The "H" Word

I'm talking about Housework... Is it just me or does it never end? Making beds, cleaning bathrooms, floors, the kitchen and dishes, (fish bowls), the dustballs, and when did those finger marks appear on the TV AGAIN? oh and there are more here on the wall... and here... and what splattered on the cupboard door? oh and those patio doors...! And why is the front entrace all cluttered again!? And let's not forget the truly never ending laundry... I think that's become my least favourite job around the house because there truly is no getting away from it... first you sort it, then you get the loads washed and dried... if you're lucky, you have time to fold them right away, but more often it seems to sit in baskets way too long... then I'm in need of doing new loads and the folding just piles up! Oh, then it needs to get put away... and we start all over again! With every member of the family we've added, laundry seems to have multiplied exponentially!

It can get discouraging sometimes to feel like I can't keep up. I usually get into a good groove, trying to get the bathrooms clean and caught up on the laundry before the weekend comes, but I'm on leave at home full-time and I still find it tough to keep up! Energy levels are low in my still sleep-deprived state... and I'm trying to make the most of my time with my girls at home so it's kind of something that needs to get done now and then and in between... How in the world did I do it last year working full time? I recall having a mid-week blitz when I could to clean bathrooms and get a head start on the laundry so that I wasn't hit with everything on the weekend... I'll be back to work in the fall... I'll have to find some way to make it work!

Whether you hire someone to help with housework or not, none of us can get away from housework altogether... it's everwhere we turn and we all need to find some sort of balance with our home, family and work! I can't fully relax when I see a mess or a job waiting for me at every turn... though I've had to learn to just let it go at times so that I can make the most of my time with the kids and head outdoors to play and get some fresh air instead of staying in to vacuum... some jobs can just wait! I've also learned to take it one job at a time. I space some out during the week, but I still like having a blitz cleaning day where I get many jobs done all at once, that way they're done and I don't have to think about them and the kids generally like to help on those days... It will be tougher when I'll be back to work, but we'll figure something out... I've done it before! And now that the kids are getting a bit older, I also think I've gotten myself some pretty good little helpers who like being by mommy's side!

Happy cleaning! I know you face it just like I do ;) I leave you with a poem that was given to me... it is mounted on the wall in our mainfloor bathroom...

Excuse This House

Some houses try to hide the fact

That children shelter there;

Ours boasts of it quite openly,

The signs are everywhere.

For smears are on the windows,

Little smudges on the door;

I should apologize, I guess

For toys strewn on the floor

But I sat down with the children

And we played and laughed and read;

And if the doorbell doesn't shine

Their eyes will shine instead.

For when at times I'm forced to choose

The one job or the other;

I want to be a housewife

But first I'll be a mother.