Wednesday, November 19, 2008

A Mystery...

Do you ever have one of those moments when you just start randomly feeling unsettled and anxious and irritated? I am having one of those moments. I don't understand why I am feeling this way, I just am.

Maybe it is because of the huge success of my new home organization system. I have a great new system for doing laundry: I leave the clothes in the washer overnight so they have sufficient time to ripen, then I put them in the dryer the next afternoon. By the time I remember to take them out, they have been sitting in the dryer for several hours/days. I then throw them into a pile in the unused corner of the upstairs hall (cautioning the children to make sure and step over them if they walk that way). This leaves the laundry clean and easily accessible to household occupants of any height.

My new system for dish-doing is a similar rousing success: I use paper plates until I run out. Then I use real dishes. They sit in various stations on the table/counter/sink until there are no clean dishes left. Then I run a load in the dishwasher and they sit in the dishwasher until I need a dish. I do have to mention that occasionally this system has been disturbed and I have broken down to actually empty and load the whole dishwasher in one sitting, but interruptions of this type are, thankfully, unusual.

My bathrooms have self-installed indicators that tell when it is time for cleaning to be done: when the orange algae starts growing around the faucet and the edges of the drain, its time for a cleaning! (At least within a week or two....) My toilets have a similar device installed: the pink/grey indicator ring and what I affectionately call the "whiff" test. (I'll spare you the explanation on that one, but it works particularly well for bathrooms with little boys.)

I am lucky enough to have "Franz," our vacuuming robot (or Roomba) who does all the vacuuming for me and thus relieves me of the responsibility of having to have a "system" for this area. This would make vacuuming almost a little bit too easy for an incredibly organized mom like me. Luckily, Jackson has determined that the Roomba is his favorite toy ever, and whenever he hears it going, immediately crawls to it and attacks it (or lays on it) with a happy vengeance.

I have an incredible system for keeping the kids school papers neat and up to date: they sit in their backpacks until about Wednesday afternoon, at which point I exclaim, "Oh crap! I forgot about Jared's homework"-- at which point I take the papers out of the kids' backpacks and set them in a pile on the counter, where they remain until late on Thursday night.

My kitchen floor gets a thorough mopping at least biannually; dusting is a yearly observance (we never miss a time!). When the weeds in the backyard get taller than I am, they are promptly attended to. I always know what we're having for dinner every single night by 7:15 pm, without fail (well, almost).

What can I say? It really is a mystery... with a life this organized, what possible reason could I have to feel down on myself?

9 comments:

Lara Neves said...

You are a woman after my own heart, Karen. :) Only I don't have a roomba...I just have crumbs all over my floor because I can only handle vacuuming about once a week.

Rebecca said...

Heheheh! Oh Karen! You are a great writer! Wish you lived a bit closer!

Ranell said...

I love how honest and witty you are ... you make having a cluttered house seem wildly entertaining! And it does make the rest of us feel better (our houses look the same, we just don't have the courage to admit it.)

Greek Goddess said...

:)
we must have lots in common. wonder why I'm sitting here reading blogs at 5:35 pm with the kids watching a movie and dinner not even close to being started? Well, at least R's homework is done, since she has to turn it in daily...
it was great talking to you last night.

Kelly(M&M) said...

I so relate to this post! Thanks for being so real. And I am so jealous of your Roomba. And I am so embarrassed of how many times I said "so"! Ha ha, it's late and I am going to bed. :-)

Suzie Petunia said...

All I need is a Roomba and I'll have your system down pat! Does this mean you're changing your mind about not joining our "Disorganized Anonymous" club?

K kid said...

Well, I do have a pretty great system already... but even the best can improve.

Unknown said...

ROFL!! That was hysterical! And so like my own equally successful system. I suppose I should be sorrowing in your sorrows, but I'm actually very happy that you, and your commenters, can relate. It helps me, the super-organized, on-top-of-all girl that I am, feel a little less lonely out there!

Unknown said...

Oh, that was me, Jadie, who posted last, btw. I forgot that I'm signed in under a different email address.