My House Doesn't Always Look Like This

Have you ever just dropped in on someone, been invited in, looked around their immaculate home and thought, "How does she keep her house SO CLEAN???" (If it was my house, you must have come on cleaning day ;) )

Or perhaps you have dropped in on someone and left wondering "does she ever clean that house?" (Again, if this was me, you probably came right after busy week at work).

I have read a few blog posts recently that are probably part of what some have termed the "Mommy wars."  I'm not exactly up to date with either side, nor do I really care to be, but as a quick overview, some blogs were talking about how important it is to keep a clean home, while others were emphasizing that spending time with your children is the most important thing you can do, even at the expense of housecleaning.  Honestly, both sides have some merit, and I'm not about to decide which one is right for you.

But as I read those articles, I realized something.  There are likely people who have thought both things about me.  I can think of a few people who have visited my home several times, and likely found very few things out of place (and I probably apologized for those).  They are often the people who schedule their visits ahead of time allowing me enough time to put things away, make sure the dishes are washed, the kids are reasonably clean, and my house is generally in order.

But there are also people who just drop in....and who knows what they have seen.  Perhaps they have come after my busy week at work, where I barely manage to keep enough dishes clean for the next meal so most of the week's dishes are piled around the sink.  Perhaps the floor was coated in kids crumbs from the last 3 or 4 days because I haven't had time to sweep.  Maybe one of the kids was coated from head to toe in yogurt. And most likely, all the couch cushions were on the floor being used as trampolines while a zoo full of stuffed animals removed any chance of guessing the color of my carpet.

The thing is, no matter which version of my house you have in your head, MY HOUSE DOESN'T ALWAYS LOOK THAT WAY!

We are real people, we do our best to keep our home livable and fun.  At times we do feel it is important to clean up the ENTIRE house.  Sometimes it is a week or two before we get around to even the most basic of cleaning chores. 

So, from something I read a long time ago. If you are coming to see me, feel free to drop in.  If you are coming to see my house, make an appointment.

Either way, know:  My house doesn't always look like this ;)