I think this a lot: someday I want to be the kind of Mom that's organized. One that's not frantically searching her purse for a tissue only to not find one. That remembers to bring a snack to the park. You know what I mean.
I think it may already be too late, though. There's an article going around Facebook about the ten habits of organized people: They never leave dishes in the sink, they set stuff out for work/school the night before, they plan a weekly menu and shop for it ahead of time, and they NEVER let paper pile up or their email inbox have so many emails that one can't find the soccer registration message or birthday invite.
So instead I give you, "The Ten Habits of Highly DISOrganized People that are somehow making it work!
1. When company is coming, we put off cleaning the bathroom until five minutes before. And by "clean," I mean swipe a baby wipe over the countertop, stuff the trash down in the can so it looks like there's less in there and make sure that the hand towel is "clean enough."
2. Not only do we let the emails pile up, so does the regular mail. Throw junk mail out when it first comes in? Please. It's so much more fun to sort thru a week's worth of circulars, fertilizer company ads and credit card offers when you're frantically looking for the birthday party invite that you were supposed to RSVP to ASAP.
3. Laundry is not a chore, it's a lifestyle. A lifestyle that involves baskets of clean laundry all over the master bedroom, that you can fish from when your child informs you that he is out of pants. Oh, and instead of spreading the laundry loads throughout the week, try to do five in one day. And to make it more sporting, forget to put a load in the dryer until the next morning, so it smells funky and needs to be washed again.
4. Have the kids leave food wrappers all over the kitchen and dining room. Make sure that they know that even when you ask repeatedly, that that's where they belong. Same goes for cups, legos, clothes, blankets and whatever else.
5. Be happy that you have a dog to clean up the scraps a bit. If only he would be interested in the cereal on the floor in the living room every morning, though. Oh, and forget to feed your dog at least once a month.
6. Sigh as you back out of your garage every day that you've neglected the weeding again. For the 20th morning in a row. Vow that you'll do it TONIGHT! Repeat tomorrow.
7. Have a calendar hanging on the wall to record all important activities. Still manage to miss a karate class and a yoga class, show up to the dentist one week early with screechy preschooler in tow AND mix up the date for a birthday party.
8. Even though you run the dishwasher at least once a day (twice daily on weekends) still have enough dirty dishes piled up for at least another half-load.
9. Stop to smell the roses. Neglect the housework because your kids want to snuggle and read books in your bed, or watch episodes of "Paw Patrol" with their Mom. And yes, it is OK to let the dishes go and knit instead. The dishes (as stated above) will still be there tomorrow.
10. And most importantly......remember that you are a good parent and to cut yourself some slack. So the house is chaotic at times......these years won't last forever and someday when you say "For the last time, I've cleaned this up and I want it to stay that way!" it will. Because they'll have grown up and out of playing with legos, left the house, and the only laundry you'll be doing is your own. Enjoy these years.
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