Cleaning House

I rarely have time to clean my house. It's something I've posted about before. It just isn't something that I make a priority so my house is very cluttered. I don't make my kids clean their rooms or even pick up their toys. It's a huge weakness for me- I know that. But I still don't have the oomph to change it. This week, I'm home with Zach all week as daycare is closed. Teagan has chosen to stay home from Little Explorers for the week. So I thought my plans of getting any house cleaning done was pretty much shot. See, when I'm home with the kids, I feel this urge to do do do and go go go. I want to do all the things I can't take them to do because Jeff and I both work all week. I want to pack up the schedule with oodles and oodles of fun that we don't get to have when I'm not on vacation. But that's not realistic and not good for the kids or the family. Monday and Tuesday were packed, busy, fun days. Wednesday was mostly at home but with a very exciting trip to visit Mommy's work and Mommy's gym. Today... I'm cleaning house. I'm going to get my kitchen freed from the chokehold that all the grocery bags have on my floor space. I'm going to pitch and toss and throw away all the stuff that's sitting around, not being used, piled up. I've got the stove and my main counter cleaned up, I'm about to do dishes, and then I'm hitting that piled up corner and main floor space and reclaiming my kitchen. Next up... the main entryway. Right now, the shoes are in disarray, there is stuff piled up the steps from top to bottom. I want the entryway to be functional and welcoming. I always feel better when 3 areas of my house are in good order: the entryway, the kitchen, the main bathroom. The bathroom is clean (always- it is one place that I clean regularly). The kitchen is in progress. The entryway is on the list. Then I hope to tackle the living room... it kind of scares me. So much stuff. I really think there is a lot I could just get rid of and no one would notice. I took a break to write down these thoughts and to find some music to keep the house energized... and now my kids are here having a seriously fun dance party. I want to go dance and skip the dishes... But I will do the responsible thing and dance on my way to the kitchen and maybe shake my booty while unloading the dishwasher. What are the areas of your home that have to be clean in order for you to feel good? Are you a good housekeeper? Is your home perfection, free of dust and germs and clutter? Is your home taken over by stuff that you are just too exhausted at the end of the day to put away? EDITED TO ADD: Accountability! First project is to tackle the pile of clutter in the kitchen. I tend to keep up with the usable side of the kitchen- sink, counter, stove- and the storage side turns into a mountain of clutter. It's really bad right now because the part you can't see in this pic is the mountain of paper and plastic grocery bags. Ugh.

AFTER! Still need to take out the trash and am hoping I can find someone to give my massive collection of paper grocery bags to (checking into the local food pantry)... but I think it's time to move on to the entryway!! Here's the front entry way before: And almost after. I have to figure out the shoe situation and I have those couple things on the steps to carry back to the bedroom. But everything is vaccuumed, too. Including the icky spider that almost stopped the project altogether.

And while I was vaccuuming the front steps, I decided to go ahead and do the hallway edging which led to cleaning up the hallway. I was on a roll so I didn't stop for a pic but I did this lovely rendering of what it might have looked like before: And after: So my goals are almost completely accomplished for today! Will get started on the finishing touches (putting away stuff that was set near the correct location). Might even get started on the living room... but that will be easier to do when kids are in bed.