My House Looks Like The Apocolypse Happened

So the rapture was supposed to be yesterday -- at least according to some fringe christian nut in California, who also predicted that the world would end in 1994.  Big shock:  he was wrong (again).  I'm glad to know that I don't have to deal with the zombies today because I don't think I have it in me.  My house looks like the apocalypse actually happened though -- what with piles of clothes on the floor, half-eaten food on the table, and toys lying in the floor as if their owners were whisked away into the clouds, but this has unfortunately become the norm over the past month.  Ironically, this is the first day in awhile that I DON'T feel like a total zombie.  The flu symptoms are waning somewhat.  I even folded laundry yesterday -- 4 hampers of it -- which is good because the piles of DIRTY laundry were getting difficult to manage so I needed the hampers to separate it.  I wonder if I am the only one who prioritizes laundry based on its difficulty to fold and put away.  Today I am washing towels and washcloths because I can fold and put them away pretty quick.  I generally do whites last because I loathe folding socks, and with 6 people in the house there are a LOT of freakin' socks. 

Last night I asked the 7 year old to help me out by cleaning their bathroom.  I had tried earlier to clean it myself, but I ended up getting sick and dizzy so I stopped.  She actually did it and did a pretty decent job.  I told her that she could have that chore from now on and she was thrilled -- we'll see how long that lasts, but for now, I do not have to clean their bathroom anymore.  I do have to make sure that there are copious amounts of Clorox Clean-Up Wipes though because she uses WAY too many. But honestly, if I don't have to clean up the neon pink and blue toothpaste off of the counter or wipe up after the 2 year-old's horrible aim I figure that it is worth it. 

I made myself go to the store yesterday because we were completely out of the basics -- milk, bread, and Pop-Tarts.  It about killed me.  I was so shaky and weak by the time I got home I had to take a nap.  But I restocked the basics and even bought some vegetables and fruits and such.  So I'm even cooking today.  I 'm making pot-roast for dinner and I made homemade chicken noodle soup for lunch.  Unfortunately, all of this effort will only be good for MAYBE 3 meals and at least one of my kids will turn up their nose and refuse to eat it.  If it were up to them they'd live on Pop Tarts and Capri-Sun.  They do love fresh fruit though, which is good even if it means that I am constantly finding half eaten apples and orange and banana peels everywhere.  Those annoying little fruit flies are always in my house and my kids give them names like "Gnatty" and "Buggy."  Sometimes I wish my life was like the old days when I was a kid and the only thing I had to worry about was the monster under my bed or which color I wanted to draw a picture and not worry about where "that" smell is coming from. 

I am used to clutter.  I have 4 kids under 10 in about a 2,000 square foot house, so clutter is kind of a given.  But over the past month, my house has passed the "cluttered" stage and is quickly approaching "nasty."  I am having an inner struggle between doing what is right for my health and what is right for my house -- not that the 2 are mutually exclusive.   I would like to say that it wasn't bad before all of the chaos started, but that would be a lie.  It needed a good cleaning 4 weeks ago -- before my birthday and the tornadoes and everything else that has happened since.  It's not like I haven't done ANYTHING in all that time, it's just that I have only done the bare minimum.  I have employed the Swiffer, the Clorox Wipes, the dishwasher, washer and dryer, and of course the Lysol.  I just wish that the cleaning fairies would come to my house while I sip on Ginger Ale and nibble saltines and lay in my bed and watch the Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family, but I don't think it's going to happen. 

As soon as I feel better I plan on having a post-apocalypses house cleaning.  I will sweep, I will use an actual mop and bucket, I will vacuum, and I will scrub toilets and sinks.  I will fold and put away clothes, I will wash dishes, and I will throw away the 112 kids' meal toys that have accumulated during the month off from cooking proper meals.  I will have a general de-cluttering of the closets and toy bins to try and cut down on the number of things I could possibly have to pick up in a day.  Luckily, that is not today because I'm still not even back up to 70% and I'm really not in the mood.