Sunday, January 3, 2010

Not a Complete Failure!

Okay, this whole cleaning thing is really hard! I know it sounds stupid, but it is. Especially on days like this.

Today I woke up (after next to no sleep), got the kids breakfast, got ready for church, and left. We did not get home until close to 1. I sat around for a bit trying to get the kids to sleep. Levi fell asleep at around 1:30 and then Luke and I laid on the couch for the next two and a half hours. I was exhausted! Then at 4 we had to eat dinner and get ready for the Christmas Play. The play went great by the way. Here's a picture of Levi (my oldest), saying his line. He was the "T" in "Christmas".

Anyway, we got home at around 8:30. Once again, I was stuck cleaning late at night. I hate doing it, but it feels good to have a clean living room! This is as clean as my living room usually is, but I plan on finding some solutions to the clutter soon. Especially after the tree is down, because that's supposed to be the play room.


One problem area that I have in the living room is behind this table. The table is usually covered in crap, like in this picture. Well, much, much, much worse than this picture but I'm not going to make it dirty for a picture. Seriously, I don't know why I'm even posting this picture because it is so, so, so much worse than this on a regular basis. The day after I took this picture it was covered in Andes Candies wrappers, used tissues, bowls, etc. This picture really isn't even worth it, but here you go.


But today, and for the past few days, this table has been pretty clean. Right now it looks like this. And the white spotting is in the finish... I got the table for $2.00 at a yard sale and never refinished it. But I love the table anyway. It's one of my favorite yard sale finds, but I digress!


The real problem is behind this table though. It is the only spot that's out of reach from the kiddos in the living room, so things like half filled glasses, soda cans, used tissues, wrappers, etc. get thrown back there along with remotes, cds, dvds, and more. I'm sorry that I don't have a picture of it at its worst... well, nevermind, I'm not because that would be humiliating! What matters is that this is what it looks like now.


My solution for this reoccuring problem is to simply not let it happen. How lame is that? Every night I will check and make sure that nothing is back there. In fact, I won't even put anything down there. If it's only going to take me 30 seconds to pick something up and put it somewhere else, there is NO REASON to throw it down there!

Now on to the other part of my to-do list. I was supposed to finish taking the tree down today. That did not happen, but it's almost finished. The only thing left on the tree are some ornaments that are too high for me to reach. I can't get the ladder in here because it's too messy... how embarassing! I will share the picture with you though because I promised the good, the bad, and the ugly. So here's the ugly... this is usually the playroom, is actually the dining room, but all of the big toys are in the basement pending tree removal. I'll stop rambling now and let you see the disaster. See all the needles on the ground? That's because the tree is dead as a doornail!

So here's to a decent day and to a better day tomorrow. Oh, and my kitchen is still clean :)

6 comments:

  1. The living room looks great! You ^live* in your house and you have *children*... it's never going to look museum quality.. ever.

    On some busy days, I ignore all of it. Other busy days I try and hit the high spots.. make sure the blankets on the couch are folded and toss all the kids crap, er, I mean toys into a giant container so at least they aren't in the middle of the floor.

    Also, have you thought of purging some of the kids' toys? They won't miss it and it makes clean up for you easier!

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  2. UGH I brought up a ton of toys to go through and put away and the kids were excited about all the "NEW TOYS!!!" The quality toys that were outgrown will be put in storage for future children. Anything that no one has ever played with will go in the yardsale bin. We have plenty of storage space, so keeping stuff until spring doesn't bother me.

    I like the idea of just focusing on some of the "trouble areas" when it's a rough day or busy day. I need a nice wooden toybox that sort of blends in so that I can just throw things in there lol!

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  3. You're doing great, Amber! Very motivating. Keep it up! ~tilly @ PNOO

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  4. You know that hidey hole behind your table? If that's a drop place for you, I say work with it -- not against it. We have a side table in our living room that is constantly cluttered and I'm okay with books and lotion and a bottled water, but I hate the trash that accumulates. So I put a small trashcan *right next to it* and, voila!, no more trash on the table. Maybe you could put a trashcan and small basket back there to contain and sort the clutter rather than fighting with it. Just a thought!

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  5. Thanks Tilly!

    Treva, that's a great idea! We used to have a trashcan back there, but, and this is embarassing, it was filled with popsicle trash and became overrun with ants. We have a problem with ants in the house to begin with, so any little bit of food left out is a very bad idea. The trashcan was put outside and never put back.

    But a trashcan and a basket would be great. I can put a flat basket (I even have one!) underneath the table and empty it every day or every other day. And as long as I make sure to empty the trashcan, I don't see that as a problem either! Thanks for the great idea :)

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  6. I wouldn't worry about getting a nice wooden toy box right now.. get a big ole rubbermaid one! I had a few of these and they were lifesavers. The one that lived in the living room I decorated with cute sticks and it was actually clear and it turned out pretty cute.

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