There’s got to be a better way!

i'm happy to intruduce to you mary from giving up on perfect. she's the first of my guest bloggers while i battle gigantic minnesota mosquitos bask in the sun on a minnesota beach. mary is a personal in-real-life friend of mine, a great writer, and a entertaining example of imperfection! enjoy!

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I hate cleaning. No, that’s not quite clear enough. I really, really hate cleaning.

See, when I was growing up, my mom would joke that the only reason she and my dad had kids was so they’d have someone to do chores.

I thought she was serious. We did a lot of chores.

(Side note: My parents love us very much and were not actually slave drivers. Really.)

Now, this does mean that I know how to keep a house. And, as I told Mark the other day, I didn’t have to take Home Ec in 8th grade, because my mom taught me everything he learned in that class.

But it also means that now that I have my own home, if I don’t feel like cleaning (which, let’s face it, I usually don’t), I don’t clean.

Until we have company coming, that is. And then I run around like a maniac, picking up toys, folding laundry, sweeping floors, cussing at dust bunnies and cat hair, and washing dishes. That way, when my guests arrive, I might be sweaty, but my house is presentable, darn it.

But you know what happens the minute they leave, right? My house immediately starts collecting dust and scattering clutter, and before I know it, it’s messy again.

I just think . . . there’s got to be a better way! How do YOU keep your house presentable?

Oh, and just for you (but especially you, Erin), here are some pictures I took of my kitchen this week.








Mary blogs about an imperfect life at Giving Up On Perfect. She talks about family, faith, books, diet-friendly and fiber-filled foods like granola bars and nachos, celebrity look-alikes and chick flicks. You know, the important stuff.