Years ago I when I got married, I started a weekly cleaning routine that I learned from my mother. Each Saturday morning I cleaned our house from top to bottom.  I vacuumed the carpets, swept and mopped my kitchen and bathroom floors, dusted, and cleaned showers, toilets and sinks.  I also kept a clutter free house.  Things rarely piled up.  My dishwasher always seemed to get emptied. Laundry generally came right out of the dryer and was put away immediately.  (I should mention here that my husband helped out with a lot of this stuff.)

Things have changed since our son entered the picture a year and a half ago.  At first, the changes to my house were small.  Bottles piled up in the sink and weren’t taken care of until the next morning.  Junk mail sat on the desk for a few weeks until I finally had time to shred it.  My bathrooms were cleaned every other week.   We invested in a robot vacuum cleaner.  A total life saver, worth every penny.  And so what?  I told myself that my house could be dirtier because I had a son who I wanted to cuddle with, spend time with…plus, add the working mother exhaustion factor in…I don’t care as much.  Until….   

Just last week my mother-in-law shared with me that the last time she babysat for me, she got tickled seeing some of my beach items (from a trip months ago) lying in my dining room waiting to be put away!  Yikes!  What happened to me? 

Things have drastically changed.  I don’t recognize my house anymore!  This should be where I show a disturbingly messing picture of my house (any room!)  I can’t though, I’m too embarrassed! 

After my mother-in-law’s observation, I decided to get with the program.  I checked out a website called www.flylady.net.  This website tells you step by step how to take back control of your home.  Perfect!  After checking it out though, I realize, it’s more for the stay-at-home mom, for many reasons. 

So, back to the drawing board.  I guess I’ll ask my guests to keep their shoes on while they are visiting so their sock bottoms don’t turn grey.  I’ll stick with my clean up strategy of throwing things in closets and cabinets (out of sight, out of mind).  I’ll continue to grab clean clothes out of a mound next to the dryer.  And, I’ll spend the rest of my time playing with my son, not caring too much that a few rooms in my house haven’t been dusted for months.