Crazy, messy, clean
I made a pact with myself recently, to keep myself and my house in a presentable state. Simple task you may think, alas not when you are me. Its not that I am a messy person its just that I seem to have inherited a lazy gene, when it comes to keeping a nice house. Add to that mix, the fact that I have a 2 1/2 year old little girl that is like a toy hurricane and a 4month old little boy to take care of.
So I set myself the following rule: I will have the house and myself in a presentable state at all times.
This means that anyone can knock on my door at any point in the day and I will not be embarrassed about what I am wearing or the way my house looks. When I say at any point in the day I mean after 9am and before 9pm any other time you may catch me in my snuggly PJ's.
I set this pact with myself as I was sick of looking like a homeless person, who was living in a tip (ok my house wasn't that bad). We never used to get random visitors, we always had some sort of warning. So when hubby told me that we were having visitors in 10min,s I would literally scream and race around the house like a looney toon. Picking up toys and books and throwing them in the nearest cupboard. Shoving dishes in the already full dishwasher and vacuuming right up until the second that the visitors knocked on our door. I would have to get hubby to answer the door as by that time ,I had built a bit of a sweat up, from running around like a mad person. Plus I usually had to race upstairs to put some half decent clothes on and lashings of mascara.
Since we moved and Hubby became best friends with the neighbours, I have had multiple random visits throughout the day and evening. I love this new neighbourhood and the fact that we have neighbours that we like, but it has made me realise that my house isn't the tidiest and I have often been embarrassed by the mess. This is magnified as the neighbours house is spotless at all times. It also made me aware of what I wear and the fact that I hardly ever put on make up any more. After having a child you can sometimes get in a rut when none of your clothes fit properly but you refuse to wear maternity clothes as you are no longer pregnant. Well, my son was 3 months old and I actually fit my clothes so I had no excuse to be wondering around in my track pants (with holes in them, in the butt area to be specific). Added to that is the fact that I like looking nice and having a clean and tidy house. It makes me feel at peace with the world.
So I am embarking into a cleaner and more fashionable lifestyle. I struggle, I am trying to retrain my mind. So that I put things away, clear the benches every night and make sure all the folded washing is away each night (that part seems to be the struggle). Not sure where I got this lazy streak from as my mother is a clean freak and to top it off my mother-in-law is even more of a clean freak. My ultimate goal, the point that I know I have reached total cleanness is if I pass the Mother-In-Law test. If she comes to my house and doesn't try and clean or tidy anything, then I will know I have reached the peak of cleanliness, my Mount Everest of clean and tidy, my ultimate aim. OK in all honesty I will probably never reach that summit and I should probably make a more realistic aim, like reaching the cleaning summit of Mount Fiji or Mount Cook. After all I would like a life as well as a clean house.
Do not fear tidiness will prevail. I will not fall victim to my own laziness.
So I set myself the following rule: I will have the house and myself in a presentable state at all times.
This means that anyone can knock on my door at any point in the day and I will not be embarrassed about what I am wearing or the way my house looks. When I say at any point in the day I mean after 9am and before 9pm any other time you may catch me in my snuggly PJ's.
I set this pact with myself as I was sick of looking like a homeless person, who was living in a tip (ok my house wasn't that bad). We never used to get random visitors, we always had some sort of warning. So when hubby told me that we were having visitors in 10min,s I would literally scream and race around the house like a looney toon. Picking up toys and books and throwing them in the nearest cupboard. Shoving dishes in the already full dishwasher and vacuuming right up until the second that the visitors knocked on our door. I would have to get hubby to answer the door as by that time ,I had built a bit of a sweat up, from running around like a mad person. Plus I usually had to race upstairs to put some half decent clothes on and lashings of mascara.
Since we moved and Hubby became best friends with the neighbours, I have had multiple random visits throughout the day and evening. I love this new neighbourhood and the fact that we have neighbours that we like, but it has made me realise that my house isn't the tidiest and I have often been embarrassed by the mess. This is magnified as the neighbours house is spotless at all times. It also made me aware of what I wear and the fact that I hardly ever put on make up any more. After having a child you can sometimes get in a rut when none of your clothes fit properly but you refuse to wear maternity clothes as you are no longer pregnant. Well, my son was 3 months old and I actually fit my clothes so I had no excuse to be wondering around in my track pants (with holes in them, in the butt area to be specific). Added to that is the fact that I like looking nice and having a clean and tidy house. It makes me feel at peace with the world.
So I am embarking into a cleaner and more fashionable lifestyle. I struggle, I am trying to retrain my mind. So that I put things away, clear the benches every night and make sure all the folded washing is away each night (that part seems to be the struggle). Not sure where I got this lazy streak from as my mother is a clean freak and to top it off my mother-in-law is even more of a clean freak. My ultimate goal, the point that I know I have reached total cleanness is if I pass the Mother-In-Law test. If she comes to my house and doesn't try and clean or tidy anything, then I will know I have reached the peak of cleanliness, my Mount Everest of clean and tidy, my ultimate aim. OK in all honesty I will probably never reach that summit and I should probably make a more realistic aim, like reaching the cleaning summit of Mount Fiji or Mount Cook. After all I would like a life as well as a clean house.
Do not fear tidiness will prevail. I will not fall victim to my own laziness.
Good luck - I know what you mean. I hate getting random visitors because the house/us are often not in a presentable state!!
ReplyDeleteI admire your new pact - maybe it will encourage me to do something similar...