A Cluttered House

To say I have a cluttered house, is an understatement. My house is completely trashed. It looks like someone threw up clothes, school supplies, and papers all over the place.

There’s clean laundry on the dining room table and floor, shoes and dirty socks are everywhere, and don’t get me started on the UPS boxes that are starting to arrive. They’re stacked up in the foyer. We have lunch boxes, book bags, and sports stuff. EVERYWHERE. And then there’s the kitchen. Let’s just say, the health department wouldn’t give us an “A” right now. There’s work to be done.

For the past couple of days, Zoe hasn’t been able to find her jacket. A new, expensive jacked, I might add.

“I hope you didn’t leave it at school,” I said to her.
“I didn’t lose it Mom,” she told me, “I just can’t find it in the house. I know it’s somewhere here, I just don’t know where.”

I usually don’t let the mess get to me, but this is especially bad. Our house is beyond messy.

When I went to grab my jacket tonight, I opened the coat closet, and guess what I found? Yep. Zoe’s jacket. She didn’t even think about looking in the one place it actually belongs. She just assumed it wasn’t there. Why would the coat be in the coat closet?

Jon is great about not saying anything to me about the house being trashed. Since I quit my day job, household duties have been awarded to me. I used to like my house neat and organized, and I still do, but I’ve relaxed a lot. Maybe, a little too much.

After dinner, which created more mess, I said to Jon, “Thanks for not saying anything about the house. I love that you don’t care if it’s messy sometimes.”

He looked at me, and had a funny expression on his face.

“Well,” he said, “When I walked into the house tonight, I actually started screaming in my mind. I’m smart enough to keep my mouth shut.”
“Really?” I asked, “So, it does bother you?”
“It’s pretty bad,” he said.
“I know,” I replied, “Tomorrow it will get better.”

It’s late and I’m tired. I’m not going to stay up, cleaning and putting things away. It’s a busy time of year, and I know, eventually, it will all get done. In the meantime, I’ll take a hot shower, tuck myself into bed, and not let it get to me.

If your house is messy and cluttered, don’t let it get to you. It will get done. Having a messy house is a sign of good living, I’ve decided. When I look around my house, I see a lot of “good living” going on around here, and in some ways, that makes me happy.

Find meaning each day,