Ideally, I would like to be neat and clean. I think I have perfectionist tendencies. Realistically, I don't let the little things bother me...the toys on the floor, dirty dishes, my messy corner of the room...until it builds up and gets to be too much. I usually let things go until I get annoyed.
I want to fulfill my perfectionist tendencies: to organize my closet, file my CD collection, do the dishes after dinner, hang up my jackets. But I don't have time for that. I also have relationship/quality time impulses and creative impulses that take precedent over my orderly and organized perfectionist impulses.
After dinner, I am much more inclined to say "Do we have time to walk to the park," than "let's do the dishes."
But this weekend, while Vernal was vacationing in New York, I was responsible for running the house and I got to see first hand the organic nature of how things happen in the home. It all started Friday afternoon, when I came home form work. Vernal was gone and I relieved her mom for her sitting duties. The kitchen was clean, however the family room was covered in pieces of wooden puzzles sets that I didn't know we had. Somehow, grandma knows were we hide them. Also, other toy sets where out too. We have nice boxes that we keep the toys in and they are organized according to set or likeness. We try not to open too many of these boxes at one time without picking up another, but this was not the case. We cleaned up and I felt much calmer.
The kitchen was clean, but I learned first hand how quickly a kitchen can get messy. (1 meal) The kids are in bed and I am about to have a hot fudge sundae, but the kitchen is messy. But what I learned was that it looks worse than it actually is. With an empty dishwasher, I was able to clear the dishes and cups and silverware in two minutes. I kept that up with each meal and was able to maintain a clean kitchen all weekend.
By the time Vernal came home, the kitchen was clean, but toys were still on the family room floor and I still had jackets that needed to be hung up.
In a nutshell, Forrest:
- quality time/relationships
- creativity
- perfectionism/organization/cleanliness
- laziness/relaxing/TV
7 comments:
You and your lists.
What lists?
I say f*ck it- go to the park- the dishes will sill be there. My standing joke with my kids is "oh great! The maid didn't come again today!! We realy need to fire her.." We don't have a maid...Life is to short
Great analysis of yourself.
When my apathy/laziness kicks in, it overrides everything. (No clean dishes, laundry, or organization)
In the past you have pointed out that the stereotypical "Dust" post is a list of definitions, so I was trying to be ironic. :)
I am impressed if Verna thinks it looked good.
I love your list! I think cleaning should be somewhere in the middle like you have it. Relationships should come first!
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