REALITY CHECK

I think I'm pretty real on here about things like various kinds of relationship frustrations, my emotional ups and downs, discouragement, etc. Today I'm going to be real about the very practical matter of my home.

I love efficiency, cleanliness, and organization, three things which can generally be used to describe by little world. Somedays, however, my home is in shambles. Let me take you on a tour of a few rooms I snapped pictures of after breakfast this morning.

Welcome. Step inside and see the magazines between the wall and blanket bin. They need to go in the library's free box, but I keep forgetting to take them, despite the fact we're there at least twice a week. Notice the jars next to the bin. They've been there for a week, waiting to be taken to the recycling bin across the parking lot. The movies actually belong there, as that's the normal "return to library" spot. Maybe I should move the magazines next to them. The shoes? Tim's. No further comment.

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Look in front of you and see the pile of school stuff by the TV. It got moved there from the table at dinner last night, but never put away. The white board has a chapter from the Bible we're memorizing. In theory, anyway. Naomi got Operation out when she woke up, dumped Sweetie (that's the bear) on the floor to play, then left it all there when she ate breakfast. The comb? I forgot to put it away last night after doing Naomi's hair. In the background you can see that some people left the table after breakfast without clearing their spots. Punks. Oh wait, my glass is there too. Evidently I didn't clear it when I went to get the camera.

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Now move your gaze a little to the left. Notice my sweatshirt that I left on the chair last night and the bag of rubberbands that got abandoned after doing Naomi's hair. The chess game? The boys started playing when they got up and left it out during breakfast.

Stroll on forward and gaze to your right. The kitchen. I spy an open cupboard, dirty dishes, a vitamin box, a rag on the floor, a cookbook holder, and the Gatorade bottle that won't go away. For the record, the plate of muffins was cooling to go in the freezer and the two racks of food by the fridge had just been pulled out of the freezer to thaw for dinner. I'm off the hook for those things.

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Turn around and head back toward the living room. Oh look. Here's the view you missed on your way to the kitchen. Those are the blankets I used while sleeping on the couch last night. I had insomnia and didn't want to wake Tim by crawling into bed once I was finally able to go to sleep. Guess I forgot to put them back in the blanket bin before starting breakfast. Oops.

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Feel free to head down the hallway, but watch your step. It seems the pantry has exploded.

Yep, that's a mess. Notice the neatly labeled bins? It's unfortunate that they're not big enough to hold everything. I had to dig through the rubble to find something for this morning's muffins.

Honestly, this is totally embarrassing for me to show you and stressful for me to look at. Ugh. Tim's been given the task of helping me figure out some sort of shelving system for this closet that will help utilize the space in a better way. Let's move on, shall we?

Ok, now we're in the bedroom. My nightstand, which is usually orderly, is piled with stuff and the top drawer isn't even shut. Tim's is cluttered, as usual. I will point out, however, that the bed is made. Come hell or high water, I always make the bed. Even if I didn't sleep in it the night before. The missing pillow? A kid borrowed it.

Isn't this corner inviting? We've got Moffit Box stuff coming out our ears for a package we're shipping on Friday, a couple towels on the chair that I'm saving for my dad, a printer I forgot to put away yesterday and Tim put on the floor last night in order to go to sleep (I'd left it on the bed), and a puzzle on the table that's been abandoned by the offspring.

And the dresser with piles of bargain shopping stuff, a stack of boxes being saved for the kids to play with later this week, more Moffit Box stuff, and a blue bin I can't decide whether to keep or get rid of. Did you see the pictures under the dresser? Those are from a picture project I started in early June. The goal was to finish it over the summer. The reality is I haven't touched it since early June.

And that concludes your tour. Feel better about how your home looks right now? You should!