summer 2011

summer 2011

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012

Paul and I, all 16 kids and Ashley, Benjamin's wife...Christmas 2012
family

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

thank you cheryl!!

Yes, disorderly order about sums it up. The sad thing about it is that I love love love clean houses.....and it hasn't been easy to reconcile with the fact that while I come close once in a while to a nice clean house, living in a magazine-house day to day just ain't gonna happen.

The biggest battle in all of this is in the thoughts. Sometimes I think I will surely go crazy if I don't get the floor mopped, or the laundry hung up. It is good to an extent, that instinct or drive or longing for order, because it compels us to make our homes nice. So it has a purpose. But sometimes circumstances do not allow us to accomplish all that we feel compelled to do. Then we just have to get alold of those thoughts. I really will not go crazy if I don't get whatever it is done. I hope. ha.

Laundry never really gets done here. The older kids do their own, which is as much a trial as if I did it myself, because of the way they take my stuff out and throw it on the couch, or leave theirs in for me to take care of because they forgot or had to go to bed. And the way I am about laundry, I can't just throw theirs on the couch. I may not have the neatest uncluttered house, but I do like the clothes to look nice. To me, that is important. I hang up everything that is "bye-bye", and fold up the rest of the stuff. We have a huge basket for clean underwear, and a basket for unmatched socks, and one for matched socks. (guess which one is empty?)....

That being said, I am really behind right now - the couch has a good sized pile. Not the biggest it's ever been, but it is getting there. The good thing is that part of it is a huge stack of clean folded towels.

Jon left 5 hess trucks out, but we put away all of the dollhouse stuff. I do believe in letting the kids play in the living room, even though there can easily be a dozen or more people in here in the evening.

I need to call Sears tomorrow to get that stacking kit...the washer and dryer are not in their proper spots yet, just sort of in there. I am trying really hard to keep the laundry room in order, it is so much harder to get things back in order once they get away from me.

But the most important thing in all this is to remain in goodness. That is the part that makes me want to cry, thinking about how agitated I can be when things get messy. So what!!! I truly want to remain calm and kind and good.. No matter how things get around here.

So, I hope that answered the questions....but I think Cheryl did it best. By the way, Cheryl, thank you....I would eat food you cooked, too!

2 comments:

Pam's Pride said...

What about getting a second washer and dryer for the bigger kids? Then they would not be pulling your laundry out. I just put a wash machine in my bathroom and I love it! Then my husband and I can throw a load in of our clothes, towels or the baby's clothes every night. Then we hang it up on a rack next to it to dry. We just did this two days ago. So we are hoping it helps.

Virginia Revoir said...

Ahhhhhh....

This was a nice post. I needed to hear this badly. I do get agitated. I love a clean house. That is not to say I'm an extremely organized person. My sisters can have a clean house 24/7. I was the messy child that had to work harder to keep things clean. I'm a hard worker, I just get distracted in all different directions. I don't want my kids to grow up seeing mommy clean all the time. I don't like getting agitated and grumpy at them just because the house is disorderly. I just feel like a terrible wife/mother when it is.