Saturday 6 March 2010

A Place For Everything & Everything In It’s Place?…

I am fast approaching my first anniversary of Blogging & those of you who visit regularly will know that there is a continuous theme that runs through my posts….namely that I find it hard to comprehend how the male of the species are just so UNTIDY!!!

Now, I will admit that I am borderline OCD when it comes to my home…I don’t like clutter, like everything to have it’s own place & not to have to panic should we get an unexpected visitor…Heaven forbid that anyone should ask to use the loo before I’ve had a chance to check it out first! Am I the only one who’s boys ‘forget’ to flush…leave lid AND seat up…& sometimes (well quite often actually!) miss the loo altogether?!!!

My Mum brought us up to make our beds, keep a tidy house & a shiny sink & to take a pride in ourselves!! Is that so out of date? I know that if my home is tidy & I’m clean & well presented I certainly feel better able to face the world!

I will admit to being a bit obsessive about some things…BUT overall I just like ‘clean & tidy’ & I become quite agitated when the house is messy…or as part of it is right now…an absolute bomb site!!!

Then why?  You may ask, am I blogging when I should be tidying? Well…I will tell you…I have reached saturation point…I have retreated to my scrap space & closed the door! When I’m done here, I may well gird my loins & try to make a dent in it..but then, in all probability, by the time I get in from work tomorrow, it will be just as bad again, so why bother?!!!

Anyhow…what has prompted me to whinge today? Well…since New Year, I have charged the boys with keeping their own rooms tidy…I agreed that I would make their beds each morning & run the vacuum through when I did the rest of the upstairs, but they needed to keep them tidy (there’s that word again!!) Nathan has the smallest bedroom…decorated to his choice not long ago & it looked something like this..2007_0112cakealex0045 2007_0112cakealex0044

 

 

 

 


underbed

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You see…a place for everything, a desk for homework (tucked out of sight between the bed &  window), plenty of shelves for toys & books, storage units with boxes for more toys & even a ‘den’ under the bed with a string of football fairy lights, more storage & a beanbag to crash in, to read or play DS games!! Before Christmas, I had a sort out & weeded out the ‘too young’ toys to make way for the new things that would inevitably arrive over the festive season…it was all….well…so tidy!!!

And this brings me to the horror that this room is today!
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Top right is that neat little ‘den’ stuffed to the gills with Heaven knows what!…bottom left is his desk..yes there is one under there somewhere!…top left is the floor in front of his desk…an bin stands empty, while there are sweet wrappers & pencil shavings on the carpet! Bottom right is what has become a dumping ground for just about anything…please note a DS game (these cost about £40) just left balanced on the edge of the unit…one day soon there’ll be tears & tantrums because he can’t find it!!!

I am in TURMOIL…part of me needs to have this mess GONE!!… part of me agrees that no lesson will be learned if I do as I have always done & just restore order to this chaos…BUT there is a part of me that thinks maybe I should just bag everything up & conceal it away leaving just the furniture & bed made up & let him believe that it’s all gone to the tip!!

Please let me know what you think!! One thing’s for sure, I am not spending this beautiful sunny Saturday in that pit….even if it would feel good to have it tidy at the end of it!!! Besides…it has an ‘almost as bad’ twin in the form of Alex’s bedroom next door!! Oh! The joy’s of Motherhood!!!!

So…I’m off now to peg out some washing, for the first time this year, & maybe have a little walk around the garden with my pruning shears!!  Whatever you’re up to this weekend…Have a good one…& thanks for dropping by!

6 comments:

humel said...

Poor you! x The empty-bin-with-rubbish-all-around-it is something that bugs me (especially when I see litter on the street when there's a litter bin just there!); I can also totally relate to the DS games being left lying around, grrr!! Much too expensive to treat so carelessly!

I would go with the bin bag and make him worry, and warn him that next time the stuff really will be disposed of if the room isn't tidied by your deadline. But then, I'm mean like that ;-)

FlightFancy said...

Oh my, I remember those days! I'm not a glutton for punishment, but I do like the house to be decent when there's drop ins! I did something similar when my kids where that age. they had until the weekend to pick up their rooms, with many prompts from Mom. By the weekend anything on the floor (which I explained was also a safety hazard) when in a box, and it had to be earned back(extra chores). Only took a couple of weekends before they would frantically run to their rooms to quickly pick up. Of course now that they are teens.....the rooms look awful again, Ive learned to shut the doors. :)

Jocelyn said...

I so need order in my home and since we had all the water damage..stuff is stuck everywhere and I am still trying to put things togther...

Do I remember these days...I got to a point with my daughter that I just walked away from her room and shut the door...I would go in an open the window...for the smells were getting to more than I could handle.....when she got married..and moved out on her own....her room still looks like it did when she lived here!!! Imagine that!!! Now that room is my scraproom and guess what....it is in need of some cleaning!!!

Hang tough sweet friend!!

karen said...

I used to bung it all in a black bin bag(still do)and say its off to the dump.It always worked.
Over the years I have learnt to just shut the doors and ignore it.I must admit I have a quick tidy up when I get to Tasmins University flat and then I have a reality check that I don't live there!!!
I know one thing my children are proud they live in such a tidy house,even if their rooms aren't.
My childhood bedroom was sooooo tidy even my clothes were numbered,so I would know what my sister had stolen to wear!!!!

Mary said...

LOL Sandi..........that is just what it's like in my two's bedrooms (18 and 21) and now I'm trying to sell the house it's a nightmare! I used to be able to just shut the doors but I've had to threaten them with all sorts to try and keep their rooms tidy for a few weeks 'til I sell up!! Sigh!

Sian said...

My mum used to pile it all right on top of the bed so that I had to move it to get in! That worked! I know exactly how you feel, but I am forcing myslef to close the door on other people's mess. I am not a maid. Repeat after me! And then leave them to it. Best of luck.