The Tentative Plan...

So while the dishes goal was a good and worthy one, I have to admit that yesterday, after 2 days of scrubbing everything by hand, we faltered, and used the dishwasher - just as an emergency mind you!
My first mistake was to not do them straight after the kids had gone to bed. Instead we sat down and watched a movie, and I genuinely believed that once the movie was finished I would feel more motivated to do them - way wrong! Once the movie was finished we moved on to checking facebook, trawling the trade-me website for kittens and other 'misuses' of time. At about 12 I got off the couch and looked at the kitchen and groaned. My darling husband, who is a terrible man really, said "don't worry you can do them tomorrow morning"(note the YOU part). So I took myself off to bed, determined on a big kitchen clean up in the morning before some friends arrived for lunch at midday.
Enter the kids. From 2 ish till about 4.30 I was kept awake by my poor sleepless daughter, who although not actually upset about anything, wanted me to sleep in her bed with her, or to sleep in our bed with us. So we stared up at the ceiling for a couple of hours, and then she finally agreed to go to sleep by herself. Thus, when my husband came to wake me in the morning, I would not wake! And at 11.30 am, when I finally dragged myself out of bed and surveyed the horrific kitchen, awash with sticky pots and happy ants, and with my friends arriving any minute, my resolve faltered, the terrible husband said "this is what the dishwasher is for" and we stacked it to the hilt.
What I am most surprised by is my lack of resolve. That one misstep, one spot of laziness, and a voice inside me whispers "why are you doing this? What are you trying to prove? you've screwed up already, why bother?"
But I will try again. I am not afraid of mere crockery... ok I actually am, but I will not be henceforth... So the plan for the future of holiday home status boils down to this:
- dishes by hand. See previous post for reasons.
- washing clothes regularly. When you're on holiday you keep on top of the laundry, because you didn't bring 300 things to wear with you. If I can keep that up, perhaps I will be able to further pare down my colossal collection of things I only wear once a month or less.
- going outside more. Our garden is actually lovely, and being in it more will(in an ideal world) simply encourage and inspire me to treat it better. More on holiday gardening later...
- more simple wholesome meals. Lets face it, when we're on holiday we eat well! Because we buy local fresh food, we cook it ourselves in the bach oven or camp gas stoves, we have time to make an effort, and it becomes a pleasure, not a chore. A when you're in a tent in the middle of Walakazoo(*not actually a real place), or a sunny bach on the coast, you don't have a supermarket down the road or fast food scum available, so you shop well for enough vital supplies that will last.
Ok more later. Perhaps a mini-epistle on low-maintenance holiday gardens. Perhaps.