We have hit the point where I just feel like there are not enough hours in the day.

I go through this about once every three months or so, but every time seems to hit harder than the last.

And I need to rant for just a minute about something.

Temerity Jane wrote this GREAT piece about the division of household labor in her home and it got me thinking about mine, pretty much because she nailed it on the head: the division of labor is based solely on who can put up with it the longest.  It got me thinking about it because it’s not fair.  It’s not fair that I have OCD and REQUIRE a clean house.  Contrary to popular opinion, just because I enjoy having a clean house does not mean I enjoy cleaning it.

And even THAT’S not entirely true, because I do find it soothing to clean .. when I have time and on my own terms .. but to feel like OH GOD, I JUST CLEANED THIS YESTERDAY AND NO ONE HAS CLEANED IT SINCE AND IT HAS TO BE CLEANED AGAIN! all the time?  Not so much fun, lemme tell you.

I know where he was coming from when he said it, but the other day Bryan got all huffy and warned me that I’ve got to start giving up some stuff in my schedule because he’s feeling very limited in his free time. (Again, I totally understand where he was coming from.  Been there.  Through six years of non-stop sports practices.  Totally get it.) So I sat down and started looking at what takes up my time.

10:1 – it’s housework.  I lose sleep over housework.  I get up early and do housework.  To make sure our house is livable to my standards, to keep the laundry moving, to keep food stocked, all of that?  That takes up a lot of time.  To clean up after two kids, another adult, two dogs, and two cats?  That’s a full time job.  Sure, the house looks great, but DAMN.  That’s just a lot and I’m not sure it’s worth it.  And I don’t mean to make it sound like no one else does anything around the house, but the blunt truth is that they don’t do it in a timely manner to MY standards.  Again.. I’m the one with OCD.  Not sure that it’s fair to anyone, but it is what it is.

So every Sunday, I go through this silent pledge to NOT spend my weekend cleaning/doing laundry/grocery shopping/etc.  It lasts for about four hours, when I realize that if I don’t do it, IT DOESN’T GET DONE.  My give-a-damn wins.  Or fails.  Depending on what side of the coin you’re on.

Having said that, I could stand to give up some commitments outside of the house, which is what brought the conversation up in the first place.  And perhaps it’s time to examine that.

If you could give up one “chore” or necessary evil to free yourself up, what would it be?