I bought it at Deseret Book a few months ago, and for about 2 1/2 months I can tell you honestly, my house was in order. Toilets were routinely scrubbed. Cabinet fronts were wiped of their fingerprints. Vacuuming and laundry were done each week with precision. My life felt orderly and when I woke up in the morning, I was not greeted by a large stinking pile of dishes in the sink. I loved it! I had become that woman I had always envied, the one you could drop in on unexpectedly and ask to use her bathroom and she would not visibly blanch. I knew right where my book was.
Well, somehow my cleaning plans have all run amok. I had noticed before everything fell apart, house work wise, that my cleaning schedule worked great as long as there were no surprises in my day (like a puking toddler) or outings (like grocery shopping). But add even one hitch in the works and that unattractive furrow between my brows would show up. I began to say silly things like "I can't come running over to the school to bring you your jacket, Child, I am right in the middle vacuuming day!
Mondays: Laundry. 7 extra capacity loads.
Tuesdays: 4 Bathrooms.
Wednesdays: Vacuum carpet, clean wood floors.
Thursdays: Projects like windows or baseboards.
Fridays: Laundry again. 8 loads. (Yes mathematicians, that's 15 loads a week.)
Saturdays: Somehow the house still isn't completely whipped into shape. More cleaning.
Sundays: A day of rest and re-messification.
My life had started to revolve around a cleaning schedule and I was beginning to suspect that there just wasn't time to both follow the schedule and take care of my family, all with unrumpled eyebrows. And then my kids started summer break.
So now here I sit, in a house with yucky bathrooms, dirty floors and sliding glass doors so disgusting a person would think we keep several St. Bernards in the house. I love summer break and am sad to see my children head back to school on the 8th of JULY ("Thank you, year round school schedule" she said in a sarcastic tone) but I know I am looking forward to getting back to my Semi-Organized life--because it never was even close to absolutely organized, mind you. I would just settle for a clean house. And I'm sure when I do start going through the stacks of junk piled onto every horizontal surface in my house, I will find that little blue book again.
8 comments:
i've got to set up some sort of schedule like this. i have too much time, that is my problem. you are my hero. well, the old you. but this version of you is at least fun.
If I may comment on my own post...
I love the illustrations of this very glad woman. She is positively thrilled to be hanging out the wash and darning socks. And why shouldn't she be happy? The woman owns at least 5 APRONS!
I'm coming out of the closet, Droolie. Been lurking on your site for some time now, and I peruse the comments on my girls' blogs just to see if you left anything because I adore your sense of humor and insight.
These pictures are oddly familiar. This is the model I grew up with in the early 50's and the cause of not just a little depression ...until the 80's when the Simpsons came on T.V. and I finally found a sitcom that modeled my own experience.
LOL! I can very much relate...one hitch and my "perfect" home goes amuck, and we're not even out of school yet. Our play room scares me.
Oh, I thought those drawings were of YOU, Julie! Now I get it...hahaha. I don't know ANYONE with 5 or 6 kids that has a spit-spot home. I like your schedule though..especially the laundry. I note that it does not say "fold 15 loads of laundry" That is how it is at our house...sure, I can wash and dry the 15 loads a week in my XL capacity front loaders, but folding it? What's the point?! They wear it just as fast as it goes in their closet and then it's back in the cycle. I should just hire Maria to do that too...oh, I forget, money doesn't grow on trees.
Oh, sorry for the epistle. You'd really enjoy this article...go to my friend, Amy's blog: http://timmertotheman.blogspot.com/
You'll probably be able to read it too...it's in Norwegian.
Amen sista. My advice is to lower your standards. My best advice ever??? Train your children to be very good laundry folders. I had my older two fold and put away two loads each today...that's FOUR loads I didn't have to fit in to my already overloaded schedule of watching nonstop Discovery Health. Deep down I know it's all about kid power and harnassing it correctly. I'm still working on the harnassing equipment...
Upon your advice, my bff, I bought this book. I took one long look at it and decided that it will never fit in with my lifestyle! Sigh. Because I am too "red" to do it without a house full of furrowed eyebrows. (Can't seem to change the color of this leopard's spots! It's all or nothing, baby!) Whatever the state of organization in your abode, methinks you are Absolutely DaBomb!
Okay, I am getting a teensy bit anxious for more of your Absolute Hilarity! Time for another post, pal! Pleeeeze? And, btw, I love it when you dominate my comments page! Keep 'em comin... posts and comments! XOXO
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