a simple day

appreciating the little things. look at how pretty this leaf is!

I am in a cleaning mood. I declare this to my husband and children today.

YIPPEE. They respond (HA).

And we went at it.

I am into baskets and boxes for things lately.

Vitamins and supplements and essential oils falling at me every time I open the cupboard. Put it in a pretty wooden box. SOLVED.

Hot Wheels scattered throughout the house? Put them in a pretty basket on the toy shelf. SOLVED.

“School” stuff overflowing from the cabinet? Ziplock bags and a cardboard box which slides in the cabinet perfectly. SOLVED.

Cleaning supplies in disarray? I got new Dr. Bronner’s soap – tea tree oil and peppermint (for my hair!). I put diluted solutions in old bottles for cleaning. And then found a plastic shower caddy that works perfectly to store them. SOLVED.

Limited food storage space? Dump beans and dried peas and noodles and flour and so on into clear pretty jars and stack on the top of your cupboard. SOLVED.

Totally going to buy more baskets and jars at my favorite thriftstore tomorrow.
I am also into throwing things out/getting rid of crap. I am SO TIRED of piles of things all over my house. It’s amazing how things like this accumulate after a weekend of travel and a week of sick babies – with dada gone no less.

Of course it is all half done because with little kids around a few hours of maniacal cleaning is about all one can reasonably do. But it was just enough to get the house feeling refreshed and ready for Monday.

The added benefit was to feel like we can have this kind of “putting things in order” day as a family, not just a crazed mama cleaning machine.

We turn on music. Dada starts in on the dishes. Mama scurries around the house randomly organizing here and there. The kids play with the new toys rotated up to the toy shelf (old school wooden blocks with letters and numbers were suddenly SO FUN. I love rotating toys for this reason.)

And we clean. And we organize. And we laugh. And the sun shines in on us, happy to be part of the fun. And later we walk out in the wind. Baby girl falls asleep on the way home. Dada makes dinner. Mama writes.

Perfect.

This kind of simple day, intent on simplifying our lives, is really perfect to me. It makes my heart happy to see my kids stacking up blocks, racing cars, while mama and dada work together to make their home clean and bright. There is no pressure, no agenda to “get things done” just a natural rhythm of home-bound togetherness.

Better than the jam packed Saturdays of errands and trips out into the world. These at-home days are special, and what make a family a family.

So. Cleaning or not.

Go.

Go be at home together for a day.

Good stuff.