“Where does this go?”
“I dunno. Stash it under the bed.”
“Quick, throw a quilt over that pile of junk. I’ve gotta go scrub the toilet!”
This is what goes on in our house just before you arrive.Two adults running back and forth in a hurried panic while Boy Wonder sits in his playpen giggling at them. Of course, the joke is on him. As soon as he’s old enough to walk, I’m putting a broom in his hand too. Chaos, bickering, and a lack of places to hide our clutter are the key elements here. Yet somehow, some way, sometimes unbelievably, we manage to make our place look presentable by the time you arrive.
I admit it, I know every good super hero should keep his IncrediCave clean but sometimes that’s just not possible. If it comes down to having that cup of coffee or doing the dishes before my sidekick wakes up from his nap, I’m picking the coffee 100% of the time. And I’ll thank myself for making such a wise decision halfway through our playtime. The result is that those dishes aren’t done and Bex will probably definitely notice when she gets home. And that’s why the tornado of maid service barrels through before you arrive.
It’s not as bad as I make it sound. We aren’t hoarders. You can see our living room floor, most days. It’s just that living in a one bedroom apartment seems to exaggerate the smallest of problems. If Boy Wonder has his books and toys spread out on the living room floor, the damage looks like bad enough to bring in FEMA. Don’t even get me started on what this place looks like on laundry day.
We have these giant picture windows in our living room. I love to open them up and feel a breeze float through on a nice day. Some days, it’s better than air conditioning. The problem with this is that the entire neighborhood can see right into my messy, disorganized, living room and kitchen. My goal is that someday, I’ll be able to pull back the blinds and open the windows without any fear of embarrassment.
So I’ve gone on a one man quest to organize our family. But where do I start? Do I begin with doing the dishes or do I scrub the bathtub first? There’s a voice in my head asking, what’s the point? As soon as I clean it, it will just get dirty again. So why not spend my time doing something I enjoy? I could even write a blog post about how messy my apartment is. So I give into that voice, but afterwards I look around and realize there’s still work to be done. Also, it’s getting warm outside and I’d like to open my windows.
There are some very helpful organizational websites out there such as the infinite black hole of Pinterest. You can see a few of my favorite organizational Pins here. I’m a big fan of hanging pots, pans, measuring cups, etc. on pegboard in the kitchen. Also, I see the usefulness of shelves over doorways. I haven’t done it yet but it would be a great place to show off our book and movie collections. For those IncrediParents who thrive off of a little more structure, I highly recommend FlyLady.net. My mom introduced me to the site years ago. The author takes a step by step approach to organizing your home. Her motto reminds us that “Your house didn’t get messy overnight. It won’t get clean overnight either.” I like this philosophy because it takes the stress off. But her way of cleaning also means that I can’t procrastinate until the last minute either.
What about you IncrediMoms and Dads? Is your house spotless when no one is looking or do you do the last minute cleaning blitz like us? Do you have any secret tips or tricks that keeps your inner sanctum clean and organized? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.
So when you come to visit; forgive us if we seem out of breath, flushed, or in need of a strong cocktail because the odds are, we probably do.
When people come over for the first time I say ” our house is a mess because WE live here” . If you don’t like it don’t come back.