Sometimes My House is a MESS

Sometimes my house is a huge mess.  I just wanted to always remember this so my memories don't all become sweet and rosey with time.

We do A LOT with a large family and sometimes that means my van, my garage, my basement, and the bedrooms get messy.

For me, life has cycles.  Sometimes I am organized and orderly and sometimes I am surviving and throwing baskets of toys into the basement to hide them from guests.

Because this house is still relatively new to us, I'm still trying to figure out how to make it work.  We also have the widest spread of teenagers to toddlers, so it's difficult to create spaces that work for everyone.  

For three days my sweet 11 year old has been typing up a camp schedule.  She has plans from 10am to 5pm, she is outside with my youngest 4 so I can be inside tackling the order of the home.

I can't even tell you the cuteness of this camp.

Inside, I feel a bit overwhelmed.

A sweet girl I visit teach offered to come help me organize.

She had a dream where she was trying to cook greasy food over an uneven campfire in my house.  As she cooked, the grease kept spilling out and she tried to clean it up, but she couldn't.  She said it made her panic.  She knew she needed to come help.

Isn't that what it feels like when you get over your head?  You just watch this grease making a bigger and bigger mess and you feel overwhelmed.

I need to give myself permission to really organize for one week.

Although my kids are good helpers, this is a job I need to do without my kids around.  (Maybe one or two older kids, but usually it's just me and my Mormon Channel Podcasts.)

I tend to gather all the crap, sort it into piles, and then put it away.

As I put things away, I modify my system to try and keep things from becoming messy again.

I still don't have a great system-- I think it takes time figuring out a new house.

Yesterday, I put all the toys in a pile, took a picture, and then started sorting.  I created a corner with just a few toys for Ben to play with.  

And, I put away the rest of his toys in a closet.  I made a Barbie corner and a Lego corner.  The rest of the toys I closed up in labeled Tupperware in our storage closet.

I took every toy out of my whole house and brought them all to the basement.  When I have little ones at home, I usually keep a basket of toys upstairs and in my bedroom, where I am going to be.  

I'm pretty sick of toys, so I am only keeping a small pile of kid books and puzzles in the family room and toys in the basement.

I do keep a decorative basket in my family room to collect the toys that wander up over time.

Now that my toys are almost done, I can focus on my storage room and clothes.  I have piles of winter and too small clothes that I just shoved into my storage closet (can you see the bags piled at the end?) and I need to get them brought to Goodwill or put into the appropriate containers.

Tomorrow I'm tackling the end of the year papers that I have piled on my counter.

Richelle is hidden under my mountain of shoes.  I really think I needed her- just for inspiration.  I have found in life that service to others blesses your own life ten fold.  Richelle is an example of this.  I'm supposed to be the one who serves her, and instead SHE is a blessing in my life.

Yes, sometimes my life gets a bit crazy and disorganized.  We all need a week at home every now and then to put things back together.

Maybe someday my house will never get messy-- but today it is a mess.  And, I just know that I will be inspired as I clean.

I might not be the most perfect or consistent mother out there.  But, 16 years of parenting has taught me that I ROCK at repenting and cleaning up big messes.  :)

Today I'm grateful for helpful older sisters and kind friends.

Life is good!

(They picked those flowers on their nature walk.)

Those smiles!  I love them so.