Dear Abby:
I love going out of town. First California for a week, then Sitka for a couple of days (I will post the pictures on my blog soon!).
But going away means coming back. Not that I don't love coming home to my darling husband, my wonderful children, my sweet doggies, and my comfortable bed, I love it! But what I came home to was disorder, and clutter, and laundry, and mess.
If I'm not here to try to keep a handle on it, it just spirals out of control. I got home late Thursday evening, and on Friday, I did a lot of picking up and thought I had it licked. But this morning, after working at the gallery all day Saturday and being gone at church and then another gallery stint and an evening concert yesterday, I woke up to this:
 |
| The Bathroom |
 |
| After some random cooking project (not mine) |
 |
| Laundry basket next to an abandoned art project (again, not mine) |
 |
| The dining room table. Except for the grocery list, none of these items is mine. |
 |
| A belt, a Seahawks hat and a pottery cup with a spoon in it - not mine |
 |
| A green sweater on top of shoes: you guessed it - not mine |
 |
| The computer and cell phone: mine. The handset to the land line: mine. The other stuff: not mine |
 |
| My laundry basket and boxes to be recycled |
 |
| Clutter on the floor of the entry way closet: Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here! |
 |
| Too many shoes |
 |
| Ditto |
 |
| Newspapers that need to be recycled and more shoes |
A busy household of four adults, three of whom are working full time, creates a lot of clutter. A busy household of four adults (three of whom think they have a maid/laundress/cook named Paula) creates a worse problem.
Should I go on strike?
Chore charts, family meetings, lists, etc. don't seem to do the trick.
It isn't necessarily laziness on their part, it is just blindness. They don't see it and I do.
Abby, I love my family, but this is getting out of hand. What should I do?
Sincerely,
Discouraged in Douglas
I am not posting this on Facebook, nor am I sending this out via email - the SHAME is too great. I will merely put it out on the internet for thousands of random strangers to see.
I say a well planned strike may be in order, or....a much longer trip next time, long enough to cause serious pain to them, not you! hahahaha.
ReplyDeleteLove your header, so very pretty! xo
Dear Abby, I am not sure what to do. A house bearing great resemblance to my own has been posted on the internet. I am embarrassed that my family has traveled far and wide, even to Alaska, to put their stuff everywhere. I even think I saw our own unrecycled newspapers. What can I do? And how do I apologize to the nice lady who had to encounter my family's stuff?
ReplyDelete:-)
Oh, Paula, I can so relate to this. And your are so right that they are just blind to it but it makes me crazy @#@#!! If you get a response from Abby, please let us know! (Loved the comment from Fran ~ too funny!)
ReplyDeletePaula
ReplyDeleteIf this doesn't get someone helping-I don't know what will!
Honestly though, it doesn't look like it would take more than a few minutes to get put back in order. Good Luck!!