Small Rewards

I think I am a perfectionist but like to pretend that I am not. The mere fact that my house is never clean enough, I am not organized enough, and I never get enough done on any given day pretty much confirms that I am indeed a perfectionist. I think it is perceived as a bad thing and that is why I deny that I am.

Any mom, or woman for that matter, knows that housework has no end.  When the dishes are done, I walk into the living room, pick up the dirty ones I forgot, carry them into the kitchen, and start the vicious cycle over again.  The same is true for laundry, toys, getting groceries, bathrooms, sweeping, dusting, recycling, emptying trash cans, clearing my desk, or cleaning off any flat surface in my home.

In the midst of what feels like one big neverending, unorganized, dirty, somewhat chaotic mess that I call home, these are some of the small things I find rewarding as a perfectionist mom in denial.

*clean burners on the top of the stove
*empty hampers
*fridge stocked with food-drawers and shelves full of colorful, washed produce and everything lined up on the drink shelf-supplements on the left, white milk in the center (rice or almond), chocolate milk on the right (soy or almond)
*getting a washcloth at bathtime and the cabinet is full of clean towels neatly stacked-tan & brown in one stack, green in the other
*waking up to a clean kitchen
*the few minutes after I mop the kitchen when there are no spills and sticky spots
*the dining table with only a centerpiece and placemats
*getting the boys dressed and getting the clothes out of their closet full of clean clothes neatly hung in some sort of order-color coded shirts on the left, pants on the right, possibly a few already put together outfits
*having enough room on my desk to set my purse down
*walking through the house barefoot without having stuff stick to my feet
*retrieving a toy from under anything ang not pulling out a huge dust bunny with it
*empty recycling bins
*being able to locate my cell phone

You get the idea. I like things clean and in order. However, there is a positive twist on all this.  All of these "messes" are reminders that I have a wonderful family, an amazing husband and two precious boys who keep me busy and do more than their fair share of contributing to the messes. I'm thankful that I am able to stay home with my boys and therefore have even more time to be annoyed by the mess.  I wouldn't trade my husband or either of my boys for a perfectly clean, neatly organized house. Well, maybe just for one day.