Most of the time my home is in company-ready condition. It is far from a showcase or spotless, but I can usually open the door to unexpected company without too much embarrassment and at worse, a dish or two in the sink, a couple of toys on the playroom floor, or some mail sitting neatly in the foyer.
Today I can’t say that at all. There are toys strewn all over the living room, along with a shopping bag full of presents for a birthday party we are attending, two garbage bags full of boys clothes that were generously given to use by a friend and two boxes of baby wipes. The dining room table is still sticky from lunch, and there are more than a few dishes on the kitchen counter. I haven’t gotten to cleaning the bathrooms yet today, and although the floor has been swept, the crumbs are still in the corner waiting to be picked up.
Upstairs isn’t much better. There are two other bathrooms that need cleaning, two kids rooms that have clutter, three baskets of laundry to be folded and a pile of ironing on the open ironing board. I am still wearing sweat pants, and the younger kids are still in PJs. So please, don’t drop by today unless you are bringing a blindfold and a cleaning crew.
I won’t get into too much detail about how the house got this way (lack of sleep, too many work deadlines, a family website that needed some serious updating, and a desire to spend more quality time with the kids–oh, and a trip to pick up my ill son from the nurse’s office. Apparently there is a stomach virus going around with eleven kids sent home from his school today alone). But needless to say, I am feeling stressed and overwhelmed by the housework that needs to be done.
It is amazing how quickly things can get out of hand when you aren’t on top of things.
Check back again tomorrow when I share some tips on how I approach the housework when things get overwhelming.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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