The Laundry Situation: Part 3

Seriously?  Part 3?  Apparently my desire for a household with a Utopian laundry situation is never going to become reality.  I did, however briefly get completely caught up on laundry!  I packed the back of my SUV to the top with every scrap of laundry I could find and marched my butt right on down to the local laundry mat.  I'm still waiting for the thank you letter from the the owner.  I sure I put a good dent in his children's college fund or vacation fund.  I had an entire wall of dryers going at one point.  I was so proud.... but the folding and sorting part, not so fun.  It took me nearly three freaking hours to fold and sort all that stuff.  A massage or a big fat margarita was in order after all that.  I wound up settling for running a bazillion errands and changing linens on everyone bed.  Somehow that turn out to be quite the reward I thought it would be.

Of course this begs to ask... what in the world freaking happened to have a laundry situation, AGAIN so soon after having everything under control.  Snow... lots and lots and lots of snow.  So much snow that we were without power for the better part of a week... and what happens in a weeks time?  Every last towel and sheet in the house manages to find its way to becoming filthy dirty between wiping down floors, drying off freezing cold kids after a romp in the snow or hand washing the dishes.  But no, it doesn't stop there, that would be too easy.  You see I have those typical type of kids who LOVE the snow, but only for short bursts of time.  After all, snow is cold (I was completely shocked when they informed me of this phenomenon).  This means, 5-6 wardrobe changes a day. 

We finally got power on again last night (thank you baby Jesus).  What's the very first thing I did?  LAUNDRY!... and dishes and vacuumed the wood floors and turned the heater on full blast and .... OK, you get the point.  As we speak, load # 6 of the day is currently in the wash.  I would say I safely have another 6 loads to go, maybe more. 

But the fun isn't over yet folks!  An even bigger storm is set to hit us come Thursday and stick around through the weekend.  Fingers crossed that we keep the power on this time.  But because I know better, I plan to keep doing laundry until it inevitably goes out again.

As for Messy Kid's room, *sigh*  I am falling more and more behind.  I am DYING to make her headboard.  I have the fabric and the upholstery buttons are on order.  I just need to get the wood, the foam and the batting... and hope that there's power over the weekend so Messy Dad can do the heavy lifting.

One last thing.. gotta give credit where credit is due.  That uber cute picture at the top can be found at this website here.  I am such a sucker for wall decals.  It's a wonder I don't have any...........yet (insert evil laugh).

Stay warm!

Until Next Time,
Messy Mom

And Now, The Closet.

Finally, I get to the darn closet.  I am feeling so uninspired to do it too.  What's fun about a closet?  You walk in, grab what you need, walk out.  I have more fun plucking gray hairs (of course, there's only 1 that I will admit to, and I blame my children for it).

I've decided to start with the floor.  Figured I can't really get to the stuff on the shelves if I can't even walk in there.  And as promised, here's the Ugly Truth:

All those boxes have been sitting there since we moved in.  They're all labeled "Master Bath".  I don't seem to be missing anything (other than a curling iron).  I fear what I will find in there.  I'm sure Messy Kid will be happy to have her doll rescued from in there as well.

*POOF* Like magic, it's all cleaned out.  WOW, that is one messy carpet.  I'm thinking I'll just pull the carpet out and go with what's underneath.

ACK!  Holy 1968 Batman!  Never mind, I'll stick with the dirty carpet and clean it up.

Overall, the act of cleaning out the floor of the closet wasn't nearly as painful and I thought it was going to be.  Think splinters under your fingernail.  Now to tackle those blasted mystery boxes.  They've been around so long, I'm thinking Jimmy Hoffa might be in one of them.

I am going to have nightmares about that linoleum, tonight.  Man, that was scary.

Until Next Time,

Messy Mom

The Path to Hell....

From what I hear, it's paved with good intentions.  Apparently, I must be well en route.  Nothing but the best of intentions all week long.  What happens?  Absolutely squat, diddly, zip, zero, nada.  Fell behind on my 1 load a day laundry.  I mean really, how hard is it to do ONE FREAKING LOAD A DAY?  Haven't finished the bathroom... and haven't even attempted to start the closet.

Some life changing event this is turning out to be two weeks in.  Oh, wait.... two weeks in?  Hmmmm... I have a feeling I am like the rest of America.  I wonder how many people are smoking again?  Ate a donut for breakfast instead of going for their morning jog? 

In this epic battle of good vs. evil, I shall not let evil win.  Back on the horse, first thing, tomorrow morning.

I did get a few things hung on the wall.. does that count?  The bathroom is still clean, that is an improvement over how I would have been before 2011.  But I did have a rather nice week with the family now that no one is sick any longer.  The weather this weekend was phenomenal.  I think warm weather in January is a very cruel prank.  A tease by Mother Nature.  Next week we will be covered in snow with cabin fever, again.

Here we go again, again.......

Here's to our first epic fail of the year!

Until Next Time,
Messy Mom

The Jig Is Up Folks

Yup, the jig is up, and I could not be any more relieved.  Mr. Messy now knows all about the Blog and my evil plan to take over the house.

He was getting suspicious a) because I never clean... and when I do clean, I do not clean with purpose and direction.  b) He started questioning my sudden plans to decorate, rearrange and otherwise make life better.  Basically he wanted to know who stole his wife so he could make sure she doesn't come back.  He likes Messy Mom 2.0 much better.  Now that he's on board, I told him about everything I want him to make me <evil grin>.

I have to admit, the bathroom is coming along quite nicely.  I'm 90% done with the general cleaning and straightening up.  I still have to do the dreaded floors  <shoot me now>.  But I found some awesome deals in the clearance section of TJ Maxx for some decor.  That place is so dangerous for my checking account.  When all is said and done, however, I think I am going to be able to decorate the bathroom for under $100.  I don't know about you, but I think that's not too shabby for a bathroom that previously only had trash and all the contents from the drawers on the counter as decor.

I'm wanting to go with a Coastal Redwood Spa Retreat feel for the bathroom.  Hopefully I don't miss that mark by a mile and a half.  I was inspired by a teak wood bathroom mat I saw (check out the link).  But instead of paying over $100 for the thing, I am going to have Messy Dad make it for me out of some Redwood Witness Wood we were able to get our hands on.  If you don't know what witness wood is, I'll give you a very quick description:  Witness Wood is reclaimed wood that is over 100 years old, sometimes old trees at famous landmarks are called Witness Trees (such as the  famous trees at Gettysburg).  They call it witness wood/witness trees because they are so old in age, they have witnessed a lot through local history.  The grain, color and markings of witness wood is generally not found in woods you get today because it has to do with a combination of the age of the tree when it was cut down and the amount of time it has had to age since being cut down.  Enough of the history lesson.  This wood we found is old growth redwood that was used to make a barn dating back to 1901 that was torn down a few weeks ago.  The wood was going to be thrown out!  So, the salvage  aficionado (fine cheap-o, call it whatever you want) that I am, told Messy Dad to make me that wooden bathmat, a waste bin and a small box for the counter.  Oh the things I am going to have him make!  I'm sure more of that wood will pop up in projects in the months to come.

Until Next Time,
Messy Mom

Why Fly Lady Doesn't Work For Me

Let me first say, I LOVE Fly Lady.  I wish I was Fly Lady.  I follow her blog, I've read her book, I try to channel her on the rare occasion I think I'm going to tackle the world (my house) in a blaze of glory.  God Bless her, that woman has more energy than a 2 year old on crack and sugar at a carnival trying to win that blasted ten cent goldfish.  But I just can't do it.

I know, I know.. she says you can only do what you can do in a day and if you don't get it all done, that's OK.  But I NEVER get it all done in a day.  By the end of three days I feel like a loser.  

I know why.  I know exactly why.  Because she wasn't expecting someone with a house like mine to come along.  You can't clean and unclutter my disaster and chaos that quickly and easily while keeping your sink spot free.  Something has to give.  She even has baby steps, just like I proclaim, start small.  But I can't wrap my mind around it.  I think it's that all or nothing mentality.  By day 6, I am toast.  You're supposed to declutter your hot spots.  HOT SPOTS???  Have you seen my house?  It is a hot spot!   This is why I basically say screw it to the rest of the house while I work on one area at a time.  Yes, I'm going to keep living in the chaos.  But there's too much crap EVERYWHERE to do her method.  Now, if you are listening Fly Lady.. I would never turn away an opportunity for you to knock on my door one day and clean my house give me some pointers and show me the way.  Really, I would bow at your feet, kiss your ring, dust your wings, whatever you would like :)

Messy Mom's Mantra:  1 room, 1 month, get rid of the chaos and move on.

I love you Fly Lady, but I don't think you were expecting the likes of me!

Until Next Time,
-Messy Mom

Life As I Know It

Life is continuing as normal, or nearly normal, once again.  Messy Dad is back at work, Little Ms. Messy is back to school and Messy Munchkin is home sick for a few days.  Christmas tree is outside and waiting to be recycled, all Christmas decor is taken down and put away... well, almost all of it.  We've been socked in by cruddy weather since New Years and haven't been able to take down the x-mas lights outside.  I get a pass on that because of weather, right?

I've got my 1 load of laundry going (did 4 loads yesterday, thank you very much).  It's the pink load.. and yes, in our house, pink gets its very own load.  So does yellow and purple.  Hey, with the exception of Messy Dad, it's a house full of girls.

Still haven't told Messy Dad about the blog or my plan.  Of course this would also be why his socks and underwear were on the floor in the bathroom this morning.... and the kids pajamas.  As much as I would love to get irritated, I suppose I can't... yet.

Alright, down to business.  Today's goal:  I am going to clean the outside of the tub (minus the use of caustic chemicals that cause my lungs to burn for several days), clean the toilet and start organizing the counter top in the bathroom.  Remember... baby steps.

Until Next Time,
Messy Mom