Why I Left My House Messy When Guests Came Over

In a perfect world where everything has a specific place, laundry folds itself (wouldn't that be amazing), and dishes put themselves away, my house would be spotless all the time. Well, maybe not all the time. We still have to worry about the dog hair and beds being made (and a whole bunch of other things), but we would be a lot better off.

In a pinterest inspired world, every house would look like a clipping from a magazine, we would all have these amazing wall collages, rustic and industrial decor, tons of spare time for these awesome diy projects. And I mean like the best play rooms ever! I'm sure that exists for some people. 

For the rest of us, you probably have toys all over the floor. Your little one just pulled all of them out only to be occupied by a cardboard box they would rather pull out of the recycle and push around the house. You had good intentions of loading up the dishwasher but diaper duty took over along with ten other distractions that happened after that. Your half eaten sandwich is now getting stale on the counter because you only took two bites and then had to run to rescue your little one from jumping off the couch. 

You would love for your house to be picture perfect when friends or family come by, because come on now, doesn't everyone have an immaculate house? Before anyone would stop by we would always scramble around to make sure everything was picked up, floors freshly swept and mopped (almost glowing), laundry put away, dishes put away, and a scented candle lit to make our home smell just splendid. 

I'm not saying that anytime someone comes over we are going to let the place fall to pieces, but am I not going to care so much? Well, this experience was actually kind of liberating. I'm not saying that our house was dirty. Messy though, hmm, that depends what you consider messy. 

For as long as I can remember our mom always went into a panic before guests would come over. The house needed to be perfect. All five of us kids dreaded when someone would come by. I saw myself get like that a few times and decided (thankfully early on) that I was not going to be like that. Especially now in front of my own son.

So there are some toys on the floor, dishes still in the sink, a basket (or two, maybe three) of laundry out. I might not have had a chance to put out our best hand towels in the bathroom, the beds might not be made, and you would probably see a coat or two over the back of the arm chair because they just haven't made it into the closet yet. 

You know what? It's ok. The friends and family we have stopping over our house will understand. And if not, well maybe they shouldn't be stopping by. Our messy house shows all of the fun we are having with our little man. Two working parents that sometimes when we get home at the end of the day all we want to do is spend time and enjoy each other. It shows our life with a toddler. That not every aspect of our life is perfect. That we are human and flawed at best.