Wash, Rinse, Repeat...

I struggle with repetitive tasks.  In contrast, I love a tradition.  Tradition with all it's history, pomp and circumstance is so fun;  the excitement of getting out the Christmas ornaments; using the Easter dishes; getting together with family to celebrate occasions; going back to visit the family cottage every year; these speak to my soul. The repetition of routine is another matter.  And nowhere is this more prevalent than in house keeping.

Image courtesy of Dreamtime.com 

What do you mean you are out of pants?  I just washed them last week!  How can these blinds be dusty, didn't I just wipe them down?  Why is the bathroom so gross, it feels like I cleaned it yesterday. (I did not clean it yesterday.)  It mystifies me how much dust can accumulate, not to mention grease on walls.  How do light switches get dirty?  I fold laundry again and again and again. And don't get me started on the emperor of all chores: putting things away.

One of the many...

I wish my family were the disciplined type who took something out, used it and put it away, right away.  Sadly, I don't do that and my children were not born with this skill.  It's a daily challenge. I have succeeded in creating a place for most things in our home.  And with regards to school, sports, and paper there is a system that has become somewhat of a routine. But really I can spend a good portion of my day tidying up.  And it kills me.

It's become a mission, a learning opportunity if you will, to see these tasks as privileges not persecution.  If the sun is shining and I'm feeling especially pulled together I believe this with all my heart.  I am really lucky.  I have clothes that need washing.  I have a house that needs cleaning.  I have cherished things that need to be put away.  Okay that one is a stretch.  My cherished things are usually put away.  Although I've still got some Easter decorations sitting in a neat pile not put away.

Easter pile

But largely it's the flotsam - items that need to be returned, an article that I want to keep but don't know where I should keep it so that I'll find it again, anything that needs to be sewed, broken things that need to be fixed, notes to myself, seeds that need to be planted, and what I call kid litter -  items of clothing, a baseball cap, the odd Lego brick or toy car, a DVD  - these things creep onto my counter and breed.

This is my counter on a good day

 And I have lovely machines that help me with these tasks. I have a dishwasher. I have laundry machines.  I have a vacuum cleaner. I can afford swiffers.  I even have an outdoor clothes drying rack. I live in cleaning largess. Not only that, but if I clean up with music in my ears - it becomes a work out.

I love this drying rack so much I wrote a whole blog post about it.  Click here to read it. 

Alas the sun does not shine every day and sometimes my life is far from pulled together. So when I greet the morning with a huge full body sigh of discontent because neither one of my children has clean pants, there's a lovely drawing in the dust on one of the stools, my kitchen cabinets all need to be wiped down, I can't see the peninsula counter top for the stuff that's on it; and there's a mysterious substance at the back door that I'm really hoping is mud (it isn't mud) ; I'm going to put some music in my ears and count my house cleaning blessings.

Imagine if I couldn't clean up the mud?!