Clean, Purge, Simplify

I don't know what it is, but I have had the overwhelming desire to simplify my life. I think a lot of it has to do with my impending (well 1.5 months away) return to work. I know from my experience with Sam that the return to work is a rough adjustment. I go from having 84 hrs a week to play with the kids, spend with Yifan, cook dinner and clean to 25 hrs a week to get 40 hrs of work done and another 59 hrs a week to play with the kids, spend time with Yifan, cook dinner and clean. That's a 26% reduction in my time. Since I don't want to take away time from my family that means I have a lot less time to cook and clean.

I know when I go back to work that Yifan will help pick up the slack, particularly with cooking. (Yes, I am blessed with a husband that knows his way around a kitchen. I might even say that he is a better cook than me.) However, I know that I need to make up for the time that is taken away from home.

I usually just let things slide, but this time, for some reason, I am just not ready to do that. So here I am purging the junk out of the house and setting up a schedule of things to do each day to keep the house clean. We've put away a rug that never seems to be free of dog hair. I've put away glasses that were just collecting dust. I've pulled out clothes to donate because I will never wear them again. I am putting baby things that Rae has outgrown in the attic. I've started having Sam and I clean the bedrooms on Thursday mornings before we go to the library.

So how will it work out? I have no clue. Ask me again in June when my desire to take the kids outside almost always outweighs my desire to keep the house clean.