Cleaning

Do you ever feel like you wander around the house cleaning, only to be followed immediately after by a little tornado?

I'm not talking about my toddler. It's my husband.

Don't get me wrong, Marshall likes things "clean" too. But clean, I have learned, is a subjective term. When Marshall cleans, he takes the mess to a higher plane. Literally. Anything and everything on the floor must come up! To where? Where ever is the next closest flat surface that is not the floor: the top of the bookcase, the kitchen table, the kitchen counter, and his favorite spot- on top of the entertainment center.

I clean by taking these items accumulated on top of various countertops in our home and put them inside things. Inside baskets, or drawers, closets or cabinets. Basically, where they belong. That is my idea of cleaning.

So today I tackled the top of the entertainment center. It is was a mess. I sorted the items into which area they really belonged in: the pantry, the sink, our bedroom, the bathroom, Carly's room, the trash can, the bookshelf. Dirty cups, boxes of cereal, socks, lotion, old mail, a stack of Carly's books, some Carly art supplies, various electronics, deodorant, shoe polish. You name it really. Then I started to put it away.

I started with the various electronics. Most went into the cabinets in the entertainment center, as opposed to on top. I put them away. Then the cereal and crackers and fruit snacks the Marshall likes to store near the TV (because 10 feet is just too far to walk to the pantry). Soon, I was making progress.

I returned to the entertainment center, and I swear things I have put away have reappeared. Am I hallucinating? I ask Marsh how they got back out, why they got back out. He looks at me with complete sincerity and says "that's where they belong. You're always trying to hide my stuff." YES! That's it! This is a game of hide and seek, and Marshall has just won.

I try to explain that these objects all have homes, and they can be brought out to use when needed, but should go back to where they belong after. I am talking to a toddler. But he persists. He says that it is simply too much work to get his wii-mote charger out the once a week he uses it, and it should always be accessible. And the food? If it's in the pantry, he'll forget we have it and won't eat it.

It must be fun to live as Marshall. Can you imagine what it must be like to be really pleasantly surprised every time you open the pantry? It must be like Christmas every day.