Housework Humdrum?

Having worked at home since February this year (yes over 6 months) everything now centres around our home. Work, study, childcare, family – and these worlds are colliding. Thanks Covid!

Keeping up with housework is now just one more thing to add to that list.

I’ll be honest. I don’t like housework. I dislike cleaning. I especially don’t enjoy washing sheets or re-making beds. To add to that, I do not iron.  In fact, I deliberately buy clothes that don’t need ironing. My son’s school shirts need to be iron-free for sure!

Nowadays, my son (who is just turned four) is in the house most of the day, and he’s not exactly into cleaning up after himself. Thankfully the weather has been generally alright, although the odd wet weather means we have wet shoes and paw prints tracking through our house. There is also a delightful trail of crumbs around the kitchen table after each meal.  You would think our dog would delight in lapping up the fallen food items, but sadly he is quite fussy and prefers his meals to be intact.

I like order and tidy, but lately I feel less inclined to ‘find time’ to ensure that everything is immaculate.

We do have less house guests so perhaps it is the fact that we are not entertaining as much anymore.

Truthfully, at the end of each day I’m kind of tired of being in the same four walls. It’s become too much, and I love my house, but I don’t love being in it almost 24/7!

I’d rather use that valuable cleaning time to get out, go for a walk, breathe fresh air, or just be away from the house full stop. The washing will be there for me when I’m back, and it’s not like I’m heading out and I need to ensure that my best outfit is cleaned and ready to wear.  Clothes folded? Nope they are in the basket and I can grab what I need as and when I feel like it. The dishwasher does need emptying, but that can wait until after dinner, when I have more motivation to re-stack it. Those toys strewn all over our living room floor will just be pulled out again tomorrow, so why pack them up all neatly each night?

Excuses, excuses… but I’m sure there are many others who can relate.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not living in a pig sty. Far from it. I’m just not keeping up with everything as I should or normally would.

The real question is does it matter right now? We have so much going on in our heads. This year really has been like nothing we ever imagined. It’s almost like we are living one of those Hollywood movies.  Except there is no popcorn and we don’t get to go home after 90 minutes and get back to our real lives. So clean house, washing folded… as I put everything into perspective, it is one of the graces I give myself.

What about you? Where are you giving yourself some space right now?