... the exersaucer, the bouncy seat, some sort of riding/pushing toy, a swirly musical thingy. This stuff takes up a lot of space and is VISUALLY cluttered all by itself. Just look at all those colors and buttons and things. It is a lot to behold. Hang in there. Those toys will fall by the wayside and make their way to storage to await the arrival of some future Freeland. And instead, little G will have other toys. Toys that are more thought inspiring and less space consuming. AND... You can teach him to clean up after himself! Won't that be great!?
ReplyDeleteWell, the house looked GREAT!!!! So good job!
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