Don't Fix It If It Isn't Broken

I don't claim to be the best housekeeper. By the time I get home at night, I'm typically exhausted and have no desire to do anything, let alone tedious tasks that involve straightening up the house. Don't get me wrong, my house is clean (sorta). You won't find dirty dishes laying around on tables or in bedrooms, but if it can wait till the weekend, it will wait. Here are just a few things I've shrugged off doing the last couple of weeks, simply because, well, they'll still be there when I actually feel like doing it.

The dreaded sock bucket. A household of 5 accumulates a rather insane number of socks. By the time I'm done doing the 100th load of laundry, folded every last t-shirt, and put it all away I can't bare to spend even one more second tediously matching up socks. I'm well aware that I could easily slide the bucket over as I sit down to watch a show and just whip it off, but since they're not actually hurting anyone, there they sit. Lost and forlorn in the corner of the living room just waiting to be partnered up and lovingly place in the drawer. I should also mention that this is the very same bucket that socks go to die. Every few months I dump the mass accumulation of lost sock souls with no twin and toss them out to start over with a fresh package. I truly believe every dryer comes with a sock eating gremlin and he has a particular taste for the children's socks. I'm guessing it's because they're smaller and therefore easier to digest.

The dish rack. Since we do not have a dishwasher, there is no outta sight outta mind in this kitchen. They are somewhat of a consistent eyesore that dominate a rather larger portion of our counter space. We have plenty of cabinets and each one of these items has their proper out of the way place. However, it seems so much more convenient sometimes to not have bother opening those pesky doors. Especially when they're just going to end up right back there anyway. Oh well, at least they're clean, right?

The cover for the down comforter. For anyone who has ever had a duvet, then you know it requires an extraordinary amount of maneuvering and the ability to wiggle into a small enclosed airless space to tackle stuffing the comforter back into the duvet after washing it. Making our bed presentable requires me to literally climb inside the cover to tuck the corners in properly. Then I have to wriggle out of it like a worm, hold tightly to the corners, shake it violently, and just pray that it doesn't slip out of my hands and force me to start all over again. The look is nice, but the actually achieving of said look is a lot less practical in hindsight. The next bed-set we purchase will come with a standard comforter that will require no magical acrobatics on my part.

Worst of all though, I have become the equivalent of Chewbacca. Lena calls them my pet me legs and proceeds to tell me that I'm hairy like a spider. She informed me this morning as I took this photo "Mom, you really need to do something about those!" Ah, yes child, I know. I have several excuses why I haven't braved the blade and thinned the forest. For instance, the weather is getting colder and I need all the extra insulation I can get since I'm constantly freezing. I could be performing some weird Halloween science experiment and plan to be a human Chia Pet for the trick-or-treaters. Hey, we're on a budget here kids and I'm just trying to be frugal with my homemade costume! Okay, okay... Not sexy, I know! And don't even get me started on the garden! I may or may not need a titanium machete to conquer that jungle. Really what it comes down to is the shower schedule. Lena showers at night and stays in there long enough to make you think it's the last shower she will ever be allowed to have. She will stay in there until every last drop of warm water has been squeezed out of the tank and her lips begin to turn purple from denying the inevitable fact that the it will need to replenish and she is forced by icy spray to abandon Ariel until tomorrow. James showers in the mornings before work, as do I. However, morning time is rather limited and if I don't spend the majority of it chasing around my sweet distracted child then she will go to school in her pajamas, hair and teeth un-brushed, most likely with a kitty stuffed in her backpack instead of her lunch. Weekends you say? Forgetaboutit! I'm always the last to shower. After filtering 3 kids and a significant other through, I'm lucky enough to get a shower at all, let alone one with enough hot water to actually tame the hairy scary beasts.

I live by the motto of Don't Fix It If It Isn't Broken. They're good words to live by, because sometimes scaling the mountain just to climb back down again, doesn't seem worth the effort.