Getting Back in the Groove

So I have to admit that I fell off the housekeeping wagon during KCWC.  It was a big challenge for me as I have admitted before.  My sweet hubs graciously said nothing about the number of times we ordered pizza or I pulled leftovers out for supper (again).  The laundry was severely out of control and the rest of our house was a hot mess.  A big house is a blessing and a curse--everyone has their space but when all of those spaces are a mess, it is pretty overwhelming.

Yesterday I set a goal to get most of the laundry done and the downstairs picked back up.  That was accomplished and the picking up demolished in a 24 hour time frame.  I only have 3 kids--how does this happen?

I also climbed back on the treadmill and thought many times in my 30 minutes (I do 3-5 min warm up, 30 min run, 5 min cool down) that I would not be able to go another tenth of a mile and somehow the 3 miles passed.  I'm hoping to do a 5K respectably by the end of the year.

So, I have 2 tips to offer on housekeeping.  When we are just doing our normal routine, I keep a pretty tidy house.  Don't judge my housekeeping based on things right now.  I don't know about you but once I get behind I have to fight hard to get caught back up.

The first tip is so silly.  I mean, really.  Once I started doing laundry this way I was like, 'well duh.'

I don't carry my laundry to the laundry room anymore.  I load it all on a dirty towel and pull it there.  I have hardwoods through most of the main floor, so it makes short work.  I used to get really irritated when I was carrying arm fulls of laundry and I'd drop one black sock.  I mean, I'd bend over to get it, drop four more socks and a pair of underwear and I'd be boiling.  It does get a little tricky when I go over rugs and such but this is immensely easier than the carry method.

The second tip is a something NOT to do.  Whatever you do, don't generate piles to come back to later--like the pile of upstairs things on the stairs.  We have 2 floors with the kids on the second floor--their bedrooms and playroom.  That translates into toys on the first floor that belong on the second and vicey-versey.  My sweet boy, the light of my life, will put 5 things in a backpack (he so thoughtfully ensures each item came from a different room), play with them a while, and then drop the pack and all in the middle of the den.  I have emptied more bags of their contents than I care to mention.  I used to pile things up and then clear the pile, but what happened was that I'd get my pile made and then be on to bigger and better things.  I will walk by a pile, watch it grow, and not want to fool with it.  I walked past a bucket of stuff upstairs that needed to come down for 2 weeks, no kidding.  The fireplace pile grew until it was falling off the hearth--this pic is after it was mostly cleared.

My new plan of attack is to find several things that go to the same place and take them there.  This requires more walking and stair climbing admittedly, but that's not a bad thing, right?  What happens it that I don't have black holes around that suck things into them, never going to their rightful homes.

Are you struggling to come up for air?  Me too.  Why don't we get off the computer then.  That would help, right?