My Dirty Little Secret…

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. – Phyllis Diller

We live in a spacious but snug downtown Chicago apartment.  With two bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms and space for a proper dining table and home office I know we should feel lucky.  But, with two kids (and one more on the way!) we have just about reached the limit.  I have absolutely NO storage space left – where will the new Christmas presents go??

One of my biggest domestic challenges stems from our apartment’s layout.  Because of the largely open floor plan, there is little distinction between dining area and play area; the “rooms” kinda run into each other.  So, I find myself CONSTANTLY picking up toys from under the dining table and cookie crumbs off the sofa and half-eaten bagels from the toy area.  Kids are messy, and no matter what I do I can’t seem to keep up with the ever shifting mess.

There are certain chores I won’t skimp on.  The bathrooms are cleaned once a week, and I can’t go to bed at night until the kitchen is spotless and the floors are vacuumed.  Our beds are made every day, and fresh towels are regularly set out in the kitchen.  I dust all wooden surfaces sometimes twice a week (with my homemade dusting spray, of course!), and mirrors and windows are wiped with vinegar till they sparkle.

But, I’d like to reveal a dirty little secret: a couple years ago I decided to no longer worry about the state of our fabric dining chairs.  Fed up with the nightly battle between me and marinara or blueberry goo or sweet potato puree, I made the executive decision to give the chairs over to the mess.  I surrendered. And along with the dining chairs went the high chair.  I couldn’t face the prospect of a daily scrub of something that was definitely going to get messy again in a matter of hours.  So, our dining chairs and high chair are a mess, and I just don’t care.  Someday when the kids are (a little) less messy I’ll re-cover the chairs and powerwash the high chair. For now, this is how our dining chairs look:

Don’t judge me too harshly…!!!

What’s your dirty little secret??

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7 Comments for this entry

  1. Richel says:

    OMG! Mine look the same way! My covers come off and they can be thrown in the wash but it is such a pain that I cannot bring myself to do it like I should!

  2. Courtney says:

    I feel like my “dirty” secrets are so much less cute and contained than yours. I wouldn’t even know where to begin. But, as my husband often say, “nothing parties like a rental.”

  3. Marilee says:

    The dust under our couches is at an all-time record thickness. I vacuum under the edges but the wand doesn’t go that far. I will be getting down on my knees to wipe under there this week in prep for Christmas – first time in years!

  4. The dirt issues in our apartment at the moment qualify neither as “little” or “secret.” I’m impressed that you keep up with everything so well with two little ones!

  5. Niiice! My dirty little secret is using some of FLy Lady’s ideas…and doing a quick light clean of what you can see or smell, but no corners, under things etc. We are more tidy than clean, and who cares? YEAH!

  6. Jeanette says:

    This is a monthly battle between my hubby and I. Especially when the chair covers come off and he can see all the stains. But with 4 kids~ 1 teen, 2 tweens (1 special needs) and a toddler plus 3 dogs and a cat! FORGET IT! And I agree we can recover them later! Chair covers hide all!

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