neat and bright

I posted this picture on Instagram and Facebook a little while back and a sweet friend asked me, "How does your house look like that? So neat and bright?"

While I do live in a home with a large white couch and upholstered dining room chairs, truth be told, chances are here is what you may walk into if you randomly stop by our home during the day.

It's not so neat. Aaannnnnddddd, I'm not so neat. It drives me crazy when there is stuff out all over and more and more I am becoming a slight minimalist with less clutter out, but I am not a neat freak. I wish I was. The Hubs on the other hand, he is. He is beyond neat. Beyond. So in any picture you might see that is extremely neat, it is only because I try to work hard to keep it that way for him. But most of the time, I fail miserably. I wish I could be like him, but at the same time, I'd drive myself to the looney bin. Seriously. Between all the housework, taking care of the little ones, and anything else that is random that pops in, it's not easy to keep a perfectly clean and orderly house. And if you are capable of doing that, I applaud you, because I can't. 

At the end of the day after the boys are in bed and the dinner dishes are cleaned, I clean the kitchen and then the boys toys all go away (we reduced it to only one basket now). The dining room is always neat because we just eat our meals in there. The kitchen stays neat for the most part because I try to not let things pile up in there. Sometimes a pile ends up on my side of the desk, but for the Hubs sake, I have been trying to be real good about no piles on the desk either.

The den/family room is where I am found when I am relaxing. That is also where my piles end up. I usually end up with a tote bag filled with my papers, magazines and books, or I will have the things I am working on that day in the corner on the couch, like in the picture below. Even this I am trying to do my best to limit. I have been making sure to put that away in my closet each day, even if I know I am going to be using it the next morning. And in this room really the only mess is the boys toys, which go away at each nap time and then for good at bedtime.

Unfortunately, our bedroom gets the brunt of things. The laundry that is folded and waiting for me to put it away sits in there, anything random. It goes in there. A lot of times you will find a laundry basket and a few random things, or a pile on the dresser. This is the sore spot. I have to work harder at not keeping anything out in that room. Sometimes it is hard because the boys love love love to go in there and get at the electronics, my makeup, jewelry, clothes, all the things they shouldn't get at so during the day I will just toss things in there to do later, when they are asleep and then night time comes and I am still working, but have yet to get to it and the Hubs comes home to piles in there, waiting for me to sort and put away. So that is my danger zone right now. Bed and bath. I will conquer that one of these days. Right now it is neat and tidy (except my bathroom drawer that the little men attacked before the Hubs so kindly child-proofed for me.)

I also put things on the stairs to go up and put away and don't clear that off each night. That should be my New Years resolution is to clear the stairs every night. Whether is is linens to go in the linen closet, the boys laundry, things for the attic, anything, it goes on the stairs, behind the gate, so the boys don't get at it. I am usually running here and there all day with them and whenever I go upstairs without them, they get upset so I try to avoid it, thus the piles. So my goal, along with keeping the bedroom pile free and the bathroom without my makeup on the counter or brush out, should be to clean the items off the stairs each evening.

So, though I truly do try my best amidst the craziness of keeping a home and two little men in check, our house isn't always so neat and bright. Don't be fooled by the angle of instagram or Facebook photos. And if you have any encouragement or tips for avoiding piles or organizing, please send them my way!