I’m interrupting my regularly scheduled SAHM Guide to House Cleaning post (specifically Part 3) because my hippocracy only goes so far.  I am overwhelmed by the messes in my house.  In every room in my house there are piles of crap that needs to be dealt with.  Seriously, I had no idea where to begin.

In the kitchen, my counter o’ crap is piled as high as the upper cabinets with papers and such.  In the family room, there are toys (big kid toys with small parts) that need to be moved into the basement because Baby E has found that if he throws himself off one side of the couch he can get there.  The boys’ room has a big pile of big kid toys that won’t fit in G’s closet and needs to get moved to the play area in the basement.  My daughter’s room looks like a tornado hit it. (I know, not really my problem, gotta get that girl to clean!  She’s been sick for two days.) Okay, so the bathroom doesn’t have any clutter, but there’s this big white tub staring at me that really needs to be scrubbed.  I just can’t take it anymore.

I’d try to get started.  Really, I did.  I started with the counter o’ crap.  I was tossing and sorting those pesky papers, but then Baby E would wake up (unexpectedly) and I would just pile them all back up on the counter.  I couldn’t have a completely trashed kitchen because there was dinner that had to be made and eaten later.

After explaining my frustration to my husband, he helped me come up with a plan.  It was so logical.  Normally I’m the one that’s overly logical – what’s up with me?  Anyway, each day we’ll identify which area needs the focus for the next day.  That way I won’t be overwhelmed with the big picture, but I can focus on a small area.

Today, I’m going to work on packing up all those toys to be moved into the basement.  With those toys out of there, the family room will be a much safer baby zone.  I’ll also vacuum and pick up anything out of place.  This works out great because A’s piano lesson is today (we’re so lucky to have an instructor that comes to us) and a clean family room will help keep me from being mortified.

In terms of our House Cleaning focus, I’ve been an epic fail.  I’m pretty sure that my weekly schedule needs some tweaking too.  I also need to start out with a clean organized space before the “routine” in house cleaning can begin.  I’m going to take this next week and work on those pesky, full of clutter areas.  I’ll be ready to come back next week to discuss our Part 3 – Monthly Cleaning.

How did last week go for the rest of you?  Is your weekly schedule working?  Let me know, I would love to get some inspiration from you!  If you are the type of person who always has a clean house, share with us, how do you do it?

Here are the links if you missed out on Part 1 – Daily Quick Cleans or Part 2 – Weekly Cleaning.  Join us on our journey!

Manda