I wanted to test “The Tidy Gal Method” at home for two weeks. I wanted to find out if pretending to be a “Tidy Girl” was worth all the effort. So I been pretended to be a Skinny Girl with a clean house for 13 days. I took everything fun and messy out of reach of the kids. I allowed no one in the kitchen. We had no TV, so I bought DVDs and let the kids watch movies on the laptop. I was on my feet from morning to night cleaning up yuckies. My house stayed clean all 13 days!

The children had not adopted the three step plan,, and were mostly hiding in their rooms since I started pretending to be a “Tidy Gal”. And here’s the miracle: at only 4pm, my house was clean! I wasn’t even expecting company. I only spent 9 hours tidying up the house! Having the whole place almost clean felt good. The laundry was done (almost). The dishes were washed. The floor was mopped. The table clothes were on the table. The cushions were on the couch. The toys were in their baskets. The children were hiding. My husband had been busy washing the car all day. He knew if he came in I’d enlist him in my Clean House Diet Program, and he thought I was in a bad mood.

I hadn’t done much cooking for the past two weeks so, I decided to make an apple pie, hoping perhaps the kids and husband would reappear. As I baked my apple pie, and enjoyed a big bowl of ice cream, I felt like I had found the secret to keeping house. I knew that if I kept this up I would have a clean house and be a Skinny Girl, because with all this cleaning I was working out ALL THE TIME! I never sat down! Win-win! Right? Well, not if you ask my husband and kids.

My kids like the “happy mommy” that lets them do art projects, bake cookies, and dig in the dirt. My husband said he would rather have a messy house and a “happy wife” who isn’t following him with a bottle of Windex.

He told me that I don’t have to be someone I’m not. He told me that he loves my free spirit and creativity. He loves watching me play with the kids and he likes making big messes in the kitchen while cooking up a feast. He said I’d spent all my time cleaning and organizing and griping at everyone.

Further, he said he loves me as I am, and he knows that sometimes the laundry piles up, and sometimes the dishes overflow, and sometimes the floor needs sweeping, and someday the kids will be more helpful, and someday they will all grow up, maybe we’ll have a clean house then. But that day? He wanted me to put the mop down, set aside the Windex and play hide and seek with the kids.

We found them and told them all that Tidy Gal was gone, Skinny Girl was a myth, and “happy mommy” was back!