Going Away and Coming Home to a Mess

I find that the more of a mess I have at home, the more I’m not here.  I’m not sure which way things are going though.  Is there a bigger mess because I’m home less or am I home less because I don’t want to be here with the mess?

Either way, things are getting better.  This week is fair week. If you’ve know anything at all about 4-H, you know what that means and that statement probably conjures up some pretty strong feelings – good, bad, and everything in between!

First comes judging before the fair starts.  Most kids don’t start their projects until the week before fair. Can you guess what that means?  Lots of running to the store to buy supplies.  Lots of tears when things don’t work out.  Lots of late nights and crabby kids because they stay up late working on them or they don’t finish.

Next comes getting your animals ready if you have any.  If you show animals, you know that they have enough supplies to fill up the largest semi truck.  Ok, maybe not that many but it’s an excessive amount of supplies.  All I pack for myself is a few clothes, cameras, chargers and my laptop.  For the horse, we need saddle racks, helmets, brushes, saddle pads, saddle blankets, halters, spare halters, show halters, bridles, bridle hangers, bungee cords, fans, paperwork, body brush, hoof paint, bands, mane and tail brush, fly spray, baby wipes, shampoo, hay bags, feed dish, water bucket, bucket hangers, a wagon, tail bags, hoof pick, and body slinkies.  I’m positive there’s quite a bit more but that’s all I can think of off the top of my  head.

Once you’re done with the first few days of judging before fair starts and you have your animals ready for the fair, then it’s time to pack up and head to the fairgrounds.  Ours isn’t just on any week of the summer though.  They have some how strategically made sure that it is always on the hottest week of the entire summer.  It must have taken them years to get this one just right because they have this part nailed down with uncanny certainty that it will almost always reach 100 degrees with 120% humidity.

At the end of each day, which is extremely long, you come home drenched in sweat, grouchy, sunburnt, and exhausted.  There isn’t a chance in the world that anything will get cleaned that day except your body.  Showers and bedtime, that’s it. That might not sound too bad but when the home you are coming home to is a mess, it just seems to make things a thousand times harder.  All the stuff that you forgot to take isn’t in some easy to grab place.  It’s hiding under thousands of other things and instead of grabbing it, you have to dig, which takes time that you don’t have.

A Clean Kitchen at Home Makes a World of Difference

One of the things that always bothered me the most was coming home to a disaster of a kitchen.  This year, thankfully, the sink is empty and the kids have been keeping it that way.  I already feel better about fair knowing that I won’t have that disaster staring me in the face when I stop home.  My living room is a mess but at least there’s more than a small path through it which will help too.

Last year, there was such a hoarding mess at my house that we couldn’t even find the bucket of stuff that we take to fair to keep things organized.  So, we had to throw things on the gravel floor and it was really hard trying to keep anything clean.  Bridles were everywhere.  We couldn’t find the umbrellas so it rained a lot.  It was extra frustrating because we were constantly looking for things. Thankfully it wasn’t too hot or humid.  This year, they are forecasting the worst imaginable weather.  Super hot and super humid the entire week.  It’s always harder when sitting in a chair not moving a muscle still brings sweat running down your face and back.  It’s miserable.

Without the mess, we’re ready this year!

This year, I have everything ready.  Most of the things that I couldn’t find last year were on the front porch. I have them in a wagon packed up and ready to go this time. I have my truck cleaned out and all that will be in it is fair things.  That was something else I didn’t get to last year.

After a long hard day, it’s nice to come home to a clutter free space.  It’s easier to be productive and a heck of a lot less stressful!  It also frees up a lot of your time so you have more to spend on fun stuff!  Next year will be even better because the house will be even more clutter free!