I’m here, I’m home.
Been home for days, actually. And yet, have written nothing.
I’m in that slightly crazed, disorganized post-vacation mode. Getting back into the swing of things, shopping for groceries, doing laundry. You know, boring stuff that needs to be done before you can feel settled again.
Except, I’m feeling very un-settled. For one thing, my house is making me crazy. Maybe it was two weeks with my parents, who not only have larger houses than I do, but also keep them a hell of a lot cleaner. Happy as I was to be home, I walked in my door and felt claustrophobic. Smaller space, yes, but oh my god the clutter! So much crap! You know how you live with something long enough that you just stop seeing it? Well, I was away for long enough that I see it again. With a big, glaring spotlight on it.
The trouble is this: when do I deal with it? Most of my waking hours are with the kids, who are not exactly helpful when it comes to purging a house of all of its excess crap. Indeed, they seem to be magnets for the stuff. That leaves me with the 2-ish hours that they nap, and the 3-ish hours between when they go to bed and when I do.
That should be plenty of time, of course, but I end up doing other things. Eating lunch, taking a shower, lots of sewing, blog reading, and hiding in my bedroom with it’s blessed air conditioning window unit (holy crap, summer has finally arrived). Alas. Sometimes I wish I could either send the kids away for a day or two in order to get things done, or pay one of those people who make it their profession to throw out other people’s shit.
This all feels even more pressing to me than before, I think because in my own head I would like to imagine that we’ll be trying to sell our house sometime in the next year or so. I have no practical reason to believe that’s true, but it’s in my head, so there you have it. And it most certainly could not go on the market in its current state.
More tomorrow on other stuff that’s bugging me (I know, aren’t you excited!), but in the meantime, a few of my favorite pictures from our trip.
Those photo’s are keepers, for sure. And I love hearing about the thoughts in your head…it makes you seem so “real!”
Glad you guys are home safely. If I lived closer, I would clean out your house for you. My husband says I have no sentimental attachment to anything. That isn’t true, of course, but I do seem to be less attached to things than others.
Back in the spring, I planned to go through all the stuff we’ve thrown up into the attic and have a yard sale this summer. It hasn’t happened yet, and with Labor Day just around the corner, it’s not looking so good for a yard sale this summer. I will have to go into the attic to bring down things I plan to sell at the fall twin sale. Perhaps I’ll do some additional clutter cleaning then? Yeah, probably not.
Great photos of your vacation! Glad you had fun and are now back safe and sound.
i know its super geeky, but try flylady.net – you don’t have to do everything. you can easily pick and choose what works for you and your schedule. my friend thinks i’m all cultish stepford wife but i gotta say, my house is cleaner and i don’t feel like i’m cleaning more often.
.-= Nicole´s last blog ..100th Post: Decisions, Decisions =-.
This comment is not to be assvicey in any way, so I hope you take it as I mean it. I found that once the boys were around 2.5, it was SO MUCH easier to get stuff done around the house. Things don’t have to fit into naptimes and bedtime quite as much. So if I am purging the bathroom, they can happily play in my bedroom doing whatever.
Now at 3.25, they love to help me out with stuff. And they get into stuff so much less frequently that all our kitchen cabinet locks are off (except the knife drawer). Anyway I didn’t want the comment to sound like it’s some distant future where things get easier around the house. I just felt like there was a big jump between 2 and 3 where I wasn’t constantly refereeing them and I could do my things while they did their things.
.-= LauraC´s last blog ..A sweet twin moment to start your Monday morning =-.
I second the comment that 2.5 is a different ball game than 2. At 2.5, I suddenly realized my daughter could play while I actually got a little cleaning done. Of course, throwing another kid into the mix made it a little harder, but, for me, 2.5 – 3 is proving much more enjoyable than 2 – 2.5. Sorry if that is not great to hear right now!
Also, could M take the kids for a day or two half days so you could go purge crazy? You could try to make a little party of it with a margarita or maybe a friend to help out, just to make it more enjoyable. Just a thought….
.-= Tara´s last blog ..Flower Girl in Training =-.
I’m seriously considering hiring someone – just to help with our home office and our dining room – magnets for THINGS WE WANT TO HIDE (unsuccessfully). I’d want the same person to help me design a closet system in our home office that works for us – right now the doors are falling off, there is a naked bulb with a string for lighting, you get the drift.
I’m 50-50 on which I want more – a new deck or a new home office. I think the deck gets priority since the kids will be using it next year.
Okay, this comment is boring. I hear ya, is all I’m saying.
.-= Mommy, Esq.´s last blog ..Color Me Not Shocked =-.
I hear you; it seems like we can keep our house clutter free for a few weeks but then it just piles up out of thin air and before we know it, there is “junk” everywhere. My husband likes to hold on to things more than I do and always makes a point when I’ve thrown something out that later on we could have used.
LauraC, every time I think of clearing clutter, I think of your attic; that was a work of art!!!