Hello!
For the past several years, I have been telling myself (and my family) "I am going to get the house in order, once and for all, if it kills me!" and that's about as far as I have gotten.
THIS YEAR, however, I really mean it!!!!!!!
You would never guess that I USED to keep a spotless house, when my husband and I were first married and for numerous years afterward! I really don't know when things started to go downhill. I just know that I not happy with the way things are and I want things to change!
I LOVE my house. It has four bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a family room, a den, a dining room, and a kitchen...........but.................it has very little storage space. It was built in 1977, so it's not a new home and it's not very big, either - about 1700 square feet. (We have only lived in it for 5 years.) My husband is retired military and we acquired a lot of "stuff" during those 30 years of service. We have two kids (son - 15 and a daughter - 13......well, in two weeks) that have a lot of "stuff" as well.
Consequently, our garage has become our "storage area." It is FILLED (no exaggeration) with boxes of items that I was not able to unpack when we moved into this house - due to the lack of storage/cupboard/closet space - in addition to the lawn/gardening supplies....the holiday decorations.....bicycles.....etc. I would rate our garage a 4 (minus the human/animal waste - thankfully!) My husband and I are embarrassed when we have to open the garage door for any reason. I have just about reached the point where I would like to take [glow=red,2,300]
everything [/glow]in the garage and dump it on the curb for the garbage folks to pick up. (Obviously, that is not practical)
My OTHER big challenge and annoyance is keeping on top of the paperwork! Mail/homework/magazines, etc. gets tossed onto my kitchen table.....which, THEN, get moved to the floor or counter top so the kids can do their homework after school. It piles up for several days and then, eventually, gets thrown into a brown grocery bag, so it can be "sorted" at a later date.
We
have a filing cabinet but it's in a small closet under the stairs and not that easy to get to, so I am not real motivated to file things. Consequently, we have TONS of brown paper grocery bags filled with newspapers.....magazines....catalogues.....junk mail.....bill stubs that need filing, etc. in various corners of the house.
When I absolutely can't stand it any more, I will sort through several bags and put them out with the garbage. Of course, it all eventually piles up,
[glow=red,2,300]again[/glow]!
Our closets are small, and therefore, packed. I HAVE weeded through my clothes and the kids clothes - which has HELPED - but they still remind me of "Fibber McGee's" closet. Our kitchen doesn't seem to have enough cabinets/space for food, dinnerware OR cooking equipment, either. (Cooking is my passion) We have limited counter space, which makes food preparation a real challenge.......... I almost DREAD going to the grocery store, because, of having to cram everything into small cupboards.
One of these days, my husband and I plan to expand the basement (it's a finished, partial basement - the fourth bedroom, the family room, the 1/2 bath, and the washer/dryer are downstairs) and add on to the dining room, as well as, the kitchen. That won't happen for several more years, though, because we just don't have the finances to make it happen.
Even if we DID have a house, with enough "room to spread" I would probably still feel overwhelmed at the constant picking up and straightening up after everyone. Well, at least the kids and myself. My husband, pretty much picks up after himself. The only thing he won't do is sort through junk mail that is addressed to him, and I have learned
the hard way NOT to throw out ANYTHING with his name on it! (It never fails, I toss something that I consider "junk" and he will ask me about it, the day after it goes out with the garbage.)
I DO pick up after myself, but the kids are another matter. They're good kids, but they are getting messier all the time. Shoes and jackets get kicked off either in the kitchen or the den and left where they fall. School books, homework, binders, etc. get left on the kitchen table after completion. Food wrappers and glasses get left in whatever room they were consumed in. Their rooms are a mess and so is the hall bathroom. It doesn't seem to bother them, but it bothers ME!!!
If I say something, they will (eventually) pick up after themselves, but I am getting weary of having to say something in the first place.
I would rate the rest of our house a 1 (bordering on a 2) I am hoping, that I will be able to FINALLY keep my New Year's Resolution and get the house in order, once and for all! It would be a real burden lifted from my shoulders.
