To Do - Day Four

Yesterday was awesome!

Though I didn't get to a few of the things on my list, I DID keep the kitchen counters cleared, even after making TACOS! I fry up my own taco shells, so not only is this meal messy business, but this time I also made biscuits and steamed cinnamon apples for dessert. That's a whole lot of dishes, pots, and pans to clean up, but when M saw the kitchen after we were done with dinner, the dishwasher was FULL and the only things on the counter were the cooling biscuits the steaming apples!

Check it out! This is less than five minutes after dishing up the taco meat! Yay me!

This is a huge, gigantic deal, people. I am through the roof excited!

Normally when I cook, I start by running a sink of soapy water. Then each time I'm done using a dish or pan, I will toss it in the sink to soak. And when the meal is over, the kids and I leave our dishes on the table and go play in the living room for a little while until it's time for them to go to bed.

Okay, occasionally I will have C take his plate and cup to the counter but that's about it.

I usually just leave the whole mess sitting until after the kids are in bed, and by the time I come back downstairs I'm completely wiped. The thought of cleaning or doing dishes at that point is just exhausting, so most of the time I just don't do it. I think "I'm much more productive in the morning, so I'll do it tomorrow."

But then I wake up the next morning and think about the mess covering the counter and the sink full of dirty dishes soaking in COLD water and I decide to stay in bed and play on my phone for "just a few more minutes..."

Which ends up turning into however long it takes for the first kiddo to wake up.

Then we come downstairs and the mess is still there. My hope that a magic cleaning fairy would take care of it during the night has proven to be in vain once again. And I start the day off with dread, because I really hate to wash dishes, but apparently they aren't going to wash themselves.

So knowing that most of the cleanup and dishes were already done before I even sat down at the table last night was an absolutely amazing feeling. Kind of like happiness, mixed with hope, mixed with pure relief.

I want that feeling again.

We will see how today goes. When I told M this morning that I'm not sure if I'll be able to do the magic dinner cleanup again, he calmly replied "of course you can."

Right.

Of course I can. Right?

Ah well, here's the list for today!

• put dishes away
• vacuum living room and kitchen
• keep kitchen table and counters cleared (!!!)
• fold and put laundry away

• re-pot the poor plant! 
• sign M up for class
• clear off sewing table
• work on grocery price list

Of course I can... of course I can... of course I can...