A friend of mine and I often commiserate about the upkeep of our homes. We both agree that caring for and teaching the kids is our top priority, and with 7 kids between us - the housecleaning can fall by the wayside.
Our husbands believe a cleaning lady will be the answer to our prayers, but us girls aren't convinced. We've both had some bad experiences (um, stealing and shortcuts ring a bell?) and feel like it sends the wrong message to our kids. She voiced it perfectly as she asked: We're here to work together as a family to make this home run smoothly...do we really want to leave the hard parts to a cleaning lady? Don't we want our kids to learn how to clean up after themselves, know how to do laundry, take pride and care for their belongings? Do we want them to just hire people for the yucky parts? (Husbands vote yes, moms vote no)
I'm not going to lie, I struggle with it but I can't bring myself to let someone into my home again. This is my sanctuary, I want to feel safe and if I'm doing it among crumbs...so be it.
I've mentioned the sign that rests above my kitchen sink: "Boring Women Have Clean Houses". I saw the quote one day and it just spoke to me. The sign came about as the result of an argument about the messy house, you know, stick it to the man? I'm compulsive, creative, messy...sometimes I really mean to clean the house but I get a really great idea that I. Must. Complete. I get tunnel vision and pretty soon, the floor isn't vacuumed. I can't help it! Notice the dishes in the sink, I'm keeping it real.
One of my fave blogging chicks Whimsy Girl is a kindred spirit in many ways including her struggle with the mess that tends to build up. She had a call on her blog for Couch Cooties and when I saw what she pulled out of her cushions, I knew I had a (pretend) friend for life (who has no idea who I am). I hope she doesn't mind, but I am about to steal her fantastic idea for a contest. Hey, Big Guy, it made me clean under the cushions...Bonus!
This is going to benefit us all, see, you can win your own "Boring Women Have Clean Houses" sign (to stick it to the man) and I will not feel like the only slob in the world. We will scratch each others backs on this one. Yeah. (that is actual laundry from my vacation)
This is what you have to do:
Respond to this post with a story about or picture of your own mess, it can be your junk drawer, a messy room, your own couch cooties... I don't care, just give me some messy love! If you post about this contest in your own blog I will enter your name twice (link me, baby)! If you can come up with other messy quotes for me to use I will enter your name three times, hell yeah!
I will randomly select a winner On April 7th, just in time for spring cleaning. Due to the shipping, I will have to limit this contest to those in the U.S., you understand, right? Make sure I have some way of contacting you of a win, either a link to your blog or an email address.
To get the ball rolling, here are my "couch cooties" brought out from hiding for your perusal. A pencil, a playing card, a Yu Gi Oh card that I swear my kids haven't played with in a year, a pencil, a feather (?), a tuft of fuzz (maybe from a stuffed animal), a card listing all the states and capitals, a dog chew that looks like a turd, a quarter (cha-ching!), a Chinese relaxation ball, and an hour glass from the dentist to help the kids brush their teeth long enough (Yeah, brushing on the couch? I think not, nice try Dr. McKee) and while we're at it, do you remember this post?
Good luck and happy messes! For a another contest to enter your own "green" projects, check out ChicaandJo
