Friday, August 6, 2010

clutter aplenty, clutter galore


sometimes, i just want to sit in a peaceful, clean house listening to nothing but the hum of the refrigerator. wouldn't that be nice? wouldn't it be awesome if the house was clean almost all the time because people simply put their stuff away when they were done w/ it? it sounds doable, right? but it's totally not here. i cannot be one of those moms who won't sit down if there are dirty dishes in the sink or cheerios on the living room floor. if that were the case, i'd be even less rested than i am now & i would be grumpier & less pleasant to live with, in spite of my clean house. from where i'm sitting, let me just take a couple pictures to show you what my kitchen/office space looks like. one moment please...

ok, here's my desk...
awful, i know, but i never have a chance to feel lonely when i'm surrounded by so many signs of creativity & life. plus, there's a polly pocket if i need a friend, beverages, a doll bed if my hand needs a nap, & q-tips in case my ears feel itchy. and i never lack for markers. markers aplenty, markers galore.

to my right, we have the school corner/kitchen table. since we haven't done structured school since may & our kitten has learned to pile things up or knock them over to get where she wants to go, it has gotten ridiculously out of control.

i can't believe i'm even putting these on here because it's shameful. and embarrassing. but it's my life & i'm a fan of realism at my own expense. i suspect i'm not the only mom who is surrounded by nastiness or clutter because she'd rather live than clean.

but behind me we have my new friend, mrs. microwave. and when she has a good idea, she lights up on the inside!

and who doesn't like to have a wide, happy face smiling at them while they wash dishes or make snacks? she doesn't say much, more of a gentle presence in the room, but she hums sometimes. and she can be a real hot head if you push her buttons.

and if i was cleaning things, i probably wouldn't have the time or inclination to make the teddy bear campfire for brooke when she's bored in the house on yet another hot, rainy day.

the teddy bear campfire is a family favorite around here. doesn't that little fire just warm your heart?

and if i expected my world to stay clean, i probably wouldn't want my desktop to look like this...

but if i made brooke clean that off, then i wouldn't get to enjoy the gnome family & their rustic cabin. i wouldn't get to sit here, always wondering if one of those raccoons in the tree house is going to fall onto my head. i wouldn't get to check that dangling yarn trap regularly to see what meaty goodness it's caught this time.

and i wouldn't get to see the cute little turtle on the ladybug rock.

or the playful raccoon babies frolicking about in their diorama.


if my life was more orderly, i might not let brooke "go on her animal side" when she's home & transform herself into a jaguar.

and i'd miss out on her happiness at being able to color her face to really get into character. i'd never be smiling at the bits of gray marker left around the edges of her nose & eyes afterwards when she washes it off that leave her looking kinda zombie-ish. it's hard to take her seriously when she's got those bits, but it makes me happy anyway.
and if i kept the living room clean on a regular basis, then i would never get the camera handed to me around the edge of the bathroom door to show me this...
brooke cleaned up the living room to make me happy & so that i could vacuum w/ the new machine & she couldn't wait for me to see it, so she took a picture & handed it to me because i was apparently taking too long. there's nowhere to hide around here.

so in conclusion, my house is messy, but i wouldn't trade the mess for the kid or cats. i love my life & my messy little house w/ all it's quirky little decorations & arrangements.

UPDATE: here's a link to someone's blog who addressed my same current cleaning situation. i think it fits w/ mine today very nicely. and by this standard, i've had a fairly successful day.

7 comments:

  1. hey...my theory is there is a big difference
    between messy and dirty. Your house is not
    dirty, just messy. this post reminds me of the Incredibles, the movie..."Sometimes I get so sick of saving the world, sometimes I just want it to STAY SAVED! Its like hey, I just cleaned up this mess, cant you stay out of trouble for 5 minutes?" -Mr Incredible
    LOL Not sure if thats exactly right but I feel like that all the time! Sometimes I just want it to STAY SAVED!!!!!!

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  2. Love this! I have learned to overcome my OCD issues...

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  3. You are totally among friends. I'm happy if I don't step on sticky places on the floor. Clutter here means projects in progress!

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  4. I am feeling a little encouraged to place pictures of my uncovered kitchen floor, with the 10 bags of school supplies piled around and the unpacked bags of clothes that came home today with the kids from their "vacation" with daddy piled high in the living room....and yes, I am on the computer instead of cleaning it up! lol

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  5. Wonderful! I would rather be in a messy house where there is lots of loving creativity going on than a house where I am afraid to move anything out of place or drop a crumb on the floor. Living is messy business, and the only way to KEEP a house clean is to stop living.

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  6. OMG this is sooooo my life!!!! throw some clean clothes that still need put away and piles of papers on the desk and we are twins!!!! =) I dont mind tho, my house is lived in and that is all that matters to me! however there are days when i want it to be clean & we all jump in & get it done (with a fight of some sorts but it gets to looking decent). I love your blogs, you always make life so real =) Miss you guys!

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  7. I have baskets and baskets of clothes that need to be folded or laundered, not really sure which at this point and since the cat sleeps in the clean one and the dirty ones it's really all the same after a while. I have given up on the house until the kids go back to school.

    I love your Teddy Bear Campfire!

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don't let me be the only one doing the talking around here. spill your guts!