Living in Chaos

So....what does living in Chaos look like? Well, you probably already know...but just in case you don't:

Wake up in the morning and notice how dirty your sheets are.  Try to ignore the fact that the comforter on your bed reeks.  In the bathroom, the toilet makes you gag a little even as you sit on it, its bowl is stained and gross.  Washing your hands involves a quick rinse because you don't have any soap, and you shake your hands to dry them because you don't have any clean towels.

You trip your way down the cluttered hallway.  The kids have piled toys in one corner, you've piled books in another.  And the animals have deposited furballs everywhere too.  The piles of junk continue as you walk into the kitchen.  Here they are on the counter.  All over the counter.  Dirty dishes, pizza boxes, pots and pans crusted with old food.  Carry out containers - because your kitchen is too messy to cook in.  The sink is full of more dirty dishes and the grout along the back splash of the sink is mildewy and black.  You skip breakfast, simply because you've lost your appetite in that kitchen.

This is just a taste of it.  There are piles of clutter on every available surface.  The floors haven't been vacuumed or mopped, or even swept in over a month.  You would rather buy more clothes than do laundry.  You trip over the kids' toys everywhere you go.  And boy! Do those legos hurt when you step on them!

Chaos looks exactly like it sounds.  There is not an iota of organization anywhere.  The same Chaos that breeds in the house, lives in your head too.  You can't find the energy or motivation to clean.  Why bother when it will just get dirty again in no time flat?  Why bother picking up the kids' toys? They just pull them out again and leave them behind when they are ready for another game.  Why bother nagging anyone to clean up  behind themselves? All you hear is whining and grumpiness, even from your husband.

The Chaos keeps you from inviting people over.  You begin to say things like "Love me, love my mess."  You warn people who stop by to "Just ignore the mess," all the while praying that they don't try to stop by again.

Wait. You get word that your parents are coming to visit.  You immediately feel the pressure to have a clean house.  Oh, by the way, they are coming to your house in just two days!  The pressure is mounting!  How in the world are you going to get your house clean in that amount of time?! 

Easy. You shove things into closets, just to get them off the floor.  You maybe shove some dirty dishes in the oven or maybe you even get up the motivation (finally) to put some in the dishwasher to clean.

Does any of this sound familiar to you?  Maybe just some of it is typical for you.  I've done all of it at least once in the last 15 years.  Either way, I found it absolutely DRAINING to live in the chaos.  I didn't realize how draining it was until I started on my journey from Chaos to Clean.