A tidy mind ...

I am drowning in a sea of mess.

I’ve had quite a lot of work these past few weeks (for a freelance writer, this is an enviable position to be in so I am not complaining).

But it does mean that housework has been relegated to well below the Top 50 household chores chart.

Providing food and cleaning clothing for the children comes top of the chart, of course, but everything else has pretty much taken a running jump.

After three weeks, I am overwhelmed by what needs to be done. I have managed to vacuum very quickly (the lounge), the kitchen remains just the right side of hygienic and the guinea pigs have been cleaned out every week. I have snatched a few minutes’ bathroom cleaning, too, but unfortunately it means the sink is clean one day; the loo the next and the shower screen the next.

Such haphazard approach means that NOTHING looks clean. Added to the fact that the children’s things seem to overtake each room, I feel despair.

But, the room in which I work is the absolute worse. The “study” is an appalling mishmash of books, technology and pieces of paper. As it is essentially the box room, there is no room to swing a kitten - never mind a cat.

In there, somewhere, is all the paperwork I need to fill in my tax return. But goodness knows where it is. I am in a slight panic now as I want to send off the paper version (rather than doing it online) in the next week.

Perhaps I should ask my son to don a hard hat complete with headlamp, burrow in and find it. Who knows what else he may find? A new species of monkey; Narnia ...

The children seem oblivious to it all, of course. When I ask them to tidy up their mess they look around, slightly confused. Is what I am seeing a mirage? Are those hair clips, bobbles, magazines, combs, discarded clothes really there> In the middle of the lounge? I do believe they are.

And what about the Tamagotchi, Toxic magazine, Go-Gos? Yes, i really do think I can see them.

So why can’t they? It drives me nuts, even though my threshold for mess is much higher than my husband’s!

Anyway, this weekend I will tackle it. I can’t promise a study of Zen-like calm, but I will try to rationalise and store away properly in a way that means I can access the things I need. If that doesn't happen it means I have unexpectedly discovered a hidden entrance to another world. See you next week (maybe!).