Even though it seems Crystal has discontinued her Making Your Home a Haven carnival on Mondays, I plan to post on this wonderful subject as the mood strikes me. My home has been anything but haven-like in recent weeks as I've struggled to get basic chores done. I used to vacuum at least 5 times a week and now I'm lucky to get it done once a week since I have to try to do it when baby isn't nearby.
I'm finding it nearly impossible to get dishes done every day because Justus seems to want to be held a LOT and even if he's in his sling, I can't bend over him and do dishes comfortably. Then there is chasing the other two. It's hard to supervise their play while doing dishes. I often try to do 10 or 15 minutes worth while they wrestle with Daddy after supper or Ali washes along with me while Jer is napping in the morning but there just seems to be TOO MANY and I always get interrupted by someone or something before they are even close to finished. On Saturday, after a few days of not getting many dishes done and yet cooking a lot and making a ton of dirty dishes, I was so frustrated and sick of my kitchen feeling dirty that I was determined to do them at any cost! Funny thing is King Jo didn't have to work on Saturday morning this week and so he made me homemade waffles (breakfast in bed) which was a wonderful surprise. Then he started doing dishes. I felt bad that he would be doing "my" chore on his day off so when he refused to quit, I joined in and did them with him (the baby was miraculously sleeping) and we got MOST of them done and the kitchen looked so much better and I felt so much better. Don't you just feel like your whole house is dirty when the kitchen is dirty and piled high with dishes to wash? I'm no perfectionist, but it does bug me when I can't keep the house even remotely clean!
Life with 3 small ones would be so much easier if we had a dish washer, a washer and dryer in our home, and did not have cream-colored living room carpet or white linoleum in the kitchen but enough whining...
All I can say is we're in a survival mode of focusing on the main things like keeping baby fed and not worrying about perfection right now. Eventually, when Justus is older (or when he's riding around in his new Ergo) the house will look a lot cleaner. I have to remember that my attitude and what I'm training my kids is more important than polished floors, and nary a crumb in sight.
And on that note: I visited a new friend this week and was so delighted to see toys everywhere, books all around, and dirty dishes all over the counter. She's at a busy stage of life too and didn't feel the need to fix up or be perfect for my visit, which was so refreshing to me! It takes a lot of guts to be that vulnerable, but it blessed me!
3 comments:
THANK YOU for validating me. I hate leaving dishes in the sink over night and waking up to them. My husband can't understand it. I can't always do something about it, but it doesn't mean I like it, right? We do have a dishwasher, a portable one. If you think you have anywhere to park it between washings, it is well worth the bucks. I think ours was about $300 five years ago.
As for how to get them done...I've been using the DVD player in the afternoon to catch up on what isn't done. My daughter has been pretty content in her bouncy chair lately, praise God!
You are so right, when my kitchen is dirty, my house is dirty. And when the kitchen is clean the rest of the house always looks better. Jonathan and I are doing a progressive project, each week I try to declutter an area of our lives. It has been two weeks now and I have completed the kids closet and dressers, my closet, and part of the kids craft area. I can't wait until I get to the kitchen and go through my cupboards to purge unused items. That will make the kitchen so much simpler.
Thanks for being vulnerable. You are not alone. !!!
Dishes have been that way at our house, too, lately. It's really hard to look at them and think, "These could be done right now, but instead I spent time with my kids." I usually look at them and just wish they would go away! Your tip about doing a few minutes' worth at a time does help (and keeps us from running out of clean spoons).
Okay, I think I'll go do my dishes now!! :)
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