Will I never learn?

I've told myself this again and again, and experience confirms my belief over and over:

It is easier to keep a house clean that to clean a house.

In other words, I spend much less time cleaning if I just keep the place clean. You know, pick up as I go along. Do a quick vacuuming job before I pick the kids up. Do the dishes immediately after a meal rather than let them pile up. Keep the clothes off the floor; put the laundry away immediately after I fold it; heck, do a load of laundry a day (not let it pile up).

I know this. I've proven it to myself time and time again. If I keep the place in order, I can do it in as little as 20 minutes a day. This gives me more time to play with my kids, and more "me" time after they go to bed. So why, oh why, am I sitting here looking at the rooms in my house - all in various stages if disarray?

I'll tell you why. I'm tired. It took exactly one day of me just being tired. Too tired to do that 20 minutes of work. Oh and lazy. One day of just feeling like doing nothing when I got off work.

One would think that a girl could take just one day and let things slide. Nope, not when you're a mom. No breaks for moms. And what happens when a mom takes a break? Well, this:

This is by far the worst room, but trust me, all the other rooms are in upheaval also. It drives me batty to have my house looking like this. It's all disorganized and it makes me feel disorganized - which I guess I am. But I don't need to feel like I am, you know?

Ugh. This is going to take me hours to fix. (Not just this room - the house in general). That's not to mention the approximately 5 loads of laundry that I have allowed to pile up this week.

I swear, I need a maid.