Have you heard this saying?

“The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow For children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow. ”
from Babies Don’t Keep By Ruth Hulbert Hamilton

Yeah, that quote makes no sense to me.

You know what drove me bonkers as the mom of a newborn? When people told me with a knowing smile to ignore the piles of laundry and to just enjoy my new baby. Call me crazy, but I like to put clean cloth diapers on my bundle of joy. I know, I know, I’m one of those moms. I bet you are too.

I do understand the point that these helpful people were trying to make and I appreciate where they were coming from. But quite frankly, I’m the last person that needs to be told to relax on housework. I do not have the gift of clean. I am blessed with the gift of Twitter instead.

Yet I’m trying.What choice do I have?

I remember catching Harbour sucking peanut butter off a LEGO man at six months old – I’m not sure if the resulting panic attack was more about the choking hazard or potential nut allergy. But this is why I need to clean: my older child hides little traps for her younger sister as a test of my resilience. And folks, I am going to have a heart attack.

So I’ve been cleaning.

Every day, I clean and clean and clean. And you know what? It NEVER makes a difference.

Ageless truth, right there.

So how do other people do it? Recently I’ve been to homes that have multiple kids yet are still clean and lovely to look at. Of course, I was invited in advance for each of those visits – it’s possible that all the toys were stuffed in the freezer before I arrived. But in that case I’m jealous of their roomy, clutter-free freezers.

Nevertheless, when I’m at these homes, I take a good look around, looking for clues. In my borderline snooping, I’ve come to realize that these people mostly just have less stuff.

Our house is a stuff magnet. My husband is a bit of a pack rat and my girls freak out if I dare to throw out so much as a toilet paper roll.

But having less stuff makes sense. If you have less stuff, you have less things to put away. You have less clothes to wash. You have less dishes in the sink.

I’ve been on a mission to declutter all year long, but inspired by my resolutions and by my friend’s houses, I’m kicking out my clutter faster than ever. Last week, I pulled five large bins of stuff out of the girls’ room alone last week. FIVE!

• To the basement, I sent two boxes of toys. These have been set aside for toy rotation (though I’m hoping that they won’t be missed and I can drop them off guilt-free at the thrift store later this year).
• To the curbside, I sent one trash bag of clothes stained or ripped beyond repair and toys that are broken or missing pieces.
• To the garage, I sent one bin of clothes my favourite that River has outgrown and I will keep for Harbour.
• To the thrift store, I sent one bin of clothes that River has outgrown and that I don’t like. There are more than enough clothes left that I do like, so keeping the ugly ones is pointless.
• And to the top of the bedroom closet, we also moved half of the 200 blocks we have (note to self: More is NOT always better), the trains, and the cars, along with warmer clothes that aren’t needed in the summer.

Five bins plus another bin’s worth of stuff up in the closet. And you know what? You can’t even see a noticeable difference when you look around. But you can feel it – the room feels lighter.

And it’s helped immensely. Now when Harbour dumps three boxes of toys out (every two year old’s favorite activity), it’s a simple task to sort the doll clothes from the puzzle pieces and put everything back. And River doesn’t rip all the clothes out of her closet now in a frenzy, trying to find the perfect one. She can see them all easily now.

It’s a long slow process but I really think it’s helping. I’m attacking one area at a time, and I think I’ll have everything perfect by Christmas. Just in time for the onslaught of more stuff.

Are you good at containing your clutter levels? Please share your tips with me!