Messy House

All three of my kids are in school now. In school all day, everyday. I have been home for 10 years now with my kids, and this is a very new experience for me. I have never had five uninterrupted days to myself, week in and week, out since Ian was born.

I have fielded many questions as to what I'm going to do now, etc., etc.. No, I'm not officially working (although I will occasionally be substitute teaching at my kids' school as the need arises), and yes, I do enjoy my time at home.

One of my goals this year is to get my house clean and keep it clean. This might sound silly or crazy or stupid to many of you, but I am not a great housekeeper. And I would like to have a clean house not because I'm hosting playgroup or because my parents are coming into town for a visit, but because I keep it clean by cleaning it regularly. I want the laundry done when it needs to be, the bathrooms cleaned every week, the kitchen floor mopped on a regular basis, and the piles of paper that seem to engulf us each school year in their place and not on my kitchen counter!

And I have to say I'm doing a pretty good job so far. Not only have I kept up with the laundry and regular cleaning, I've done some jobs that haven't been done in a long time. I cleaned up the cabinet under the kitchen sink. I ripped out the old lining and put in new lining. I scrubbed the outside of all the kitchen cabinets. I organized (somewhat) the office upstairs and vacuumed the basement and basement stairs.

But I am noticing that the more I clean, the more messy things I see around the house. I vacuum the basement stairs and I see that the wood edging is dusty. I clean the kitchen cabinets and I see that the baseboards are filthy. I mop the entryway only to see that the wood railings to our stairs are in need of a good wipedown.

It is seemingly endless! I guess having a clean home is going to be a little more work that I thought. I hope I'm up to the task!