I never used to be the person who had to clean up after my husband. No, he was the one who had to clean up after me. It's been this way almost our entire marriage until recently. Something has changed. Of course, for the first few years of our marriage, I worked non-stop, bringing in the majority of the paycheck while he finished school. I'd like to say that's the reason he picked up after me, but I know it's not. To be honest, he's just a clean freak, and I am not. I'm one of those people who it doesn't get bothered by the house being a mess as long as I get to relax and spend time with my family. Like I said, something has changed. I'm not that person anymore. I got a taste of uncluttered chaos...and I like it.
I never used to be the person to clean up the dishes immediately after dirtying them. No, I was the person who let them sit in the sink for a couple of days because I didn't want to empty the clean dishes out of the dishwasher.
I never used to be the person who kept my sink clean. I mean, really, really clean. I don't even want to put dishes in it. Rather than letting the dishes get to the sink, I rinse them off and put them directly into the dishwasher. Then I wipe down my sink. This is due to "shining my sink" as suggested on www.flylady.net. What a difference this has made! Now that my sink is clean and "shiny," my cabinets are clean, too. I like it a lot. I don't feel completely overwhelmed when I walk into my kitchen area. Someone walked in my house and commented on how clean my kitchen was. Are you kidding me? That doesn't happen! I normally have to apologize for it being such a mess and then they politely tell me that I should see there house. It's just as bad. I know better. It certainly can't be as bad as mine.
I never used to be the person who swept and mopped my floors. Now, I'm not saying I never did it, but it certainly wasn't very often. We only have a few floors to be swept and mopped in our house, but it's the kitchen that collects the most filth. Of course, it's where everyone walks into the house, bringing in dirt and mud from outside. Living on a farm, there's lots of that. After our small fire, the grandparents came in and griped about how dirty our floor was. They lived in this house for over thirty years so when something isn't up to par, they let us know about it, sometimes in a very public place. I wasn't there for that conversation, but the hubby was, and he wasn't happy about it at all. So I had to clean the floors. I steam cleaned the floors, and it was a amazing. Once they were that clean, I didn't want anyone dirtying them. With two young boys and a husband, that's impossible. My next best option is to sweep and mop often. It's not so bad since I'm starting out with a clean slate from the steam cleaning. I do long for the day that the 1970s linoleum complete with brown and cream design can disappear, so I'll actually enjoy the floor that I've worked so hard at cleaning, but I'll live happily until that day comes.
So, to sum this up, I've changed. Something has clicked inside of me. I enjoy a clean, uncluttered house. I think more clearly. I don't procrastinate as much. I like it. The unorganized, cluttered chaos in my house has got to go, and I'm working on it one room at a time. Could it be that I could train myself to be a more organized person? When my house is clean and everything in my house has a "home" instead of some random place we decide to place it, will I be more productive? Can I train my family to follow the same system, or is it going to drive me crazy because they're dirtying up my cleanness? I guess, only time will tell. But as for now, I'll keep pushing toward a clean home.
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