Will It Last?
We all have our own weird quirks we have to deal with, and I certainly have my share. One of them is cleaning up my house right before I leave on vacation, so I can come home to a CLEAN house and can just unpack and relax. So, this past weekend the process began. Scrubbing down bathrooms, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning the kitchen until it sparkles, 10 loads of laundry, etc. By the time I was done, the house looked great. Better than it had in a long time. Now I could leave to meet with the Plotmonkeys knowing that my job was done. 
Fortunately, I’m not taking my entire family with me on this trip – this is a girl’s only vacation, and something I look forward to every year as five days of pure fun, laughter, pep talks, gossip . . . oh, yeah, and plotting! 
But that means my husband and two teenagers, two cats and one dog, are left behind in the house that I just cleaned! I have to wonder, will I return on Sunday and be able to enjoy my ritual of unpacking and relaxing? Or will I be too aggravated by the mess created in my absence? :cursing:
The husband doesn’t make much of a mess, and what he does make is usually confined to a particular space or room in the house. He doesn’t do dishes – never has, never will. He’d rather let them pile up to the ceiling before rinsing one off and put it into the dishwasher. And most of his “mess” is kept in the bedroom - - clothes that don’t make it into the hamper and a few empty glasses on his computer desk. But the teenagers . . . one of them is fairly clean and picks up after herself. But she’s like her father – she hates to do dishes. Then there is the other teenager who isn’t so clean. 
She’s the one that you know exactly where she’s been in the house because there is a mess of some sort left behind. Shoes, jacket, and backpack dropped on the floor when she walks into the house from school. The kitchen counter full of crumbs and other “evidence” of what she’s eaten. Papers, books, Ipod, and other stuff in the living room where she watched TV. And these things don’t get picked up/cleaned up until I NAG. Which I do often, trust me! 
But I’m not going to be there to nag. I’m not going to be there to clean up after everyone. The cats and dog will have free run of the house while I’m gone, and they will leave hair balls and kibble all over my nice, fresh, recently vacuumed carpet. Damp towels will be left on the bathroom floor after the teenager’s showers (because they just can’t hang them up to air dry - UGH!). Their bathroom will be a mess, too – since they aren’t very good about rinsing out their sinks after brushing their teeth. 
Another UGH. Dishes MIGHT get done, but I’m not counting on it. I’m sure once the actual silverware and plates run out they’ll resort to paper and plastic! And I don’t want to think about how the counter tops and stove are going to look! 
So, this past weekend, while I’m cleaning like a fiend, I kept asking myself – Why am I spending all this time cleaning the house when I know it’s going to be a disaster when I get home? Because I just can’t help myself. It’s one of those idiosyncrasies that I just can’t let go of. Oh, and there’s that deep seated hope that maybe I’ll walk in the door on Sunday to the wonderful surprise of having a nice, clean house waiting for me. (Yeah, I know I’m dreaming!). 
So, how many of you can relate to having messy kids in the house that just can’t seem to pick up after themselves? And do you think I have any chance of coming back home to a fairly clean house?
PS: Another clue for you to guess where the Plotmonkeys are for their retreat: “This city is among those called the ‘buckle of the bible belt.”
I think your in Nashville, Tennessee.
I think your house will be a little bit of a mess when you come home, but hopefully your having such a great time it will be worth it. lol
Comment by Kim — January 18, 2007 @ 7:28 am
I don’t have kids … but I remember my mom would leave my dad and I to go on business trips and we would scramble (think adventures in baby sitting when they clean houuse as the parents are pulling into the driveway) to get it in some working order before she got home. And it would never work
Happy Plotting 
and Good Luck when you get home!
Comment by Yolanda — January 18, 2007 @ 9:03 am
OMG - you described MY life!! I do the same thing when I leave on vacation, if I’m taking the family with me. If they’re staying home - forget it! Noone in my house does dishes unless I make them. And then I usually only ask them to unload the dishwasher, which they all grumble and complain about. How freakin’ hard can that be?
My son has his own bathroom and I’m afraid to go in there! Honestly. So sad, but true. When I do brave it and let out a scream to “Get this mess cleaned up!” he has to fill the sink with water and let the toothpaste disolve before he can clean it. (gross, gross, gross!).
I knew of a lady that unscrewed the lightbulbs in her children’s rooms if she was having a party. She said, “That way if anyone actually has the nerve to flip on a switch, they won’t be able to see the filth.”
I’m glad to know I’m not the only fighting this war!
Comment by Jodie — January 18, 2007 @ 9:50 am
Janelle, You just described my life!!! I work full time and have a husband, dog, and two teenagers. No matter how much I nag, there are always dishes piled in the sink by the time I get home everyday….
And forget about when the kids are on summer vacation!
I feel like I live with a bunch of slobs.
I have a burgundy colored carpet in the family room (biggest mistake of my life) I vacume and two minutes later there is lint or fuzz or crumbs!!
Anyway, now that I got that off my chest…lol I hope you enjoy your trip and don’t worry too much about the mess when you get back…who knows maybe they will surprise you…
Comment by Tina Martinesi — January 18, 2007 @ 10:16 am
I have to remember that lightbulb tip.
I will admit we are all packrats, but I try to be a neat one. One the other hand, DH and daughter are basically described above. They must be carrying the same DNA. I just spent the last 10 days or so helping her clean her room, do laundry (we aren’t done!) and re-organize her room. :wallbash:She is 21. No that is not a typo.
She has learning disabilities and a bad case of ADHD, which has gotten better over the years, but one of the symptoms in girls is organizational problems. She has severe ones. Can’t throw a thing out. At least her bathroom gets cleaned occasionally- it is also the only one downstairs and I sure the heck don’t want anyone upstairs. The people (read that hubby’s kids) would see how bad the bedroom is. I can find the bed. He has piles of clothes everywhere. The man has more clothes (not shoes!) than I do. It is sad. but I am trying to catch up!
Comment by ev — January 18, 2007 @ 10:16 am
I love to have the laundry done before I go…..as if my husband knows how to use the washer and dryer.
Comment by katie — January 18, 2007 @ 10:32 am
Your chance of returning to the clean house you left is extremely low to non-existent I must sadly say. I can leave the house in the morning and come back in the evening and it looks like a tornado went through sometime during the day…that would be pets and grandkids who have stopped by during the day. Love them, but neatness is not part of their make-up.
Comment by Shari C — January 18, 2007 @ 10:44 am
A kid who cleans up after herself??? You’ve GOT to be kidding me !!!
Mine sounds just like yours as far as you can look in the rom to see where she has been. She never picks up a backback, jackets, shoes or anything else until I NAG her about it. LOL My advice to you is to take a picture before you leave because I’d bet money that it WON’T look nice when you get back. LOL You guys have fun and write up a couple of real good stories !!
Missy
Comment by Missy Andrews — January 18, 2007 @ 12:20 pm
Hi Janelle,
Well at least we know we are all in the same boat.
I used to travel teach and do shows on weekends. Went thru much the
same routine before leaving. Once in a great while they surprised me and
the house looked wonderful
when I came home.
More often than not I was just so glad I was home I tried not to notice the
disaster.
Have fun just maybe they’ll surprise you. 
Comment by jeannie — January 18, 2007 @ 12:21 pm
I’m like that too - I must clean before vacation. But I don’t have kids and my cats don’t make much of a mess.
Have fun plotting! That sounds like a blast!
Comment by Julie S — January 18, 2007 @ 12:57 pm
I am like that as well, when I am going away on vacation, everything has to be cleaned and polished. I think Janelle that you have no hope to coming back to the house in the state that you left it. But just know that you are going to have a great time with the other PlotMonkeys and try not to think about it. When my kids were home, my son was the neat one, but daughter was just the opposite. I think we all have them if we have kids……….So, go have fun and just let the rest go…………
Comment by Cryna — January 18, 2007 @ 2:03 pm
The neat nick gene has drained out of me! I don’t concern myself much with cleaning house before I leave on vacation! It will look the same when I get back cause I’m the only one here. I hate housework! There was a time when I was better at cleaning, dusting, mopping all those lovely never ending chores
! In my old age I just don’t have the energy, I’d much rather read a good book or sit here at the computer.
To those of you that have sloppy husbands & children I wish you good luck or you could try training them to change their ways! Good luck with that!
Plotmonkeys, have fun & don’t shock the Bible Belt to much!!
Comment by Donna M — January 18, 2007 @ 3:37 pm
Love this blog! Finally! someone that understands how I feel. Its the same at my house, it feels like I’m the only one interested in cleaniness and organization! Agh.
Enjoy your vacation! Don’t worry about the house. Maybe the husband and kids will spring for a maid to clean for one day before you get back!
Comment by Carol — January 18, 2007 @ 4:47 pm
Wow,
I wish my mommy did that for me. I clean my room every week on sunday and the next day it is still a mess and looks like that for the rest of the week, or until my mom comes in and makes me reclean until she’s satisfied.
I hope it lasts, and that they can look after themselves for the time that you are gone.
But most people think of that as a
Comment by Qua — January 18, 2007 @ 5:51 pm
Great blog. NASHVILLE TENN
I can relate
my son who just turned 13 got a DUSTBUSTER for Christmas from my mom because he needs it for his room since I find crumbs, water bottles, juice boxes etc… I tell him leave it doens’t bother me since I won;t have to sleep with the bugs etc…
hubby will do dishes and even cooks and will do laundry if I tell him NOT to use so much soap that bubbles come out of the drain
Comment by Cherylann — January 18, 2007 @ 7:56 pm
Jodie I can relate to the toothpaste and what puzzles me is how it ends up on the mirror
Comment by Cherylann — January 18, 2007 @ 7:57 pm
Hey, I can totally relate. One Christmas my hubby gave me a bi-weekly cleaning service for a year. Couldn’t stand people seeing my dirty house, and would clean it before they came! Totally nuts. Hubby cancelled the service after 6 months.
And I am going to guess Atlanta, Georgia for your getaway.
Comment by cathy — January 18, 2007 @ 9:23 pm