No More
It was a Wednesday morning (today, in fact, but it's so much more dramatic to write in the past tense). I had slept in because I had to work late the night before to finish a project. I awoke to the words, "Poop. Everywhere."
We got everyone and everything cleaned up, bedding in the washer, and DH off to work with a salad for lunch (again). I got breakfast started and then looked around. It was the beginning of the end.
The floor was a mess. I wasn't sure when I had swept last. The garbage can was overflowing. The sink was filled with dinner and lunch dishes from the day before. Approximately all of our clothes were washed (at least we made it that far) and ready to be folded and put away—but they lay in a heap on the bedroom floor and on one of the couches (I had to empty the dryer to put the now-clean bedding in). Cloth diapers (clean, second-hand) lay strewn everywhere, ready for me to strip and bleach them. They had come from my sister-in-law a week ago, but I still hadn't gotten to it. I needed to make bread, and get chili in the crockpot for dinner. Toys were everywhere, and my two kids were crying, demanding my attention.
It was not a good morning. And I had no idea where to start—besides the kids, of course.
It's now two in the afternoon. The house is nowhere near perfect, but it's livable. I managed to finish the dishes, sweep and mop, wash some more laundry, put the baby down for a nap, play with my three-year-old, make lunch, start the chili (although, I don't think it'll be ready for dinner: eggs and hash browns—again), and put said three-year-old down for his nap.
I described this morning to my husband as "rock bottom." It wasn't truly the darkest moment of my life, but one such of my homemaking career. It's the kind of rock-bottom moment Tony Robbins says is essential for anyone to make lasting changes. It was a "No more. I've had it. That's all. Never again" moment. I knew I couldn't go on this way. (I've known for a while, actually, and have been trying to make changes, but sometimes you need a catalyst to really get things going. If that moment wasn't enough, hopefully the accountability of this blog is.)
You, readers, get to witness my growth in real time. There are plenty of people out there who say being organized and having a clean house is possible. Auntie Leila (whom I adore), for example, says, "If I can do it, so can you," and she's right! I know all the plans (ok, not all of them, but I know of plenty of them. Tried a few, too). You do, too, I'm sure. We don't need another plan. We don't need anyone to tell us we can do it. We know we can. I'm here to be the guinea pig, to show you what such a process looks like. I'll give you honest pictures of the process each step of the way. I don't think things will change over night (it took me all this time to get into this mess, blah, blah, blah), but little steps along the way will make a big difference.
I've been meaning to start this blog in earnest for a long time, now, and for some ridiculous reason, I thought now would be a perfect time to start. Because, of course, I need another thing to add to my list, when I'm starting an organizational overhaul and preparing to move in less than a month. Of course this makes sense. But, you know, that's how things go. :)
We got everyone and everything cleaned up, bedding in the washer, and DH off to work with a salad for lunch (again). I got breakfast started and then looked around. It was the beginning of the end.
The floor was a mess. I wasn't sure when I had swept last. The garbage can was overflowing. The sink was filled with dinner and lunch dishes from the day before. Approximately all of our clothes were washed (at least we made it that far) and ready to be folded and put away—but they lay in a heap on the bedroom floor and on one of the couches (I had to empty the dryer to put the now-clean bedding in). Cloth diapers (clean, second-hand) lay strewn everywhere, ready for me to strip and bleach them. They had come from my sister-in-law a week ago, but I still hadn't gotten to it. I needed to make bread, and get chili in the crockpot for dinner. Toys were everywhere, and my two kids were crying, demanding my attention.
It was not a good morning. And I had no idea where to start—besides the kids, of course.
It's now two in the afternoon. The house is nowhere near perfect, but it's livable. I managed to finish the dishes, sweep and mop, wash some more laundry, put the baby down for a nap, play with my three-year-old, make lunch, start the chili (although, I don't think it'll be ready for dinner: eggs and hash browns—again), and put said three-year-old down for his nap.
I described this morning to my husband as "rock bottom." It wasn't truly the darkest moment of my life, but one such of my homemaking career. It's the kind of rock-bottom moment Tony Robbins says is essential for anyone to make lasting changes. It was a "No more. I've had it. That's all. Never again" moment. I knew I couldn't go on this way. (I've known for a while, actually, and have been trying to make changes, but sometimes you need a catalyst to really get things going. If that moment wasn't enough, hopefully the accountability of this blog is.)
You, readers, get to witness my growth in real time. There are plenty of people out there who say being organized and having a clean house is possible. Auntie Leila (whom I adore), for example, says, "If I can do it, so can you," and she's right! I know all the plans (ok, not all of them, but I know of plenty of them. Tried a few, too). You do, too, I'm sure. We don't need another plan. We don't need anyone to tell us we can do it. We know we can. I'm here to be the guinea pig, to show you what such a process looks like. I'll give you honest pictures of the process each step of the way. I don't think things will change over night (it took me all this time to get into this mess, blah, blah, blah), but little steps along the way will make a big difference.
I've been meaning to start this blog in earnest for a long time, now, and for some ridiculous reason, I thought now would be a perfect time to start. Because, of course, I need another thing to add to my list, when I'm starting an organizational overhaul and preparing to move in less than a month. Of course this makes sense. But, you know, that's how things go. :)
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