Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Paralyzed

So you may all recall that I had a lot of cleaning on tap for this week in preparation of my father's arrival TOMORROW. This is where I am at with all of that:
Playroom DisasterGuest room... yeah not exactly presentable... YETClean laundry... from LAST WEEKKid's Tornado AftermathBasement aka TV viewing room... um... I'm speechlessJunkie Basment Landing... unchanged worse than usual
At least I have managed to keep my desk cleared off. That counts for somthing right?... RIGHT?!?!

For those of you who can't get enough Mrs F reality TV...

20 comments:

moley said...

Ooh me first, me first!

Congrats on the desk Mrs F. It's a small start but its a start never the less.

The basement doesn't look that bad. In terms of time to tidy I mean, but tell me about procrastination. I do my best stuff at the last minute.

I don't know if it's any help but I find having a competition with the kids to see who can get toys in the box faster always work, whereas just asking them to put them away has no effect at all.

No good for folding clothes etc, but useful for some things.

Sarah said...

I think you have a busy day ahead of you :S

Good luck! And YES the clean desk DOES count for something! One less thing you have to tackle before tomorrow!

moley said...

Oh Mrs F, when I first looked the photos obviously hadn't all loaded. I only saw the last 3 :(

Yes I see now you you are going to be rather busy.

Mrs Furious said...

I'll be right back... got to go to Trader Joe's before Baby's nap!!!

Mrs Furious said...

Moley,
Yes both Mr F and I thrive on the stress of procrastination. It will all get done... just at the last possible moment!



Sarah,
Seriously... if I didn't have the desk cleared off that would be a MAJOR task today since I have to be mindful of where I put all that stuff where as clothes and toys can be quickly shoved away!

Heather said...

Ok, have you thought about bringing in a professional organizer? Or hiring me to evaluate what's working and what's not? Seriously, I am good at it. If it's impossible to keep things clean, it's because it's not an easy enough system (says the lady without 2 kids). I'm a firm believer in shelving, shelving, shelving. Shelves would be ideal over the basement steps -- I installed them in a house I was RENTING just because I couldn't handle the lack of storage. Shelving, throwing away, and dealing with crap as soon as possible are the key. In my current problem area, the bedroom, I'm pretty sure it's the effing hangers that I'm using, cause I just hung up some pants and they immediately fell to the bottom of the closet. Naturally, I didn't pick them up. Solution: new hangers that actually work.

Evaluate what's not working, the basic household patterns and traffic, and create a system that makes it really, really easy to keep things tidy.

soapbox girl said...

You crack me up! Don't stress yourself out too much. No one ever died from messiness, as far as I know! Good luck!

Mr Furious said...

HEY! That basement photo does NOT reflect the cleaning that lasted until 2:00 am this morning...

Everything else? Still a nightmare.

Actually, the basement is still a nightmare, but it's on its way...

wootini said...

Aha Mr F - I was just thinking about your list from earlier this week. : )

Good luck!

And congrats on the desk Mrs F, from a fellow messy desk keeper - that's a major accomplishment!!

Brenda said...

Okay, here's my question. When you are making an effort to keep the desk area clear, does all the stuff you normally pile on the desk pile up somewhere else? I find that when I'm trying to keep my counter of shame tidy, that the dining room table mysteriously seems to gain clutter. Ugh. Good luck with the house!

Deb said...

OMG... I am cracking up at the TV viewing room photo! The clothes everywhere. That looks just like the trail my husband leaves after he's been playing video games or watching TV. Clothes, blankets, towels... why does he need towels, you ask? Because sometimes he gets sweaty playing the Wii. Uh, huh.

Maybe I should take pictures of my half-moved -in/half-not/plumbing-disaster-in-the-basement-only-adds-to-the-chaos house to make you feel better.

P.O.M. said...

Seriously, is the maid thing an option? You just might require professional help with this one. I have to confess that I got a maid once becuase I didn't want to clean my shower. But my place is so small so it wasn't that expensive.

Nutmeg said...

Don't worry... it's not that bad!

My house is smaller, imagine that much mess condensed into a smaller area. We cleaned last night after I cried while making dinner because my husband suggested we start taking family walks after dinner. I was like "okay... because you get home at 8 pm and we don't have anything in the house that needs to be done or anything."

The desk looks great. Good luck with the cleaning tonight.

E. woke up seriously, with no exaggeration, every 20 minutes all night long. He's never slept through the night, but I think that was our worst night ever. I think I might die.

Don't respond to this comment if your house isn't as clean as you want it before your dad arrives.

Mrs Furious said...

Fear not my peeps...
In less than 2 hours I have:
cleaned two toilets
picked up kid's bathroom
removed bins and huge trash bag of donations from Guest room
cleared off Guest room dresser
sorted clean clothes
picked up clothes and toys in Kid's room
and gone grocery shopping at TWO stores

You will not believe what Mr F and I can do with a little pressure on our backs!!
I will of course post the afters tomorrow


Oh and Gigs,
No I am not making new piles I am literally dealing with the mail and stuff everyday.

Torey said...

Oh I totally feel for you. I literally (and I mean that) spent all day Tuesday of last week cleaning three rooms. THREE ROOMS. And they're not big rooms. I clean Guppy's room, the kitchen, and the "front room" (non-tv living room). THEN I spent all day Saturday re-cleaning the kitchen, and having Mr. Torey (that's what the kids I nannied for called him) clean the TV room. ALL DAY SATURDAY!!

Since then I've been pretty good about keeping it clean. I even mopped the kitchen yesterday. (only to come home and find that the dogs had of course spilled dog food all over it. seriously)

Can you make a day that you just spend all day cleaning? Like Tuesday is good for me because we have Library playgroup from 10 to 11, and then I can be home all day until our next playgroup (I seriously cannot stay home. . .I love to be out) at 6:30. I try to do as much of the kitchen/table (we don't have a dining room) while Gup eats lunch in his highchair. And if he's content with a toy in the highchair after lunch, that's a total bonus.

Ok. . .hope it's going well for you!!

Vanessa said...

It doesn't look totally out of the ballpark. Echoing many others, the last minute burst of cleaning goes a long way.

Mrs Furious said...

Deb,
I got the oreo cakesters... Mr F & I are going to be pounding those during our all night cleaning job!



Nutmeg,
Oh you know I know what you are going through!!! :(
If it helps at all even though Baby isn't really sleeping better I am doing better.. and the Unisom is really helping me. I still get woken up and still wake up but when I'm sleeping I am sleeping more soundly and feel more rested. I'm just taking half of one and I'm ready to hit the floor 1/2 later. Feel free to email me if you are really having a hard time and need to vent. SERIOUSLY. I'll be thinking of you.

Mrs Furious said...

Vanessa,
Oh we'll do it. I'm on hold since Baby is up and that makes cleaning impossible since Kid isn't home to entertain her.
Thank god Mr F is on speed (ADD) it really works to our advantage with the late night cleaning! ;)



Torey,
Unfortunately I NEVER have a time w/o one kid awake and with me... usually 2. It makes cleaning hard since Kid is constantly getting stuff out and Baby then drags it all over town! I try to do a bit if Baby is napping and KId is at school (sometimes things line up like that) but then I start procrastinating and BLOGGING!!!
Baby is a trouble maker so it is hard to get much permanently done until she's out for the night... you've seen her she never sits still.... not even in the highchair!

Anonymous said...

Make Kid clean her own room. Seriously. My kids are 3 1/2 year apart so we did have the same issues, except Tori was even younger. Kid is quite capable of cleaning up her own messes as she goes. First rule is she doesn't play with anything new until what she was playing with is put up. Now it's not fair if she has to pick up after Baby, but that's the breaks of being a big sister :( Have you ever sung the Barney song "Clean up Clean up, everybody everywhere"?
And no asking Kid to do it. TELL her to do it. With consequences if she doesn't and rewards if she does.

emmyjw said...

Hey,how did you get inside my house?;) Seriously though,looks just like home and it always ends up being a last minute freak out around here too.You'd think I would learn and fix it...uh no.

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