For the last few days I've been doing a lot of tidying up.

Tidying up for me has never been as simple as putting something either in the bin or away in its place. There often seems to be an abundance of clutter that isn't ready for the bin yet takes time and thought to figure out what to do with. Things like this:-

Socks with no match

Instructions for a Lego model which Logan has built in the past, will probably never build again but still wants to keep (and he probably doesn't even know if he still has all the pieces)

Disposable nappies which are now too small for Blake but which Emma would still like to keep for her dolls.

Pieces of unidentified jigsaw puzzles which would be hard to find the right box for.

Old sheet music which Andrew doesn't use anymore but thinks would be worth holding onto.

Plastic plates from some little tea set which could be anywhere.

A pair of small shoes which belong to a doll we can't find.

Some game counters missing from some game.

Videos and dvds without their cases.

Video and dvd cases without their videos and dvds.

Scratched dvds waiting to be taken to Game Traders to be cleaned because they've been lying around out of their cases. (We do warn the kids that this is what'll happen)

Anyway, I'm sure everyone would get the picture. Looking over this list, I can see that not much of the jumble is mine yet I'm the one who gets most embarrassed whenever friends or family drop in unexpectedly. It's because I'm the Mum. The state of the house reflects on me. Last year I grew depressed about this lots, so I sat down to work out my real feelings about mess. I truly do prefer the house to be neat because my mind seems to be clearer then. However, when I step into somebody else's home and find a clutter and jumble I feel cosy and right at home. If I don't judge other people's messes as harshly as I judge my own, I'm going to try more relaxed about the state of our own place because, after all, when we're homeschooling, a bit of mess is inevitable. At the moment, I'm letting the kids keep their own rooms the way they want them. I've found that nagging only creates tension and every few weeks or so, I go in and help them sort it all out. In all fairness to the kids, I think they have moments when they try to be tidy.

I read something good on this subject which I think I'll share. A lady was complaining to a friend that her mother-in-law always turned up her nose and criticised the way she kept her house.

To which the friend replied, "What right does she have to be critical? Her son doesn't leave his dirty socks and underwear all over her bedroom floor!"

I'll finish with another excellent quote I read just a few days ago. I like to collect quotes. I don't get out books with the purpose of finding them, but keep my notebook handy to jot down a good one whenever I find it.

Untidiness is inevitable and necessary.

Creative pursuits are not often neat. They don't take well to physical confinement. Their side-effects include wood shavings, fabric scraps, dirty brushes, dirty dishes, discarded papers and the neglect of more mundane occupations. If we expect creativity to flourish in our home, we need to allow for its consequences.

As a complete change of subject, we took the kids to see the Narnia movie night before last. I didn't have any great expectations but I thought it was fantastic! I was hooked from the very start. Whoever worked out the script was very sensitive to the feelings and characters of all four children and the WW2 background and costumes were terrific. I think C.S. Lewis would have been very pleased.