Cleaning

I'll be perfectly honest in admitting that I was a neurotic, anal-retentive cleaning freak before children. Even after I had Avery and Syd I would find myself personally washing EVERY toy. I felt a deep sense of accomplishment and pride when the barbie clothes were placed in 1 bucket and barbie shoes and household items in other buckets. I had closets color coordinated and shoes lined in perfect rows. I did have toy boxes but only for "select" toys. Rooms with clutter were overwhelming to me and I even found myself not being able to get a good nights rest if I knew things were disorganized (it's like they were taunting me). This is truly a life long compulsion. I was 6 when I found my true love of cleaning and organizing I would go home after school just to clean. When I was a 10 we had a maid and I followed her around cleaning because I just didn't feel she did good enough (I do this to my husband sometimes, he's not a fan).

This all changed one day. I woke up and realized I'm in a losing battle. By no means am I saying I now have gone to the opposite end and live in a pig sty, but I think if every toy is off the ground and into the bucket then the room is clean. If the clothes have left the clean pile in my room and made their way into each childs room then we're good. If the beds aren't made who cares. I still try very hard to be that person who cleans all the time, or lines all the food in order in the fridge but alas I'm outnumbered. I have 4 (5 if you include my husband) children who don't care, they don't care if R2D2 is in the Star Wars bucket or if my little pony is in the corral, as long as they can swim and play and jump on their beds then the house is awesome. I still have select things that are just mine though, my own little neurotic things that they can't mess up. I have notebooks upon notebooks of school info and magazine articles. People laugh at me when they see my books but they're my calm in the storm, perfectly organized calm. Every Mom needs a little calm in the storm.