I recently moved from Blogger to WordPress and I’ve been reorganizing old posts.  I ran across this post and couldn’t help but laugh at myself.  I remember, when I first posted this, that several of my friends commented on how snooty I sounded at the beginning and then read on to see that I was just trying to show you the reality of blog life. My photos may look good, but I’m just pushing clutter out of the way to take pretty pictures.

Here you go:

I strive every day to have a clean and organized home.  Do you know that feeling when someone stops by unexpectedly and your house is a complete mess?  Not me!  I keep my kitchen counters clear, my kids know how to clean up after themselves, and I find it brings a sense of calm to our day.

Each night, before I go to bed, I make sure everything is completely put away and if I feel to tired to do it, I just tell myself that clutter is the enemy of a relaxed and happy family.

Ummm. Then, I wake up!

It’s only in my dreams that there is a place for everything and everything is in its place.  Sadly, there is always a pile of mail, kids’ papers, and lunch boxes all over my kitchen.  Rarely do I actually see the surface of our little desk area. Yes, I do have a place for everything, but I’m not so sure about that part where everything is in its place.

The kids are constantly leaving things on the counter and, it never fails, we usually run out of room for all of our glasses in the dishwasher.  When I write a blog post about a meal I’ve created, you can rest assured that there is a pile of dishes that has been pushed out of the way before snapping the picture.

I can’t even believe that I’m showing you the horrid laundry room.  It is a constant battle to get the kids to hang up their backpacks and put their shoes in the cubbies.  As a matter of fact, my son’s backpack is sitting in the middle of the family room right now.  So much for those hooks I bought for them to hang their things on!

Those of you who are jealous of our walk-in-pantry will feel better know that most of the time we can barely walk in it.  I swear, the kids actually drop food as they are getting out a snack and don’t bother to pick it up!

Most of the time, I’m not horribly embarrassed by our mess. We actually do live  here.  I do strive for cleanliness and organization, but I’m not perfect by any means.  I’m pretty sure I’m not the only blogger out there who is guilty of pushing aside some of the clutter so that it doesn’t distract from the photo.  We clean up pretty well, when we have to.

I do believe that organization is important, but I can’t say that my house is perfect (or even close).

I’m frequently asked by people how I get it all done.  People wonder how I keep my house clean, cook wonderful meals, spend time sewing and crafting, AND manage to take photos and blog about it.  Well, the reality is, I don’t.  If you stop by my house, there will probably be warm cookies for you, but I guarantee my house will not be in perfect shape.

I’ll just take a picture.  It will last longer.

Happy cleaning!