Clean House - Dirty House

Awe...the subject of a clean home vs. a dirty one...or should I say the subject of Mommy when the house is clean vs. when the house is a mess!

I hate a dirty, unorganized home! I can't think straight when the house looks like a tornado came through. I literally get anxious, moody and upset when the house is a mess. On the flipside, when the house is clean....ahhhh, there is no feeling like a clean home. I can relax and enjoy the day. I can say though that I have gotten better over the years.

Eleven years ago, when we were first married (and I was living on my own for the first time), I was the guy from the movie "Sleeping with the Enemy". Remember that movie from the early 1990's with Julia Roberts. Her husband was a freak about having the home organised, down to the soup cans facing the same way...YEP, I had my soup cans facing the same way and everything else put in its place.

When I was in nursing school about 7 years ago, it was always the same story minus the need for the soup cans in one direction! I'd sit down to study and then look across the room. If there was a mess, I would have to stop studying, pick up the mess before studying....I couldn't think with stuff everywhere or out of place. (Honestly, I probably thought it was a good way to get out of studying for a little while too...LOL).

When it comes to cooking, my kitchen has to be clean before I start. So often, I am cleaning before and after I cook or bake...sometimes I realise that it would just be easier if I simply cleaned after, and I've tried it...but I can't think straight with the mess in front of me!

Now days, I have 2 young kids around helping Yanal and I make a messes. My kids are 2.5 years and 11 months. I don't have much time for cleaning and the kids do a great job of keeping things messy. When I do have time to clean, they are literally right behind me making a mess of what I just put away. So I have learned to look the other way and over the messes....for a little while anyways....then I start freaking out. I haven't decided if I am freaking out these days because I can't think straight or if it's because I am so frustrated that I have to clean on top of everything else that needs to be done throughout the day. I use to love to clean...I would clean when I was upset because it would give me something productive to do as I burned off my frustrations...but nowdays, cleaning just makes me angry and frustrated. I am so lucky to have a helpful husband who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, because he likes a clean house too. My Mom always tells me to let the house slide more now that I have kids. Because I am busy raising and playing with them. And I do let a lot of things slide that I never would have before...but it's not because I want to, it's because I don't have the time.

That's the other thing I can't ever understand. How can I not have the time when I am a stay at home Mom?! I am home all day, my house should be spotless...but it's not....ha, not even close! I have looked into hiring someone to come clean once a week or so, but that feels weird. Like, can't I keep up with it myself?...again, I am home all day!

I tell you props to all the stay at home Mommies out there that can keep up with the mess. And please, please......share your daily schedule with me. Do you clean at the end of the day or as you go or a bit of both? How do you do it....how do you raise kids, play with kids, feed them nutrious meals, get excercise in, take time for yourself and keep your home clean. Aren't these the things they tell us we should be doing?! Please let me know if you know and secrets on how to do all of this!! I wish there were more time in the day.

Thanks for listening!