I arrived home after a weekend away to find . . .
. . . a messy house.
So today, I have:
Exercised
Loaded the dishwasher
Emptied the dishwasher
Washed large dishes
Unpacked clothes from trip
Gathered laundry
Sorted laundry
Washed laundry
Dried laundry
Folded laundry
Entertained my children
Sounds impressive, right? Unfortunately . . . I didn’t do it in that order. It was more like:
Washed laundry (the most-obviously-in-need-of-washing lake-nasty bathing suits)
Gathered laundry
Sorted laundry
Ran dishwasher (that was completely full when we got home last night and obviously could have been started before we left)
Unpacked clothes from trip (and found one last lake-nasty bathing suit right when it was too late to add it to the load of other lake-nasty suits)
Folded laundry (that’s been sitting unfolded on the loveseat . . . or scattered around it, since last week)
Washed more laundry
Unloaded the dishwasher
Loaded the dishwasher (with all of the things that were filling the sink and wouldn’t fit in with the should-have-been-run-four-days-ag0 load)
Ran the dishwasher again (Mmm-hmm . . . there were enough dishes in the sink and scattered through the house for another full load)
Decided that I should go ahead and wash the ever-so-easy-to-put-off big dishes
Questioned that decision and tried to come up with a reason to not do it
Started cleaning out the sink so I could fill it with dishwater
Saw what happens to cleaning brushes when they sit under dirty dishes for too long
Got out the Clorox
Soaked the cleaning brushes instead of throwing them away. (Which was really the only other option.)
Remembered (thankfully) to turn off the water that was filling the sink
Started washing dishes
Thought to myself, “Oh, I really need to exercise!”
Started to leave the kitchen and go exercise right then (with the dishes only half-done)
Realized I should finish the kitchen first
Finished the dishes
Wiped down the counters and table
Tripped over an empty box that was is in the middle of the kitchen floor as I went to exercise.
Exercised while simultaneously entertaining my children. (No idea why everything stops so they can all sit and watch me sweat and kick.)
All this, and yet . . . my house only looks slightly better than it did when I woke up this morning.
I do love dividing my weekly tasks up by specific days, but the craziness of summer keeps getting me off of that rhythm.
I guess that random is better than nothing.
I just wanted to say I love reading your blog but I rarely get a chance to comment….sooooo here’s a comment! lol. You accomplished way more than me today but in my defense, I’m 11 weeks pregnant.
Yay, Molly! That’s wonderful! And pregnancy is a totally legit excuse to rest!
This is why I can relate to you. You list folding, sorting, washing, drying, folding the laundry all separately. It isn’t just “did the laundry”.
This makes the list look longer and there’s more to cross off for a better sense of accomplishment. I do the exact same, which is why I cross off tons on my list and my house still looks the same. 🙂
I totally get it.
Hee hee.
Nony, I love reading your blog. You and I are the same person when it comes to housework. The above comment was an epiphany moment for me – that other (“normal”) people don’t think of gathering, sorting, washing, drying, folding, and the oft forgotten PUTTING AWAY as separate tasks. Why is this???
Haha, I do the same thing only instead of listing it by each task (sort, wash, dry, fold, put away), I break it down into towels, uniforms, sheets, undies, kids’ play clothes, my clothes, etc. That way if I only get a chance to run load, I still have an entire thing on my list I can cross off, and then maybe cross off some more loads the next night. 🙂
Wow… did you have a camera on me? Except for the bathing suits and exercise that’s what I did today! lol I norm do exercise, but i had minor surg this past Friday. LOL and maybe by next week I’ll stop using that as an excuse lol. No where did it say to not exercise, but to not lift anything heavy. Well if I can do laundry, surely I can lift some weights lol.
I think surgery is a great excuse! Seriously, don’t injure yourself!
I’ve been doing too much. I pulled three stitches already. Re-check is tomorrow. This should be good! lol
I am so scattered how I do everything. It’s nuts! It’s a wonder I don’t forget even my name.
So glad I’m not the only one whose list looks better than the reality of what I do! 🙂 BTW I finished my first “do-all-the-laundry-in-one-fell-swoop” day yesterday! And I’m happy to say that ALL the laundry is done AND put away!!!!! I am so proud of myself! My husband is proud, too, though he is still skeptical about it lasting a whole week…we shall see. 🙂
Just got home from vaca this afternoon…. going to start my ‘randomness’ ……tomorrow…. 3 hrs to break camp….. 2 hrs to drive home…. 1 hr to put away obvious stuff….. I’m toast…. King Turd of Poop Mountain ran to town for pizza & wings…. YEAH, KTPM!!!! Know exactly whatcha sayin’ girl!!
Noni, I totally heart you. 😀
I can totally relate about the craziness of summer messing up your schedule. I have an awesome weekly routine and monthly calendar. I have not been able to keep to either since the kids (and husband) got out of school. I know I need to rework it all but haven’t even done that yet. June and July have been crazy!! I am going to get it together. Although, by the time that happens school will probably be starting.