The other day my mother-in-law left a dustbuster as a gift on our front doorstep. A couple of years ago she gave me, along with another gift, the book Spotless for my birthday. It's an Australian bestseller on how to clean every aspect of your house. With the buy line on the cover, "Room-by-room solutions to domestic disasters", do you think she was trying to tell me something. Probably.
I'm quite happy to admit to my faults (well some of them), and my housekeeping ability is certainly not a strength. So I was not offended to receive these gifts from my mother-in-law. She is quite quirky so these little gestures make me giggle more than anything. (And the dustbuster is good!)

If housekeeping was an Olympic event, my mother-in-law would be a gold medalist, for sure. She is the most superb housekeeper I know. She cooks brilliantly - and always exactly what you feel like eating; lamps always come on at the right time in the evening; rooms are always the perfect temperature and designed for your every comfort. So I often feel a little sorry for Will who has gone from living in 5 star comfort to.. well, let's say 3 or 4 star, ahh, disarray. I'm just thankful he had a few years of boarding school and housesharing with friends in between before we set up house together.
Today I'm determined to get the house in order. The boys are spending a few hours in the holiday program at school, giving me an empty house and a few hours to get organised. Starting with the smallest room in the house - the laundry - I'm sorting, tidying and decluttering. Let's see how far I get.