I was reading All Buttoned Up today and was inspired by her messiness and well, normalcy. I’ve been feeling in a funk lately about the perpetual state of mess in our house, torn between just wanting so say the hell with everyone else…no one plays, paints, knits, fixes, putters, or relaxes until this place is clean and organized, OR, realizing that I’m a mom with two little boys and while some semblance of order is necessary, there are more important things in life than living like Martha Stewart.
So, with the thought of keeping it real, here’s the mess that I try to create in:
This was actually a cleaner day today. It’s just me in my dining room, a small sea of toys and Knittybaby meandering in the background. Usually the sea of toys is much larger. Little Man and the Skeptic are downstairs in the Skeptic’s shop, fixing, puttering and other shop-like stuff. I know, you’re thinking, “The Skeptic gets a shop and you’re sewing in the dining room?!?” But our basement is an old basement, built when basements were not meant for sewing/knitting/spinning rooms. The Skeptic often tries to get me to knit down there while he’s working, but it’s not exactly cozy. So I’m happy with my yarn closet and whatever I piece together around my messy yet happy house.
What am I making? Curtains, for the playroom/craft room. I do share an upstairs room with the boys, but it’s mostly playroom with my craft stuff all hidden away in the closet and on shelves. I finished up the last two curtains today and will take pictures the next time we get a sunny day.
Today was a lovely day. The boys were in just the right mood. I got out to yoga class and stopped by the Textile Center to sign up for a sewing class and a full weekend spinning class. I’ve decided that I need some uninterrupted time out of the house to really focus on my sewing and spinning so I’m a bit more comfortable with both. Right now it’s a lot like when I started knitting: slow and careful. I want to get to the point where I don’t have to think so hard about it.
It’s late and I want to get back to my mittens. I started casting on the second last night and don’t want to lose my momentum. Thanks for all the kind comments!
Knittymama 
I felt bad that our house has been under construction since 2000 and that my older son had essentially no room of his own for a couple years when he was 15 and 16. He slept wherever he felt like — sometimes on a couch, for a while on the floor of a walk-in closet.
Then I realized that having an, um, relaxed attitude toward his personal living space will be an advantage when he is a doctor in the third world, his goal after medical school. A kid who grew up in a nice, tidy, well-appointed suburban home could have trouble adjusting to the conditions in other parts of the world.
What I mean to say is, there’s not necessarily a big problem in messy.
I’m so glad to see that there are others like me; those that spend their time on the important stuff- kids, crafting, etc… instead of cleaning. My house is in a constant state of clutter, because we let our four kids actually live in their house, instead of keeping it as a museum. Bravo to you! My dining room table doubles as my sewing table too, though I’ve been known to use a folding table in my daughter’s bedroom as well.
I do stop and think “maybe I should just clear that space, or clean that” before starting a fun project. Usually, the project wins out. I’ll have plenty of time to clean when the kids are older.
It wouldn’t be childhood if there weren’t a certain amount of chaos afoot. Good for you for maintaining your interests.
I don’t have kids, and cetainly don’t live like Martha Stewart. Anyone who has kids, and manages to maintain a path for walking between the various rooms in the house is doing pretty good.