Thursday, September 23, 2010

Dirtyhousewrititis

The most obvious sign my wip has taken priority over everything else?  My house gets dirty.

Really dirty.

House cleaning is already one of those things I force myself to do on a daily basis because…if I don’t do it, who the hell else will?  But I feel like it’s something I should get a gold star for because it takes monumental willpower on my part to do the same mundane tasks every day, over and over again, without running out the door screaming, hailing a taxi and taking off on the next train to anywhere-where-I-don’t-have-to-clean (not that I’ve actually thought about doing this...much). 

 Unfortunately- there are no gold stars (or gold anything for that matter) for mothers who clean up after everyone, which definitely dampers my enthusiasm.

I have kids.  So  I figure it’s kind of like when you keep rabbits or gerbils.  You gotta keep the crap outta their cage or they’ll get sick and stinky.  Despite this, their bedroom seems to take on a life of its own.  When I’m wrapped up in a writing project, I stick to the bare minimum- cooking meals, cleaning up afterwards; dishes, floor sweeping, table & counter wiping, and laundry.   Not to mention the whole child feeding, cleaning and changing that restarts the dreaded process in motion.

Now that wip is marinating, it’s like I woke up from a writing-induced haze and realized ‘Holy Crap.  My house is ridiculous!’.  So yesterday was spent digging out the girl’s room, uncluttering bookshelves and bureaus, mopping the floors, cleaning sinks and toilets and catching up on loads of laundry.

I didn’t get a gold star.  But I did order take-out sushi, which is more than enough compensation for me.

What falls to the wayside when you’re wrapped up in a wip?


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32 comments:

Anne Gallagher said...

Do you want to come over and do mine? I can order take-out whatever-you-want. I'm at the end and so close to finishing the first draft, but real life, damn it, is all over the place and I can't get anything accomplished.

My 5 year old even asked me the other day if she could vaccuum because the cat's tail was dusting the floor.

Laura Pauling said...

Writers in reasonably close areas to eachother should be on a cleaning house rotation as to who is done with their wips. And should also entertain each other because we'd all understand if a house wasn't in perfect condition!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'll give you a gold star!
And that's the first time I've ever heard a mom compare her children to gerbils. Well done!

Candyland said...

My weight because I eat a lot of crap:/

Christine Fonseca said...

Oh yea, the house is on thing (though the family is good about trying to keep the mess at bay), my kids don't eat (thank goodness hubby is a good cook) and bills stack up on my desk - which is why I have to force myself out of the cave periodically! :D

Renae said...

Everyone knows when I'm knee deep in a new WIP. The house gets crazy messy! I'm so glad its not just me!

JE said...

Everything!

It's funny though, I've noticed recently that my maid skills are slacking. I saw a dust bunny in the corner last night. Gasp! Now, several months ago I would've gotten up and cleaned that entire room. But now? I was too attached to my laptop to move.

The house will pay for new obsession. Eep!

~JD

Old Kitty said...

What falls to the wayside? My diet.
:-)

I think you deserve a gazillion gold stars with a sprinkling of silver for doing what you do and achieving what you have!!!

Take care
x

Dawn Ius said...

I am the opposite - I can't even work on my WIP until the house is clean. That's a new thing since I got married. Must be that "nesting" feeling. Ugh.

Slamdunk said...

Our house is in need of a good clean either and we can't blame a WIP. When I am engrossed in a project, finding time to exercise and well shave usually get the short end of the stick.

Matthew MacNish said...

Not much gets neglected when I'm writing because I don't do much to begin with.

But I do love Sushi. Just had a Nigiri fest for lunch yesterday. Delicious.

Colene Murphy said...

Go you!! I think that is huge, to juggle children, husband, house cleaning and finishing a novel. It never doesn't amaze me how mothers do it all. You amaze me.

Jaydee Morgan said...

My house cleaning definitely falls to the wayside. I figure, though, that my kids are old enough to dig themselves out of the mess if they need to ;)

Ricky Bush said...

Foot high grass in the front yard--two in the back.

Lisa Galek said...

I don't clean my house when I'm not engrossed in a WIP, so I don't even have your excuse! ;)

Carolyn Abiad said...

At least you're in good company here! My FB post this morning was about spider webs in and around my house. I'm thinking its a good thing Halloween is around the corner. :)

Gold Star for you, just because!

Carolyn V. said...

Mine is the house too. I cleaned out last week after a summer's worth of revising. I had no idea my son's were wearing shorts because I hadn't washed their pants for so long.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Ugh! Housework is such a difficult thing. We work our tails off and turn around an hour later and have to start over! :-)

Anne R. Allen said...

I always say, "Show me a writer with a spotless house, and I'll show you a case of writer's block."

My fondest dream is to make enough money from my writing to afford a house cleaner.

LTM said...

omg so relieved I'm not the only person who does this... ! But I have to say *everything* falls by the wayside when WIP takes off. Which has me worried about current WIP. Haven't yet engaged.

but you should see my legs. :D

Vicki Rocho said...

I'm goin home to kiss hubbers. He does most of that...without being told even.

Hart Johnson said...

I've spend long years meditating and fighting with my husband and have come to PEACE with my dirty house. Sadly, Mr. Tart? Not so much. Our point of contention is he'd just like to get rid of everything--no stuff, no clutter. His cheap wife though, is unable to imagine REBUYING the things we actually NEED. Yeah... the peace is one-sided... but as it's my side, I'm okay with that...

Elana Johnson said...

Cooking for sure. And my reading habit dries up when I'm writing. And my twitter and facebooking.

Nicole Zoltack said...

Housework, definitely. I mean, seriously? What's gonna win - writing or cleaning? Writing every time. No contest.

Jemi Fraser said...

House-keeping for sure! And sleeping of course. :)

Unknown said...

The house for sure! The dishes pile up, the cats start begging for attention, there are piles of water bottles in the bedroom from having a drink nearby while reading...

Hmmm, I wish there was a cleaning fairy that stopped by and rewarded us for writing by tending to the children and cleaning the house. Ooo, I could have a potential gig until the writing takes off.

Writing Fairy Cleaning Service (I know, I know, I need a better name)

DL Curran said...

I'll just say if you could see my house you wouldn't feel so bad. In the last week I've been at two writing workshops, our weekly writers meeting, and a write-in... yeah, between that and the kids, I'm barely keeping my head above water! ;)

I left a little award over at my blog for you... hope you like it.

Kelsey (Dominique) Ridge said...

Generally, for me, it's the sleep that's the first to go. Followed by books I don't really want to read. C'est la vie, right? All non-essential housecleaning fell of my radar a while ago. (oops.) And yes, you do deserve a gold start.

Anonymous said...

For me it's putting away my laundry. I can pull myself from whatever I'm working on to stick a load in the washer. Then, I manage to put that load into the dryer. When it's done, I fold, and leave it on top of the dryer. I always intend to put it away, but end up grabbing what I need from the pile until it's gone, and I have to do laundry again. What a vicious cycle.

Angela Ackerman said...

Ugh housework. Oh how I hate thee.

Thanks for the shout out and good luck to everyone who enters!

Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

April Plummer said...

Oh, I have this too! I so do! I have a hard enough time putting aside a book I'm reading to do housework let alone a book I'm writing! Hell, there are so many other things so much more important than housework, not the least of which is time with my husband and stepdaughter.

*sigh*

Alas, I work better in a clean place, and tomorrow it is time to do the floors. With 2 cats and a husband who works construction and builds things with wood in the garage and a 6-year old who doesn't notice when she's covered in saw dust...

Walter Knight said...

Kids? It will get better. wait until they move out, then want to move back in with spouces, boy firends, girl friends, and other.

Buy dead bolt locks for your doors now, and don't let the back in unless they are alone.

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