Thursday, October 27, 2011

Why Clean?....it's just gonna get messy again....

This is a statement I have heard far too often in my years of motherhood. I truly love love love a clean house, it makes me feel so happy inside!....I just can't seem to keep one. I know working makes it ten times harder to keep on top of this and I know this because I have had the fortune of being a stay at home mom several times during my mothering career. Unfortunately this is not one of those times and I'm being driven to the breaking point...really, I'm going to have a breakdown!! I am so SICK and TIRED of cleaning up pieces of garbage off the floor!! What is this about???? HELLO??? We have a garbage can in the bathroom and also in the kitchen why is there garbage on the floor??? This seriously unnerves me!! I am also SICK and TIRED of threatening, I mean reminding my kids to do their chores! We have had the same system for several years now...it is not a new thing!!! They have one chore that needs to be done daily and sometimes more than once daily and they rotate every week. It's easy and not complicated.

One of my kids especially hates to do the dishes...she really does everything in her power to look like she is doing the dishes...she will be in the kitchen doing heaven knows what for an hour or maybe even two....I see her, picking up dishes and I think...oh she's doing the dishes!!!....(our kitchen is not connected to the living room). So, I hear her, I see her and she states she's done and goes to bed. I go in the kitchen to find a counter full of dishes nicely stacked and none of them washed!! (we do not have a dishwasher, the electric kind anyway). So, with this girl I have learned some things. She will trade doing the dishes for other things like cleaning out the refridgerator (a job I truly hate!!) and my favorite, she will trade doing the dishes for a 30-40 minute massage and I really like massages and I really don't mind doing the dishes. Aaron really hates when I do this but I think it's still teaches her something...like the art of negotiation. And I really like massages!

I can not tell you how many times I'm told "no one else cares about having a clean house" or "you have OCD" or the one I heard today, which really takes the cake.....I walked in the bathroom and called the child in who has the bathroom this week. I showed him the towels and clothing on the floor and the trash decorating the floor around the trash can and he said "no one's coming over, no one's gonna see it" and I said " I am standing in here and I SEE IT!!!" and he said "maybe you should wear a blind fold".

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

2 comments:

Cindy said...

I am sorry, I had to laugh out loud after reading your post....WHY because the same thing happens to me! The girls will eat candy and leave the wrappers on the counter, living room floor, whereever. Same thing with the chore chart, we do the EXACT same thing rotate, easy chores, etc. I tell them the same thing...."this is nothing new." When it gets overwhelming, maybe a blindfold is a good idea! LOL!

Julie said...

I have a dishwasher like that! My oldest can take HOURS to do the dishes and we do have a dishwahser! I get frustrated with the garbage thing, too. Also, I'm the only one who takes the garbage out (Or I tell someone to.) Seriously, they all will just keep putting garbage on until it spills on the floor. I guess no one cares as much as mom!