Posts Tagged ‘clean freak’

So to keep things rolling between now and the actual BlogHer@Home party/conference Jen and I are going to post a “Getting to know you” series.  I know for a lot of you this will be all “yada yada yada” because you are already lucky enough to follow me on twitter, my blog, or stalk me in real life.   However it will give you guys a chance to know Jen and I better as well as maybe meet new people through the comments to see who you will be conferencing partying with that weekend.  Later on in the game we plan on opening up Mr. Linky and letting that not only stand as a giant roll call for everyone planning on participating, but will also further help you guys get a feel for everyone involved in BlogHer@Home.  Maybe break the ice a little before August.  We have plenty of time this year to hone in on our group and get to know our community. So Jen and I will go first and then we will go from there.  Plus, for those of you lucky enough to know Jen or I already, you may learn something new, who knows.

I’m gonna to take you back to the old school, because I’m an old fool, who is so cool…

Like way back to the old school.  Picture this:  My mom & dad have five kids.  I am oldest of said five kids.  Mom decides to go back to school.  She actually started that with 4 kids and the fifth one was a HUGE surprise.  So our home was BURSTING with hustle and bustle. With dad working full time, mom in law school, and me 15, G 13, M 9, C 5, and J 1 we were a spectacle in public places to say the least.  With mom and dad getting home later and needing the help, I was the built in babysitter/laundress/housekeeper and all around drill sergeant.  Keeping the house clean was not actually too hard because it was not big.  Only three bedrooms.  Three bedrooms packed to the brim.  My sister and I in one room, all 3 boys in another, and of course mom and dad had their own room.  So the problem was not so much the cleanliness, but the CLUTTER.

There was something on every surface in that house.  All the dressers covered in miscellaneous personal items, every desktop stacked high with papers, books, tapes, any and everything.  Toys were EVERYWHERE.  Our house was definitely “lived in.”  There were no sacred do not sit in here rooms, or lets keep the toys out of this room, rooms.   So even when the house was clean, it looked messy.

This table would have been COVERED in my parent's house.

Sharing a room with my sister was a complete nightmare.  She was just young enough to be interested in my stuff and want to be like me and too young to actually share.  Like, my makeup, or my Bath and Body Works stuff that I worked for, not her.  I have eyes like a hawk.  If she so much set down my lotion bottle in a slightly different angle, I knew about it.   Anyway, all of our rooms were small for the amount of people in them, so they never looked Pottery Barn catalog like to say the least.

So fast forward to my adult life…and I might be considered a clutter freak.  I CAN. NOT. STAND. CLUTTER.  I like my house to be “guest ready.”  So, unlike back in the day when someone would be coming to town we would have to really clean and prepare, I keep up with it on a regular basis.  My living room might be Pottery Barn-ish, but there are toys, lots of them.  We actually live in a house pretty similar to the one I grew up in (old Florida style) but there is a lot less clutter.  There are also a lot less people.  Which is also part of my master do-not-let-the-clutter-take-over plan.   I seriously can not leave the house with toys strewn about or old dishes left on the table. That just drives me nuts.  Especially since our house is like the hub for friends and family.  We live 2 minutes form the family business and in the middle of town.  So people are always stopping by to hang out, grab a smooch, from Mason, or go for a dip in the pool.  The last one is a regular occurrence in the summer for sure.

There was definitely a time there where I did let it get a little out of control.  I was becoming a complete neat freak.  Never stopping, almost compulsively cleaning and organizing.  Mike would have tell me I could make a cup of coffee nervous and I needed to sit down and chill out, especially during Mason’s nap.

Bookshelf behaving.

Bookshelf that could use some help.

I have to say since my two surgeries I have learned to appreciate my time with Mason in a whole new way. Since he had to start pre-school I give him 100% of me when we are home together. I really just can’t get enough of him right now.  And yes, there have been times when I could. Heh.  I took for granted the fact that I had him with me 24/7 before, taking him to work with me.  Now thing are different, and won’t ever be the same in that respect.  I have learned to let some things go sometimes.  That clutter does not in fact actually kill you like I once felt like.  Now, there really isn’t any way my house will be as clutter as the one I grew up in, but I can understand better now why it was.

It wasn’t just because there were so many of us in such a small space. Ok that was part of it.  It was also because my mom and dad would rather have spent their time doing stuff with us than re-organizing the garage so we could get some things in there rather than have them laying around.

I am still a little bit of clean-neat freak, a ‘cleneat’ perhaps. Look now I make up words! I have a certain level at which I like things, once the house falls below that level, I am compelled by an alternate universe to get up and clean.  However, since my surgeries, not only has my time with Mason been shorter but my stamina and over all ability.  I have found the strength within me to say, “Lu, it will be ok.  You are sore.  You need to sit.  You are still recovering from a major surgery.  Besides, when you look back will you be glad you cuddled in Mas’ bed a few minutes before bedtime, or that you got al the laundry done in one day rather than two?”  I have opted for the cuddles lately and it’s totally worth a little laundry or mail clutter.  I also learned the hard way last time that pushing myself is not the way to recover from any kind of ankle/foot surgery.  I have come to accept the fact that I have limitations.  Sometimes limitations lead to clutter and perhaps some dust bunnies. But so be it!  All I know is that I am very lucky not to be single after the year I have put my husband through.  For all those months are barked asked him to clean because it was below the level that I could manage and I was going crazy in the head.

So even though I am totally warped by my parents and the parameters they set up for my youth, I am totally awesome because of them too.  I realize balance is possible.  It’s different for everyone.  If a ‘cleneat’ can do it, so can you!  Although in respect of full disclosure I will say I have a list two pages long of things to be organized or deep cleaned that got backed up since I have been hurt. Some days I can tackle something on there, some days I can’t.  I do push myself too hard sometimes too. And I pay for it.  No one is perfect, right?  Don’t answer that Princess Jenn!  *SNORT*

Just to show you I am growing…I have to deal with these messy looking magnets on the back of the FRONT DOOR because I could not deal with them on the fridge.  At least I am allowing them to stay there when I really want him to put them away every time when he is done.  Mike says that is crazy. SO FINE!

*Deep Breath*

There you have it. Something totally random and quirky about me.  I wish I could say I was going to run out of things for you, but sadly no.

Any other ‘cleneats’ out there?  I know I am not alone…show yourselves!