That’s right. I have discovered that I have the do-a-little disorder. I am still debating whether it is a good thing or not. Most times it’s okay, but I would rather avoid it. And now that I think about it I hope that other women/moms share the same experience.

Well, then….what is the do-a-little disorder? Let me provide a picture for you…

Most times when I am in cleaning mode, I tend to overbook myself with chores and tasks. Not a realistic list of things to squeeze into one day. I work full-time and have two wonderful kids; therefore most of my cleaning is done during the weekends. I do try to do a few things during the week to ease the weekend load, but still, most things are done during the weekend.

And so, let’s say that I wake up with my unrealistic cleaning goals, and there I go…I am on a mission to conquer my home. “It will all be done today,” I tell myself. Yeah, right!

I start in the kitchen, just after breakfast. I was the dishes, clean the stove and wipe the dining table. Seems like I am a t a good start, but then my disorder is activated….and as it usually does, it activates without a warning. I would appreciate a heads up, you know. At least an e-mail warning me, but no, it’s a creepy disorder that shows up with no invitation. So, without knowing it, I remember that I have a ton of laundry to do, so I go upstairs to get the laundry. By the way, I live in a three level townhouse and my laundry room is on the first floor. It is not fun at all to be running up and down the stairs. It’s good exercise, I tell myself as a positive insight.

I go and get my laundry and notice that my daughter has left some toys in my room. So I drop the laundry basket to take the toys to her room and have a mother-daugther chat about putting the toys where they should go. Then I notice that my daughter’s bedroom window is not clean, so I go downstairs get some paper towels and Windex, and go back up to clean the window. Then I remember the laundry basket, so I go back to get the basket, but on my way I decide, since I have the Windex in my hand, maybe I should shine the bathroom mirror. And so, I end up shinning the mirror. While in the bathroom, I discover that the toilet needs to be cleaned up. So I clean it up. Then I go back to get the laundry and I decide to change the bed sheets, just to get those washed too. By then it’s snack time. A good deserved break after so much work, I guess it’s also a good excuse to set aside the laundry basket. After snack time, I go back to get the laundry basket. I make it to the laundry room and start with first load of clothes. My laundry room has a desk with my sewing machines. I realize that some of the sewing materials are not in their place, so I do a quick clean-up and organize the sewing station. Then I go back upstairs to get another laundry basket, on my way I stop in the living room to pick up some of the baby’s toys and while there, I stop to watch some TV. “Oh, I’m just going the check the news, I tell myself.” One hour later, its lunch time….and so it goes on. I hope some of you can relate to this and just give it a laugh. I bet some of you are having some flashback images of running around the house like this.

In definition the do-a-little disorder is cleaning without a plan. Most times I try to set up certain tasks and just get them done, those days I feel great. I might not have done all the things that I wanted, but I did start and finish a few. The do-a-little disorder just gets little things done, and you end up feeling like you really didn’t accomplish much. If you plan ahead you will get more done, and done the right way. Oh, there is nothing wrong in doing things a little at a time, but I have to accept that I do enjoy having the whole living room organized, with some other rooms a bit messy, than the whole house messy with only a few things done on each room. So now, I try to focus on one room a time and set up realistic goals. I have also read some interesting books on the subject, and done some online research. I must say, there are a lot of great ideas out there. Still, every now and then the do-a-little disorder kicks in, and honestly when it does and I realize it…I have to laugh!