If you read regularly, you may have noticed that every Wednesday, I get behind.
Wednesdays are my day to leave the house early and go to Bible Study, run errands, etc.
So my focus is not my home, because I’m not in it. When it comes to home organization, I’m very much an out-of-sight – out-of-mind kind of girl. Hence the fiasco that is my Master Bedroom.
Now here’s where I admit that although my kitchen is 1000 times better than it was pre-blog, and I almost always have a sink free of dirty dishes, and never have to break out the wedding china to eat frozen pizza because every other dish is dirty, I do still justify leaving some of the big stuff soaking overnight in the sink and then washing it the next morning. I could go on and on about how I shouldn’t do that and work up some kind of guilt trip, but really, at this point, I’m okay with it since overall, things are so much better.
But on Wednesdays this is a problem. Because I’m not home to do the “finishing touches” in the morning, the dishes sit there until the afternoon when I get home, and then I don’t feel like doing them and then I start supper and then there’s more big dishes and then, and then, and then . . . .
So on Wednesday evening, and even Thursday morning, my kitchen is getting dangerously close to being in pre-blog condition. And on the two Thursdays a month that I have a meeting, I make very similar excuses . . . and Friday requires a total kitchen overhaul.
But today is Wednesday, and today is different.
I’m starting to think ahead. I’m not good at it yet, as evidenced by my forgetting to turn on the dishwasher last night. But I’m starting.
Living in the moment is a great acting technique, but it is not exactly the best technique for keeping a clean house. Keeping my home out of chaos means that I have to think ahead and decide how I’m going to act/react. “Tomorrow’s going to be crazy, so I need to be sure to get these big pots washed so they don’t pile up.”
I think my grasp of this concept was brought on in part by my successful laundry routine adjustments of the past few weeks.
I know that every Wednesday is crazy. I know that I never, ever FEEL like doing the dishes on Wednesday afternoon. (Actually I never FEEL like doing the dishes at all.)
Pre-planning reactions onstage = bad acting.
Pre-planning reactions in the home = good housekeeping.
I recently found your blog and am enjoying reading it; I am a fairly neat person but my dear mother (she died in 2001) had trouble with clutter. Anyhow here's what I do about a messy kitchen- I love to read so keep a small boom box on the counter and listen to a book on CD. I really enjoy that activity so cleaning is bearable.
Do you know if I could upload an audio book on my mp3? I love that idea!
Thanks Nan, that's a good idea. Combining something to look forward to with cleaning might actually make me want to do it.
I'm glad you found me. It means a lot that someone who doesn't really struggle with this would want to read it.
I have to second that! I listen to talk radio or podcasts while cleaning. I used to watch the food channel but would end up eating sliders with grilled onions or something at midnight. It’s amazing when listening to something interesting that you can finish a whole room without even noticing you are working.
Listening to podcasts was my first breakthrough in starting to get traction in my home. I would listen to Dave Ramsey every night after the kids got to bed while I tackled the same hopeless mess night after night. Fast forward a year+ and it’s not nearly so hopeless.
Nony, I have to say I love your blog and I’m reading it currently backwards. I too really struggle with clutter so I’m following in your footsteps to try something else to see if I can make it work for me. I thought maybe admitting to myself that I have a problem and taking babysteps to fix it in public might actually help and so far it has really changed how I think. So anyway, while I’m definitely no expert, I will tell you how I handle your current predicament. I am a very messy cook, and my work schedule is different every week so for the last two weeks before I’ve made my menu plan for the week I looked at my work schedule. On the night I have to work late, I make sure I schedule to have leftovers from the night before. Now, understand that my hubby and I don’t have kids yet. Leftovers might not be realistic for your family, but maybe just try simpler meals on Tuesday night, like moving your grilled cheese and soup to that night so that you don’t have huge pots to wash that night. Or, you can go ahead and put leftovers away and let the big pot soak while you have dinner and it will be ready to scrub after dinner. Hope that helps and I thank you for your blog more than you can ever know. I really want to be better at housekeeping before I have kids.