I also struggled with CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) because I'm just not naturally the most organized person. It is something that takes A LOT of work for me and I easily become overwhelmed. Well, I decided 3 year ago that I was going to do something about the CHAOS and started this blog partly to help hold me accountable. Just a couple months later we found out we were expecting. I had "morning" (more like all day) sickness starting at 7 weeks that caused huge set backs in the process of taking back control of my house.
Well, fast forward 3 years - I have a 2 year old and am expecting my second any day now, and the CHAOS has never had the chance to leave. I have wanted to "nest" so badly this entire pregnancy, but was sick for a longer period of time & to a greater degree with this pregnancy than with Logan which really limited my ability to keep up with more than just my sweet, active little boy. Once I finally felt better, it was the holidays and Logan's birthday so we were pretty busy with all that that involves. I thought for sure once the holidays were over I would kick things into full gear and take care of a lot of much needed "to do" items before the baby arrived. However, as many of you already know if you've been following the blog, after the holidays I started having regular contractions and had to go to the hospital 2 nights in a row to stop them. I was then given meds to regulate them at home and put on modified bed rest (I could still do things but had to take it easier). Once that seemed to get better I started having SEVERE sciatic pain, so much so that I used crutches and a walker around the house just to make it through the day. Logan and I went no where because I couldn't physically tend to a VERY active 2 year old in settings outside of the home. It was pretty awful because I felt like such a horrible mom not being able to play with him and do normal stuff with him, but physically the pain was so great, I could barely do anything. All of this led to even more CHAOS and more craziness in my head because all I wanted to do was get things ready for our sweet girl.
Well thanks to prayer, a chiropractor, and/or the baby moving, I finally got relief a couple weeks ago from the pain. I have been in full nesting since then. Unfortunately, I'm still not 100% pain free, and there are things I just can't do, but I've been working hard to do what I can.
Here are some of the things I've been up to...
I finally made myself try doing one load of laundry a day because I figured I could physically manage that. Well, because of that, I actually discovered that it works really well for me to do that, and I don't mind it as much as I thought I would. I have had people tell me before to do that, but my thought was "I hate laundry, why would I want to do it EVERY day?" I never gave it a chance, but because I had to this time, I found out it's really not bad and I haven't had laundry piled up since then. Our hampers are never overflowing and I don't clean have laundry sitting in the dryer or in baskets for days. My rule is that I don't go to bed until the laundry in the dryer is put away (unless it gets put in the dryer right before I go to bed, but then the next day I don't start the new load until the old one is put away). This is HUGE! There are not tons of clothes on the floor of our bedroom and closets. You have been able to see my closet floor for weeks now. It has been a LONG time since that was the case. Seriously y'all, this is a BIG deal!
I have also managed to de-clutter a couple of our typical clutter areas in our main living area, but still have a few more to go on that. The kitchen is ok, but still in need of work. It's really hard right now for me to wash dishes because my belly prevents me from being close enough to the sink and my back starts to hurt after like 3 minutes of trying to lean over to wash stuff. I have had to ask for a lot of help from the hubby in this area, but I really hate to do that. It's so not his favorite thing to do, and he works, goes to school and helps with Logan, so I feel guilty asking him to do one more thing at night when I'm sure all he wants to do is have some time to himself. However, he's a good sport and helps when I ask. And, I will add, that he pretty much never complains. He's pretty awesome like that.
We managed to get all of my school stuff in the attic, and the nursery room cleared out. We painted and set up furniture and it's coming along nicely. It's really hard though because I'm wanting to get it decorated and such, but that really shouldn't be as big of a priority as trying to finish getting the rest of the house organized before Abigail's arrival because she won't be in her room right away, but I will have to look at the mess/clutter every day if I don't get it taken care of now. I just can't help but search online, think about things, try to plan, etc. because that is way more fun than organizing. I'm trying to balance and do a little of both :)
The big task we are working on right now is getting the office organized and back to an office instead of a storage room. It's funny because Logan calls it Daddy's closet, and honestly that's what it's become. We purchased another bookshelf, and that has helped as we have (read: Brandon has) tons of books and they were just piling up everywhere. We also reorganized his closet and got rid of some stuff, which has helped clear a lot of space in the room. We still have boxes of papers to sort through, and some other stuff to work on, but it's definitely getting better and looking more like an office than a closet/storage room.
The more carpet & counter/table top space I see around our house the better I feel. Progress is great, but I'm definitely getting the itch to just be DONE. I want it all done, and I want it done now, but unfortunately, I'm not physically capable of going that fast and there's really just not enough time in the day to get it done as quickly as I'd like (longest sentence ever - ha!).
I'm thankful Abigail is taking her time to come because it's allowing us to get so much done and I know I will be able to enjoy her that much more when she arrives because I won't be having to worry/stress over all the mess in the house. And, babies tend to attract visitors, so this way I won't be feeling the effects of CHAOS when someone wants to come by to see our sweet girl. Although I am worried her arrival will cause a set back, but hopefully it won't be so much so that I can't get caught up once we adjust to our new normal with 2 kiddos.
I know having a clean & organized house is not what is most important in this life, but it just puts me (and Brandon too) into a better mood. I feel like when I don't have that added stress I'm able to be a better wife and mother. I am hoping to make this our new normal. If/when it's accomplished, I will have to take some pictures so I can share them.
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