I am venting here. Just venting in regards to moving and cleaning so if you care to read on and hear me whine then by all means please do but if you don't want to sit in on my pity party then click here to check out Kelly's beautiful Michigan home. I read her blog often and figured I would share since I've got nothing to show you today other than my negative attitude.
I am struggling to keep this house clean. I try to organize/sort/put away something on the days that I am not working but it never seems like anything gets accomplished. It's been hard because we still don't have everything out of storage. On top of that we need shelves and baskets to store things on and in so for now a lot of stuff sits out. There is minimal closet space in this house and the hallway closet is a decent size but doesn't have any shelves in it. I am going crazy. I'm grateful to be "moved in" to our house but when everything seems out of sorts it's hard for me to live there and be content. I feel grumpy a lot and overwhelmed and I would rather sit on the couch and just pretend I don't see anything than get up and do something. Am I crazy? Do you all feel this way when things are a mess or should I be seeking some sort of medical intervention?!
I've really been asking myself too, why do we have so much stuff. Seriously. These things I am not willing to part with (for now) but geesh the amount of kitchen small appliances and kitchen items are ridiculous. All these things have a purpose and a time but not used frequently enough so they need to be stored in between uses. You know what I'm taking about, the toaster, the coffee maker, the waffle maker, fondue set, large pot for canning, the blender, the tea pot, the mixer...and on and on and on... I am now starting to feel the small-ness of this house. There is not enough room for everything.
We have the basement that we can put things in but there are no shelves down there either. We cant put anything on the floor or near the walls because the walls are disgusting and the floor is wet since our basement apparently leaks water when it rains like it has been. Can you sense my frustration? I really am only writing this for myself. It feels good to get it out, hence the "getting it off my chest" title. The other problem with the basement is that it still isn't cleaned out enough to have our washer and dryer down there yet. I am having to leave the house multiple times a day to go somewhere else to do laundry. This sucks. For all of you without laundry in your own home I salute you. What are your tips? Buy more clothes so you don't have to wash as frequently? Then I would have more clothes to store so that's not going to work here for me.
Another thing on the list that I've been struggling with is feeling "at home" with these wood floors. I feel like my feet are always dirty. I feel like Chase is always hitting his head on the floor. I feel like I have to sweep every five minutes. I hate sweeping over and over and over. The solution is probably to buy more rugs. That will come when I have funds to buy more rugs (dang expensive rugs!). Another thing that will help is when we have a paved driveway and garage. The dirt gets brought in all.day.long by all of us coming and going. Maybe we need to start using the front door to enter the house and create a "drop zone" with shoe racks and a rug and a bench or something. Anyone have a bench they want to part with? Do you guys have any tips for living with hard wood floors? What are your cleaning routines?
ALL of my complaints are so small and really most days I am ok but today I am feeling it. It's probably because I've been overwhelmed and way too busy and it all adds up yet. It's mostly because on my days off I would rather be doing fun stuff with my kids and our friends than cleaning and putting things away. I just need to get my butt up off this chair, stop writing to you about how un-organized I am, and start organizing! I know, I know!
If you are sill reading, you may now need to go check out Kelly's home tour because now you need something happy to think about after all my complaining!
I am struggling to keep this house clean. I try to organize/sort/put away something on the days that I am not working but it never seems like anything gets accomplished. It's been hard because we still don't have everything out of storage. On top of that we need shelves and baskets to store things on and in so for now a lot of stuff sits out. There is minimal closet space in this house and the hallway closet is a decent size but doesn't have any shelves in it. I am going crazy. I'm grateful to be "moved in" to our house but when everything seems out of sorts it's hard for me to live there and be content. I feel grumpy a lot and overwhelmed and I would rather sit on the couch and just pretend I don't see anything than get up and do something. Am I crazy? Do you all feel this way when things are a mess or should I be seeking some sort of medical intervention?!
I've really been asking myself too, why do we have so much stuff. Seriously. These things I am not willing to part with (for now) but geesh the amount of kitchen small appliances and kitchen items are ridiculous. All these things have a purpose and a time but not used frequently enough so they need to be stored in between uses. You know what I'm taking about, the toaster, the coffee maker, the waffle maker, fondue set, large pot for canning, the blender, the tea pot, the mixer...and on and on and on... I am now starting to feel the small-ness of this house. There is not enough room for everything.
We have the basement that we can put things in but there are no shelves down there either. We cant put anything on the floor or near the walls because the walls are disgusting and the floor is wet since our basement apparently leaks water when it rains like it has been. Can you sense my frustration? I really am only writing this for myself. It feels good to get it out, hence the "getting it off my chest" title. The other problem with the basement is that it still isn't cleaned out enough to have our washer and dryer down there yet. I am having to leave the house multiple times a day to go somewhere else to do laundry. This sucks. For all of you without laundry in your own home I salute you. What are your tips? Buy more clothes so you don't have to wash as frequently? Then I would have more clothes to store so that's not going to work here for me.
Another thing on the list that I've been struggling with is feeling "at home" with these wood floors. I feel like my feet are always dirty. I feel like Chase is always hitting his head on the floor. I feel like I have to sweep every five minutes. I hate sweeping over and over and over. The solution is probably to buy more rugs. That will come when I have funds to buy more rugs (dang expensive rugs!). Another thing that will help is when we have a paved driveway and garage. The dirt gets brought in all.day.long by all of us coming and going. Maybe we need to start using the front door to enter the house and create a "drop zone" with shoe racks and a rug and a bench or something. Anyone have a bench they want to part with? Do you guys have any tips for living with hard wood floors? What are your cleaning routines?
ALL of my complaints are so small and really most days I am ok but today I am feeling it. It's probably because I've been overwhelmed and way too busy and it all adds up yet. It's mostly because on my days off I would rather be doing fun stuff with my kids and our friends than cleaning and putting things away. I just need to get my butt up off this chair, stop writing to you about how un-organized I am, and start organizing! I know, I know!
If you are sill reading, you may now need to go check out Kelly's home tour because now you need something happy to think about after all my complaining!
I totally get this. As I too am stuck in the middle of a messy, unorganized renovation. I'd say it's def. normal to feel overwhelmed when everything just looks so cluttered it makes your head spin! A friend of mine gifted me with a Shark vac. It's compact, re-chargeable, and does hardwood floors sooo much faster than I ever could with a broom. That and mopping at least twice a month (give or take) seems to do good for us. And I almost always have my flip flops (slippers un the winter) on around the house so my feet don't pick up anything from the floors. So that's my 2 cents. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is the vac I'm reffering to: http://www.houzz.com/photos/929719/Shark-Cordless-Floor-and-Carpet-Cleaner-Stick-Vacuum-V1930-VX1-contemporary-vacuum-cleaners-
DeleteThanks for the info!
DeleteKasey, I remember a couple years ago, when Kate and I remodeled our kitchen; obviously that probably was not as intense as your remodel, as you are doing multiple rooms as once, however, I totally understand the feeling of frustration living in the midst of the remodel, not being able to have it clean, organized and functional the way you want it; I am writing this simply to encourage you to "hang in there". You will get there, everything will get finished and eventually you will be able to look back and say it was all worth it.
ReplyDeletehey girl, I had all these problems with my house in Montana, (all hardwood floors, mud, limited storage shelves, etc) I worked to find all sorts of solutions. I will be in GR for the next week and would love to come by and see if I can give you some help moving in. It is so frustrating when everything is just chaotic and you're trying to work, and be a mom, and keep house, all of that. I've been there and I am NOT an organizing guru, I struggle big time with house cleaning. It's something I've really been working on cuz it's not my strength. But in that, I've learned some great ideas, so if I can help I'd love to do so. Jackie
ReplyDeleteWe must be in the same boat of emotions these days because I still don't feel 'moved in' to my house and it's been 2 years. But your frustrations are SO much greater because you are in the trenches of still placing everything. You will get there but I'm glad you're willing to get it off your chest and remind us that it is a journey with real emotions attached! :-) I love you sister and I can't wait to camp with you for a few days and get some distance from our 'stuff'! ;)
ReplyDelete