Live From The House, It is Saturday Night

Yup, it is another random weekend post about stuff on tables (remember this one from a few weeks back?). I have a new mission in life: to keep our kitchen table clear of junk.

Okay, perhaps “mission in life” is a bit strong. This goal ranks far below real life missions like to be a good husband and father, put food on the table, and avoid aspartame (I am mildly allergic). But simply like my resolution last fall to make the bed everyday for a month, I lately chose I was fed up with how our kitchen table was increasingly becoming a not-so-temporary landing pad for shopping bags, unread mail, sewing supplies (notnaminganynamessherry) and other clutter. Meaning it was becoming less and less functional as a dining spot (and less and less pleasant to look at).

So without even telling Sherry (she’ll likely learn about this goal when she notices this post at some point this weekend) I have taken on the task of clearing off the table each night before heading to bed. Since keeping it clear 24/7 would be unrealistic (not to mention counterproductive – what is the use of a table that you cannot put things on?) I chose if I could simply clear it at the end of each day it would avoid becoming overrun with random items. And in the morning it would look pleasant. At least for a moment.

I have only been doing it for about a week (and I have already fallen off of the wagon a couple of nights) but so far I am liking the results. For one, it is forcing us to in fact deal with some of our clutter (i.e. sort the mail, unload shopping bags, put away dishes). And I am no psychologist, but there is gotta be some mental health benefit to starting your day off with a cleared-off, ready-for-anything table. If nothing else, at least I am enjoying the fact that I do not have to push aside magazine piles to feed Clara breakfast first thing every morning.

Do any of you have nightly cleaning routines? Or are you right now planning your own cleaning resolution? I am proof that they can stick. Yep, believe it or not, I still manage to make the bed every single day since last fall’s resolution.