All The Rooms Clean At The Same Time? Impossible!

For about the last six months we've been serious about moving. But we're still here and there's no sign in the yard. I've lost track of the number of houses we've gone to see. Plan A has turned in to Plan B. And there's now a Plan C, with Plan D lurking in the shadows.

What I keep wondering, though, is when we finally do get this house on the market, how on earth am I going to keep all the rooms clean at the same time?? Tell me you understand this. I'm not sure we've ever had all the rooms of the house in perfect order all at the same time. Generally what happens is this: We're having company. We do a 15 minute pick up the night before. Then for the two hours prior to the time our friends are expected at the door, we clean like crazy people. Everybody pitches in and we gather everything that's out of place in the living room and put it on the steps. Somebody cleans the bathrooms and quickly moves anything sitting on the counter tops under the sink. The vacuum gets run and then the blinds and doors are opened to make the house look welcoming. As the downstairs begins to pull together, the kids get enlisted to put everything on the steps in paper bags and take them upstairs...to Mommy and Daddy's room. And if none of the guests will be going upstairs, that's pretty much where it all stops. If I think people will be coming up, though, we frantically dump toys into the bins, gather clothes to the dirties, and figure out how to get those closet doors closed. What has spilled out into the hallway, gets moved to, you guessed it, Mommy and Daddy's room.

And then we shut Mommy and Daddy's door tightly and make it clear that no one is allowed to go in there. With a smile, of course.

But that approach won't work when it's on the market. Even the closets have to be presentable! So I've packed as much I dared - to reduce the potential for clutter and mess. People think I'm kidding when I say Daniel doesn't have much left to play with. I'm not. The kids know the answer to this question before I open my mouth - "Hey Mom, Where's my ....?"

"I probably packed it."

This week we've assigned each room a whole day. Today was my room. And I have to say it looks good! I decimated the clutter, swept the floor, filled another box, straightened the closet and sorted all the brown paper bags. Daniel was in charge of trash and Brenna was in charge of taking things to their proper places. There's just a little bit left to do. Wall scuffs and carpet marks mostly.

I was feeling pretty good, until ... I went to put the kids to bed tonight! Both rooms look awful. I swear the mess just moves from room to room to room. How do you ever get all the rooms to look good on the same day?

(Sigh)