Confessions of a bad housekeeper

I saw the funniest cartoon once. A mother walked in with a basket of clothes and said"Now the laundry is all done." The entire family were just wearing towels. I have felt like that mother, it seems impossible to get it all done.

I don't think I have had all the rooms in my house clean at the same time . If we work on the upstairs it trickles down. And all the laundry is never all done. Even if I get caught up in the morning once 11 people take showers it piled up again. Oh my, if the flu hits, its time to go to the laundry mat or risk never catching up.

I started cleaning out my kitchen cupboards a month ago. Each time I start I straighten up what I have done and then hopefully proceed before time runs out. I'm still not finished.

Our dishwasher runs constantly. Do you know how many dishes it takes to make a meal for a family of 11? I know holiday meals that people have are not that many. My children went to the dentist this week and the hygienist was so nervous about making dinner for 6 it was hard not to say anything, let alone not laugh.

I love having a large family, but I love having a clean house too. I am wondering if the two are incompatible? Especially with a sick mom and children doing most of the work at this time.

I am much better than I was. My dh lived by himself when we got married. I had two children. So he went from himself to a family of 4. When we moved stuff he took down my Christmas tree. It was the last week in February. We had boxes for aisles for months. At least I knew how to cook. He gained weight our first year.

So I am working on decluttering and cleaning. I have seen Don Asslett videos, Flylady's email list, read the Speed Cleaning book and the messies manual. I keep seeing improvement but I have definitely not arrived. Maybe one day.

My children have asked again what I want for Christmas. I have the same answer for Mother's day and my birthday and Christmas. The house all cleaned and no children fighting. They usually laugh. I do know one day it will happen. But I think the house will be clean, but also too quiet. There won't be as many dishes or laundry because there won't be as many home. The floor won't have to be swept several times a day because there won;t be as many small or big feet running on it. So I'll still work on getting my house cleaner but I will remember why it's so hard to keep up.