Sunday, January 4, 2009

The Boring Best

The stockings were the last to get packed away. Our festive home has returned to the messy, disorganized chaos that permeates my life lately. I have plans to organize, purge, clean, even dust but when the mood strikes to get into action there are obstacles that I rarely am able to surmount.

The kind of clean and organize that I want to do takes time, a lot of time, and always results in a much bigger mess before it gets better. I need to clean like this in virtually every space in our home. It's a daunting task.

Last night I started by cleaning up my blog a little. Gone are the Best of Blog Exchange buttons from 2 years ago. The award buttons from 2008 are gone as well. I made some new buttons for the other blogs I write Midwest Parents and The Zoo Review. I didn't quite finish the review blog button, but that will be appearing soon. I hope to finish "following" the blogs that I read since I started that project several months ago. I hope to update the Zebra Roll again.

Craig and I also cleaned K's room yesterday afternoon while K had a meltdown over the fact that we asked him to clean it. K (and M and D) has been so tired lately. The holidays have taken their toll and we have been allowing the kids to stay up later than they probably should be up, certainly later than they are used to.

The kids are defiant, making poor (and rash) choices, dissolving into tears at the smallest infraction. They need more sleep. They need routine.

So this week we will work on getting back to normal. We need to get back to the boring and mundane part of life that seems dull at times but is really the very best part of life. Boring is good. Boring means we have no emergencies, no illness, few obligations.

I will start to make a regular cleaning schedule to keep up with the work of keeping a home in presentable shape. I will need to get it into presentable shape to start.

Perhaps that's where you'll find me today. Recharging our lives for the new year.

11 people like me!:

for a different kind of girl said...

Ideally, I would like to move everything out of my house and then move only what's necessary and loved back in. I think I'd be far less stressed and exhausted when all was said and done! I'm the only one in the house without toys that need to be weeded out!

Anonymous said...

My kids are your kids. I can't wait for school tomorrow just to get back into a routine. I'm with you.

Kate said...

Tell me about the cleaning thing. Ugh. That's a never ending, long forgotten, much hated project around our household. I have to go back to work tomorrow and I'm kind of dreading the routine again. Even though right now we all kind of need it.

Hey, can you gimme a little linky love and add me to your blogroll?

Maggie May said...

i stumbled on your blog and can TOTALLY relate. i have three kids and they are all wacko from holiday schedules too. hang in there!

Damselfly said...

Ah, a fresh start. I need a bit of that too. And you're right -- sometimes a bit of boring and routine is just what you need. ;)

And you know what, don't they serve zebra rolls in African restaurants?

anymommy said...

Boring really is wonderful, it means the routine is operating and every one is sleeping!! I always forget though and shake things up. Will I ever learn?

Kirsetin Morello said...

I'm with you and Damselfly: a fresh start for a new year! Today I'm practicing a talk I'm giving later this week (we'll, I will be in a minute...), so the organizing will have to wait another day. Isn't that how it goes? But I'll make that trade anyday: a speaking gig for chores. Sold! :)

Jen S. said...

That sort of cleaning CAN be daunting. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you got a lot of things cleaned up for 2009. I hope things can remain neat an organized for you throughout the year.

Anonymous said...

Christmas turns kids inside out! All that anticipation and excitement, the magic the presents, the food! AHHH!

I love that the boring parts of life are the most precious. I totally agree!

louann said...

Well sounds like a great way to start the new year =)

But really, I think its IMPOSSIBLE to have a clean, organized house for as long as there are kids that live in it. =) I'd choose a messy house anytime!

 
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