If cleanliness is next to Godliness, then I am in trouble!!

My house is always messy. That would be M.E.S.S.Y.

And you know what? I hate messy. When things are clean I feel happier, prettier, skinnier and more creative. I like stuff to be clean and in its place.

Instead? MESSY!

Now I am not talking about a few toys on the floor or a sink full of dishes. I am talking about dirt, trash, LOADS of smelly-beyond-all-reason laundry, fruit-fly inviting dishes, sand in the carpet and food on the tile.

Like I said- MESSY!

In fact, when neighbor kids want to earn money, they know they can come here and I will always have something for them to do. One little girl told me the other day, “I love to clean, that’s why I always come here.”

For a while we had a housekeeper, but we are making every effort to be more frugal. Save more money. That means I have to suck it up. And I really am OK with that if I could just get the hang of things better.

It isn't like I don't ever clean. I feel like I am always picking up or washing something. It isn't as though the kids don't have jobs. They may not be perfect at them, but they have them. And it isn't as though I don't nag the kids to pick up, clean up, wipe up, etc.

Somehow, even with all this, my house gets horribly, horribly messy. And it is wrong. I am doing something terribly wrong.

It isn't as if I don't know how to clean. I am pretty good at it when it happens. I spent hundreds of hours practicing as a child scrubbing behind toilets and under rugs. I just hate it.

A lot.

If I could do it once and not worry about it again for a few days -- hey, even a few hours -- it wouldn't seem so bad and be so pointless. I could just not like it instead of HATING it.

But mostly, I just don’t like doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over just to have someone come make a mess so I could do it over and over and over again.

I know that part of the problem is that I just don't blow my top over little things like spilled milk or muddy shoes. There are just so many things I am going to have to battle my kids over; I don't want cleaning to be one of them. I just don’t care THAT much. I know all the reasons why I should be more of a stickler, but that isn't me. I just want the kids to instinctively know what to do – and actually do it. If I am going to fight with the kids or turn blue from nagging, I want it to be over something of consequence.

And part of the problem is I move at a snail pace and the kiddos (even though they are as sweet as can be) are like tornadoes… there is just no keeping up.

I have been unsuccessful in teaching cleanliness to my children -- without fighting about it. I know that because they have NO concept of a trash can. I have done my best to tell them the importance of aiming into the toilet, using the trash can or dumping sand outside. But I am afraid unless I become a CLEAN NAZI, there is no hope.

It’s just not good parenting. Gone are the days of following a routine and keeping everything in its place. That was only when I was single, on my own. Now? There is no sense of organization. No inkling of cleanliness.

And really? I am feeling quite frustrated by the whole thing.