Mission: Kitchen

As I've stated many times on this blog, my house is small. 880 square feet according to the deed. While it is fairly easy to clean, it gets soiled and cluttered quite quickly, too. About a year after we moved in, it was obvious that I was simply moving messes around and no matter how much I cleaned, the house still looked unkempt. I made up a list or rules, such as nothing on top of the microwave, and radiators are not shelves, and chairs are not coat racks. That helped and so long as I keep things where they belong and adhere to these rules, the house looks uncluttered and better kept.

However....

The kitchen is the bane....

It is the first room one walks into. Thus, it is the first room most stuff gets dumped in. It is also the most active room and sort of doubles as a mudroom despite being a rather small galley kitchen. It is also the first room of the house hubby sees when he comes home work-wearied. It troubles me that he often walks into a room that usually looks like it exploded at some point during the day. Usually, that's because it is being used for dinner preparations. I try to leave ample enough time to clean up my cooking prep messes, but with two young children, that doesn't always happen. I think my biggest problem are the general clutters that occur throughout the day and just seem to manifest themselves around dinner time...shoes by the door, stuff on the countertops, dishes in the drying rack, toys that made their ways into the room, vegetables I've harvested from the garden that day, and always dirt.

Now, I've talked to hubby about our house before, apologising that it isn't always perfectly kept. He said that it reflects a home that's lived in and he appreciates that and what I do to keep it. That gave me some comfort....at least to continue to allow a couple of toy corners in the living room. On the other hand, walking into a cluttered, messy kitchen simply isn't relaxing. At least, it isn't for me, so it probably isn't for hubby.

Some may argue that he doesn't really notice that mess for the smiling family, but I'm sure it would help the over all coziness of the home (not to mention make me feel better thus reflecting a better feeling about it towards hubby).

So, my mission is the kitchen....keeping it kempt...at least when hubby pulls in the driveway. Although, I won't beat myself up about it. I'm trying to reduce stress in my life not only for my own health and well-being, but to have a better overall attitude and countenance for my family.

I'm sure a tidier kitchen would help.