My life's a mess right now.
Ok, that's not a fair statement. Rather, everything in my life is a mess right now.
I know just how it happened, too. Things were moving along at a nice pace, with routines working just fine, and headway being made when WHAM! Along came December. I know it always follows November, but somehow it managed to blindside me this year.
But I rolled with it, having loads of merriment, and spending the entire month in my kitchen. We're talking serious baking here, intermingled with joyous events to host and attend. It was all delightful (with the exception of some sick kiddos), though quick and busy. I enjoyed every day, and collapsed into bed way too late each night.
Then came the trip. We packed Christmas day to leave for 5 days. The trip went well other than hubby being sick the entire time, and we returned home to prepare for the new year. But then the reality of it all started hitting, and I'm now seeing just what a mess everything is.
We've been home for 4 days, and I'm nowhere near caught up on laundry. Menus need to be planned, groceries need to be bought, a dead tree and its adornments need to be taken down, snowmen need to be smuggled back into the attic. Stacks of papers need to be filed, things need to be mailed off, bags and bags of hand-me-downs need to be sorted through. A newsletter needs to get written, meals need to be cooked, toys need to be put away (and space made for the new ones). Piles of clothes need to be hung, floors desperately need to be vacuumed, bathrooms need to be cleaned. I could go on, but I'm sure you're worn out enough just reading it, right? So am I.
I know what the answer is, or at least I think I do: some spurts of hard work when the kids are sleeping in order to get things liveable again, then systematically tackle the other things project by project, right? Honestly, I'd rather pull an ostrich stunt and stick my head in the ground, hoping it'll all just take care of itself. When I get overwhelmed I tend to just freeze, unable to figure out where to start.
I know you organized types out there probably can't understand why I don't just get going and get it done! So any suggestions and/or offers to take over would be greatly appreciated!
Whew. Confession time is over. Now you know the real reason I haven't been blogging!
5 comments:
You asked, so here's my advice.
Get rid of the Christmas clutter first. The house will suddenly feel much larger when all of that is stowed away.
Laundry and meal-planning are never-ending projects, so don't stress about those. Do a load or two each day, and your family can survive off frozen meals for a little while.
My best cleaning method is room-by-room. Take a trash bag and a box in there with you. If it's trash, toss it. If it goes somewhere else in the house, just stick it in the box and deal with it later. But don't leave the room to put away every little thing you find because you'll get distracted by the mountain of other stuff in the other room.
And call me to vent -- I'm right there with you.
Oh, and deal with the newsletter at night. If you get an idea during the day, just write it down on a pad of paper. But writing can be your cathartic reward for tackling the house. I bet Emma's a good helper.
I have been there so many times before, I am actually there now. SO much to do that I don't know where to begin, so I just gave up and visted blogland for a while! Is that bad or what?
Come by ans see hubby w/ the president!
I think your stealing the EXACT words and feelings out of my head. I am in the exact predicament, I go to a room and there is so much to do I lose motivation. I am still trying to get back in the groove. We will get passed this! :)
Have you pulled your head out of the ground to breathe yet? I thought of you this morning as I was scrubbing bathrooms. (And yes, my computer post was purely for your entertainment. I found the whole episode rather funny myself.)
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