I’m slightly embarrassed to share this with you today, but this is life for me right now.  I’ve never been a very disciplined person, especially when it comes to keeping my house straightened.  It’s either all or nothing.  Right now, there are at least six pairs of shoes laying on the floor around the dining room table which is covered in mail and things from Doug’s pockets.  Bookbags are in a pile by the door, because lord knows we can’t just have one or two.

Dishes are on the counter and in the sink, laundry is piled up and things just need to be picked up.  And because I’m the only one in the house who will clean the bathrooms – well, you get the point.  I was doing pretty well over the summer but now after a week of meetings and school starting on Monday, the things I hate doing go on the back burner.

So, why am I sitting here writing instead of cleaning my place?  Because cleaning is so redundant.  You clean so that you can mess it up and clean again later. I have learned that if I’m the only one here I don’t have as much difficulty keeping things up, but I’m not and I’m also not the only one here whose schedule has changed.  Band camp is starting for Doug and so the office is overrun by drill writing, the huge water jug is on the dining room table and pretty soon my carpet will be overrun by what he calls “turf turds” brought home from the artificial turf at the stadium.

I’m always envious of my friends who are so good at popping things in the dishwasher as they dirty them and wiping up the counters as they do it.  They have routines for things.  Our schedules are so wonky that it’s hard to get into a routine at home but I’ll also just be honest and say I hate doing it.  I used to make my mom crazy when I would say something about how keeping the house was boring especially when she would emphasize how important it was to impress people when they came into your house.

This is not to say I NEVER clean. When it gets to the point where I can’t stand it anymore I go on a cleaning binge and it looks great for about a day.  When I don’t have something major scheduled on a Saturday, that tends to be my cleaning day.  Of course, that gets shot to pieces during football season and well, who wants to clean on a Sunday, right?  There are just so many other things I would rather do when I’m not working!

All or nothing seems to be my lifestyle.  I’m either going full out or I’m a vegetable, so it’s not very balanced.  But as I look at my fall schedule coming up I know I’m going to have some really long days so I know things like housecleaning will fall through the cracks.   If it were just me I wouldn’t worry about it, but sometimes it’s that pressure about being the wife and therefore the ultimate keeper of the house that brings on the guilt trip.

Maybe the solution is hiring someone?  There are actually people who LIKE to do this kind of thing.  But then I think, probably not because I would feel like I needed to clean BEFORE the person came over to clean (thanks mom).  It also seems like a waste of money but as I get older it’s definitely more tempting.

How do other working women do it?  I don’t have kids at home anymore and yet it seems I’m busier than ever.  Do I need to suck it up and be an adult here or is it really not that big a deal?  For me there really is that pressure of being a woman and feeling I have to do it all – successful career, family, and still keeping the house looking like a comfortable home, not one big junk drawer.

Well, it’s Saturday and I’m thinking I have some time now to be an adult and clean stuff around here.  Chances are I’ll feel better once it’s finished and then I’ll think of all the other things I need to get finished in all of those other areas of life that I participate in.  It’s starting to look like an all in kind of day.