the difference between messy and dirty

his special eye computer

building

the garage

the chalk board

welcome

snacking

Today Barry and I had a conversation about the difference between messy and dirty.  You see– I have these voices in my mind that tell me that in order to be the “true mom” my house needs to be clean and orderly at all times.

This is a problem.

For starters, being tidy is not natural to me, never has been.   Also I like to make things.  Actually, to put that better I need to make things.  Making things makes a mess.  And then there are the children– the SIX children that live here and NEVER LEAVE.  They read books and leave them places.  They build legos and leave them places.  They make block towers, and take off socks, and draw pictures and cut paper, and heaven forbid– they EAT, which leads to dirty dishes.

Orderly at all times in this house is completely unrealistic– and unnecessary.  DUH!   Messy is one thing.  Blocks don’t take long to pick up, dishes get washed and used again, books get reshelved.  Neat and orderly can only be a reality around 10 pm when kids are in bed.  As long as our house isn’t DIRTY, as long as bathrooms are sanitary, dust is kept reasonably at bay and floors are unstickified on a regular basis it’s all  okay.

TAKE THAT NASTY VOICES OF PERFECTIONISM!  Dirty = bad, but a little mess never hurt anyone.  (Well, not permanently.  Stepping on a lego is pretty painful.)

It does take a little effort to keep on top of the dirtiness, though.  Here’s what works for me:  The house is divided into 6 zones (not a new concept, but such a good one) and we work on a different one each day of the week.  I have the Home Routines app on my iPhone, but I never use it.  I just make a list in the morning of what I want done in the day’s zone on some random piece of paper I find, have each of the 3 older kids pick 2 chores, do 2 chores myself with little kid help, and that’s it.  We don’t live in pristine conditions, but nothing is gross.

Today the entryway got freshened up.  The stairs vacuumed, the front porch swept, etc. etc.  Logan got the chore everyone wanted.  He got to freshen up the entryway chalkboard.

4 thoughts on “the difference between messy and dirty

  1. Perfect. It sounds like the plan we’ve adopted lately. 6 zones we have, though I think the kids would like choosing the chores instead of being assigned. How do you decide who gets to pick first? I miss making things with you. I’m working on a Sweetpod right now. Though…with your awesome instructions, I feel like you’re (almost) sitting next to me! Thanks for your inspiration!!

  2. RaeLyn- Kid #1 picks a chore, kid #2 picks a chore, then kid #3 picks. For the second we go backwards–#3, #2, #1. Whoever is around when I’m ready gets to pick first, but there is some strategy involved because the first will also be last.

  3. Lately I’ll just call randomly a “break”. I set the timer for ten minutes and have the children run around and pick stuff up, wash walls, empty the dishwasher. Then the timer rings and we go back to making the house a mess.

  4. My mother used to say: people don’t remember whether your house was a mess or not, but whether it was cosy or not. And indeed, my childhood memories are full of warmth and cosynes (is that an actual word?) so that is how I run my household: always a mess (thanks to the cleaner it is one day a week clean and kind of not a mess), but it is always cosy in our place.

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