Deep, Dark Secret

Ok, so I have a confession...I am not a neat-nick! There, I've said it!!! I feel so much better :) Well, sort of, anyway. Ok, so that statement isn't necessarily true - I do like things to be cleaned and in their place, but I do not enjoy being the one that does it. I would much rather pay someone else to do it for me, thus the reason I so loved my Valentine's Day gift this last February. Anyway, I tend to just turn a blind eye to clutter, until it suddenly bugs me so badly that I cannot think of anything else. This sends me into a cleaning fit, whereby things suddenly start to disappear - right into the trash!

Here, let me give you a small glimpse into my world - our upstairs playroom:

Here is the before. Notice that there is very little floor showing through the toys scattered here & there. This room as been in this condition for 2 cleanings - or 4 weeks. I know what you're thinking, but please don't say it. I thought the same thing every time I passed by, but it was so much easier to simply pull the door closed, or to tell guests at Ian's birthday party last weekend to simply "stay downstairs". I've been very well intentioned over the last month, telling myself each & every Tuesday or Thursday that I must clean the playroom, but there was always something else to do, which left the playroom as last on my to-do list. Do I dare admit that even the kids wouldn't enter this room for fear of impaling themselves on a stray Lego or Kinex? (I was going to take more thorough pictures, but I couldn't get into the room without hurting myself, so these were taken from the doorway - really, really sad, I know!)

And, here is the after. A mere 2 1/2 hours later, and our playroom is now 'playable' again. Generally when cleaning upstairs, I require the kids to help. But, in order to do any real cleaning (which means that I can actually get rid of months & year's worth of broken kid's meal toys and junk), I must be left alone. When I try to throw things out with the kids nearby, my trash bag inevitably ends up empty and the broken toys end up back in the bins! Notice the 2 trash bags standing near the couch? One is full and over-flowing, the other is about 1/2 full, and awaiting the next room on the agenda. Now, the trick will be to keep it cleaned! Otherwise, I will be at this again in about 2 months, and I'm sure that's a very positive estimate on my part.

Ah! I feel much better after getting that off of my chest :) Now, on to Morgann's room...