Who Keeps Making This Mess?

Do you have a cleaning methodology? I have my own method that has developed over the past year or so. There is a madness to my method. And if I don't fulfill my method, I get mad. I really am a cranky mommy if my house isn't spic and span at all times. My husband says that's ridiculous with a parcel of littles running around. And then he turns around and tells me the house isn't clean enough. So, who is pickier? Who knows. Enough warbling. I was about to tell you how I clean house. Since the only thing more fun than cleaning is figuring out new ways to clean....here's my way:

Every morning before breakfast but after scriptures, the boys and I clean the upstairs. They clean their room while I clean my room, the upstairs bathroom and the family room/landing. Every morning I take two baskets downstairs. One full of laundry and one full of junk that was upstairs that doesn't go upstairs. This is one of those great mysteries. Well two of them.

How is it possible to fill a laundry basket of dirty clothes every single day? That one is easily explained - if you don't want kids who are clothes horses, don't marry a clothes horse. The boys in our house wear 2-3 (or more) outfits a day. And a speck of dirt constitutes dirty. I have a friend whose kids will wear the same outfit every day until it disentigrates. They never actually have to remove it. It just falls away. I would like just an eensy beensy bit of that to rub off on my anal family.
The more puzzling question ~ how can a full basket of who-knows-what manage to get upstairs every day? Every day! I don't get it.

Some time during the day I do the laundry and put away the basket of stuff on the main level as well as accumulate all the junk on the main floor that doesn't belong there. Thanks to my new chore chart I don't have to do much of the actual doing. What belongs on the top floor I fling up the stairs. What belongs on the main floor, I put away*, and what belongs nowhere, I put in a basket for the basement. Tomorrow I will tell you about the excitement that happens in the basement involving my Basement Boyfriend.

*Explanation of the phrase "I put away" - I tell the boys that today's "Ask mom for a job" entails putting away the contents of my basket. They take turns taking items out of the basket to put away. When they each have a pile, they run off to put it all away. Funny thing about boys and competition. Instead of calming alternating, they try to outdo each other. They will grab 2 or 3 items instead of just one even though that just means more to put away. Makes me laugh.