Messy House Tour 2017
Because I can’t let you think we actually have our act together over here, it was high time I posted this year’s Messy House Tour!
I’m mostly excited because this is the easiest post to write all year long. Haha!
Can I tell you a secret? You have to promise not to tell anyone. Our house is never totally mess-free. Ever. Wanna know pretty much every blogger’s dirty little secret? When it comes to taking pretty pictures of decorated living rooms and organized pantries, there’s always some disaster area lurking just outside of the camera frame. (I mean… would you really want to see our mess all the time?)
It’s true. It’s a regular topic of conversation at blogging conferences and blogger friend get-togethers.
So often, I find myself falling into the trap. The one where I’m scrolling through hundreds of gorgeous, perfectly styled homes on Instagram and Pinterest, and I feel a little bit deflated. Because my house doesn’t look like those magazine-worthy pictures on a daily basis.
And I find myself resenting the piles of dirty laundry, the sink full of dishes, the shoes tossed all over that I inevitably trip on. I almost resent my family for just a split second.
It always seems to happen in the fall. It’s when school functions, ballet classes, family weekend trips, and everything busy is at an all-time high. And it’s always this time of year when I have to give myself a reality check.
This is life. And it’s a beautiful life.
So I grabbed my camera, spur of the moment, and I made myself really look at every room in our house exactly the way it was. Sometimes, you have to search to see the blessings, even when they’re right under your nose.
That hamper overflowing with dirty clothes? I’m thankful for it because it means I have loved ones to wear them.
That sink full of dishes? I’m thankful for it because it means my family’s tummies are full.
That messy playroom? I’m thankful for it because it means a little one’s mind is exploring and learning.
That unmade bed? I’m thankful for it because it means we have a roof over our heads and a place to sleep at night, unlike so many others in the world.
All of it reminds me of that Trace Adkins song, “You’re Gonna Miss This”.
One day, our messy little girl will be all grown up and gone. One day, schedules won’t be so chaotic. One day, we’re going to look back and wonder why we even worried about the messes.
We do clean. I promise we don’t live like animals. But grace also goes a long way in this house.
If we have a chance to take a weekend trip to visit relatives, we’re going to take it.
If we have an opportunity to make a great memory, we’re going to do it.
And a messy house isn’t going to derail those moments.
Because we’re going to miss this, every messy inch.
If you’re curious about any of the randomness happening in these rooms, here’s the deal-eo:
- Living Room– 9 times out of 10, this room has a pile of folded laundry somewhere and toys on the floor. It’s right off of the laundry room and playroom, and it’s where everything just ends up smack all around our coffee table.
- Breakfast Nook– Shoes somehow always end up here even though an entry bench with storage baskets is only 10 feet away. Makes total sense, right?
- Kitchen– Also, dishes end up in the sink even though the dishwasher is literally right next to it. Logic in our family runs deep when it comes to dishes. ๐
- Dining Room– Do you know how many times we’ve dined in our dining room? Three times. Other than that, this table is where we sprawl out to do craft projects. (But this room is getting a makeover really soon!)
- My Office– A.K.A. the dumping ground. This room mocks me with a maniacal laugh. It’s the room where we’ve put random junk since Day 1 of moving in when we don’t know where else to put them. Shipping boxes always end up in here since it’s right beside the front door. It’s high time for a purge and yard sale, and eventually we’ll be putting in plenty of storage and an actual desk for me, but ya know… life.
- Master Bedroom– There is somehow always this laundry limbo on our window nook chair. Is it clean, is it dirty? I dunno. Toss it here to decide later. And stuffed animals love to hang out on our bed thanks to a squirmy 5 year-old who likes to crawl in our bed early in the morning.
- Olivia’s Bedroom– She’s decided she likes sleeping at the foot of her bed. Sure. Why not? She has also forbidden me from painting over her purple walls or dressing up her room, so I guess that’s how it’s going to go for now.
- Powder Room– Don’t mind us and Olivia’s teeth brushing station for when we’re trying to rush out the door to school.
- Laundry Room– This laundry pile is so deceiving. Hiding in the corner is always a hamper spilling over.
So that’s our life. It’s not perfect, but it’s ours. And it’s the non-sugar-coated reality that I know so many of us live but don’t share. I hope it encourages you in some way, and if your house is always perfectly clean and 100% tidy every day, feel free to come clean ours next. (Ha! Kidding.)
If you want to see my past Messy House Tours, you can see this one from 2016 and this one from 2015.
Keep being you, friends. And keep giving yourselves grace. Because you’re gonna miss this.
“The autumn trees show us how lovely it is to let things go.”
That’s so refreshing to see! Thanks for sharing this with us. I think a lot of people need to see this post! Hurray for real life!
Great !! that’s the real Life and, yes, it’s beautiful โฅ this house is living and it’s marvellous ! I say to myself the same things and a french singer, Jean-Jacques Goldman has a song about loneliness where he says “The house so clear, that it is suspect
Like all these places where one does not live
Beings have given way, lost the fight
Things have gained, it’s their territory” ๐
Now, my 4 children (15, 17 and 21×2) are away during the week, and I like those little memories they leaved behind (provided that it’s clean, of course !)
when they were younger, the bazaar in the play room always made me say “they had a good time to play” before closing the door…
Since blogging has been a ‘fact’ of life these days, even if we’re only blog readers ;-), I think everyone knows a blogger’s house is like everyone elses: It’s not always perfect…except for photo shoots ๐
As a mother of two grown boys and also a grandmother, I can say that my house had days where everything was awry too when they were little. But we did have some house rules that kept our house looking fairly decent most of the time ๐ I looked back and wondered if I had been too hard on our boys with things like “If you’re done playing with it, put it away before you take out other toys” or “Clean up your room”…and things like that I’m sure many mothers touted to their own children.
But as our boys grew up and made their own choices, we found them both entering the military… their own decisions. We learned from them how hard, strict and life-defining boot camp or basic training is and I felt OK being one of those sorta ‘strict moms’. ๐ I realized that I was probably THE easiest ‘drill sergeant’ our sons ever had! Haha….. See we’d built a basis for them that clearly helped them in later life….or so they tell me now. ๐
Seriously though, there is a fine line between being a household where nothing gets moved/used/played with, etc. and one where chaos reins at all times. As parents we make the decisions that best fit our own families…and that’s as it should be.
I love your home in its “photo worthy” AND its “reality mode”. It says a lovely family lives here that is blessed.
Well said!
Even messy your house is amazing and your photos are incredible.
Funny, I am at the place in my life when it’s quiet and the kids are gone and I really DO keep a relatively straighten home – and it’s too quiet, and too lonely and a little too sad. I entertain friends often to keep the home alive – and I would gladly give up my pristine world to have some more of the chaos of my younger years back. โฅ
Have a wonderful weekend.
I say this in the highest regards… You don’t actually have it all together! You are real, you are happy, you are living a dream. But most of all, you have a grateful heart and that is what the Lord cares most about. Love your messy tour!
Thank you so much! I needed this today. By the end of the week our house inevitably looks like a tornado rolled through and I always wonder what I can do differently so it doesn’t look like chaos. But I guess this is life and I need to just roll with it! Have a great weekend!
OMG love love love the first blog i see the house as IS its not just a house but a home LOL.
Hi Lauren! This post was so funny and real. I appreciate the insight that even picture-perfect homes have their moments! Inspired to cut myself some slack (although your house is still gorgeous despite messy laundry!)
The first couple of photos I thought, “That’s messy?” Then, I got to the Family Room. Yeah, that’s a beautiful mess, and yes, it means you have love, laughter and life in them there rooms. And, you are so right about having a roof when so many do not. Keeping it real. Now, go clean up!!! XO XO
Thanks for the realism! These are all blessings in disguise!
Thank you so much for posting this, Lauren! I just recently started reading your blog, and I love your pretty pictures and projects (your house is gorgeous by the way!), but I also love how so relatable this particular post is. I live in a two-story 1990’s colonial with my family and try really hard to keep it clean and organized, but with a toddler and a puppy, our house looks like this a lot of the time too. Glad to see it’s not just us! ๐
I love this and your transparency about actually “living in a house.” I too believe that there are moments missed by some who decide to stay home and clean house instead of going to do something fun with family. Love you post!
Love your candor………..did I miss a posting as I see a new member of the family in this post. A four legged family member that is. Adorable.
Love this. Love you. Thanks!
We are ALL perfectly imperfect. Thanks for sharing your perfectly respectable mess…although that kinda looks like my house on a good day… ๐
Love it! The house looks great – messy or not!
You have a beautiful home and really appreciate your showing us that it gets messy like everyone else’s too. GREAT job
We’ve been talking a lot about this lately with our women’s Bible study groups. Most don’t blog, but do view Pinterest and Instagram. They see all these fabulous perfectly “staged” pictures and feel so inadequate. I find myself sharing more and more with these women that they are only seeing exactly what you said, what the person holding the camera chooses for them to see. You don’t see the piles of laundry, toys, etc just outside the frame. I know we all come for the pretty, but sometimes it’s refreshing to see the messy side of things.
Thanks for your candor in sharing.
I am so glad to know you are a “real family”! I feel better about my own house now. Your home is beautiful messy or perfect.
LOVE this. Thank you. I’m actually stunned a blogger’s kid’s room looks almost as chaotic as mine. Makes me feel a whole lot less dysfunctional ๐ I appreciate your candor, it took courage to do that for others.