Keepin' It Real

If you were to come to my home, announced or unannounced, this is what you would see. The piano room in to the left.

This is straight down my front hallway, looking into the kitchen.
This is the den on your right. Aren't I such a good housekeeper?? Isn't my home so tidy and clutter free?? See, I've learned a few tricks though the years about appearances. I've found that most unannounced visitors just ring the doorbell to ask a quick question, drop off/pick up a playdate, etc. 99% of the time, we stay in the foyer. So, I always make sure that those three areas, visible to any visitor, stay neat and tidy. Of course my intent is that most visitors leave my home thinking, "She is such a great housekeeper. I never see any clutter when I am there."

But alas, this is not true, and I have to admit that for me, it is all about appearances. The house just has to appear tidy to the occasional visitor, it's never actually that tidy. Try as I might, I just cannot keep my house clutter free all day long. Well, if that's what I did all day long, then I would have success, but to be honest, I loathe following my kids around all day, monitoring kid clutter. I wish I was someone who found complete fulfillment in how tidy my house is. But let's be real...that is simply a wish. And my heart is just not into my home being show room perfect all day, every day. So, for now I allow the three most visible rooms in my house give the illusion that the rest of my house must be in tip-top order too.

We had my sister and aunt in town last week. We had fun playing with cousins, eating out, crafting, shopping, and visiting. The visit went by far too fast. And now, here I am a full 6 days later, and the laundry is still not done from their visit. What is my problem? I tell myself that I've been too busy getting things ready for our spring break trip this weekend. Or catching up on life after playing the days away last week. But really, I don't have much of an excuse. Every morning I tell myself I am going to do laundry, and every evening I realize that I just simply walked over every pile. I am having a hard time calling on my inner Merry Maid.

So, what happened today? Why this post? Delaney has a little friend over to play. Her name is Alison and she lives in a house where there is no clutter. Not only is the foyer of her home always immaculate, but I've been upstairs, and it looks just as perfect there. Yes, one of those perfect homes I long to emulate.

Well, I was in the laundry room, doing laundry (see, I did get some done today!) and Alison comes in.

"Kelli, are you getting ready for a yard sale?" asks Alison

"Um, no...what made you ask that?" Although, I think I know what the answer is going to be.

"Your house is all messy and everything is out so I just thought you were getting ready for a yard sale."

How embarrassing is that? A five year old is, in all innocence, asking me if the reason for the piles of clutter everywhere is because of a business venture. It would never occur to her that I've been too lazy/distracted/disinterested to actually get it done.

In the vein of keepin' it real, I have proof. Here is what Alison was talking about. Here is our upstairs hallway, still loaded with the sheets from our visitors who left 6 days ago.

Here is the bathroom, still with the towels from said visitors. Here is the pile of laundry in Delaney's room. Of course, I've told myself I was holding off on doing laundry until closer to our trip. But now, surely, it will take 10 loads to wash all of it. And the most shameful thing of all, my bedroom is a wreck as well. Two days ago I decided to get out the bins of too-small summer clothes from Delaney. Addison is starting to outgrow her winter clothes, so I was hoping I'd saved something from Delaney that would fit. So, I now have piles of clothes from the bins scattered across my room, plus random toys, misfit socks, etc. I'm thinking this room really drove home the "yard sale" idea to Alison.
I see so many blogs with such perfect homes and I love to look at them - getting ideas on decorating, organizing, decluttering, etc. All these perfect homes with perfectly placed furniture, pictures, curtains, etc. And, then, if I've browsed for too long on the computer, I start to get depressed. Not just because I can't possibly afford to have my home look like the beautiful ones I see online, but also because my home never looks perfect - never perfectly decorated, never perfectly decluttered, never perfectly organized. But it's funny (or is it ironic?) how hard I try to give the appearance that it's perfect. I want any visitor to assume that beyond those tidy 3 front spaces, there are more tidy rooms to explore. But, most of the time they're not, and so for today, I'm keepin' it real.