After a few months of being accosted by dust bunnies – and consumed with guilt that I might want to knit or watch RHOBH instead of scrubbing the bathroom floor – I’ve finally waved the white flag of surrender and hired a cleaning service to whip Momover Central into shape.

It’s called Spotless Planet and they are so fast and thorough and pleasant that I’ve actually decided that I’m really not such a horrible person after all for hiring them. I skip merrily through the house once they’re finished for the week, marveling at all the many chores I won’t be doing.

The weird thing is, when I actually do clean, I get really into it. But now that I’m working full-time again, and developing another website on the side, I’ve decided that the few hours a week I have for house-maintenance should be spent organizing.

Right now, par exemple, the kitchen is preying on my feeble mind. It’s a pretty good size, with lots of cabinets, but I feel that when we moved in three years ago, we just sort of shoved stuff on shelves without really thinking through what we’d be needing on a daily basis.

And I don’t even really know what I own. Recently I spotted a brand-new, never-been-opened juicer and food processor! WTH? Oh, and an extremely schmancy espresso machine. They were either wedding presents or magazine-job swag, and they’re not doing me any good if they’re still in boxes.

Another organizing “hot zone”: A wall of built-ins in the Wee Lass’s play space that are jam-packed with techno-gadgets, books, cleaning supplies (ironic!) and the always-worrisome “miscellaneous.” All of that needs to be dealt with too.

My point: I have plenty to do around here that doesn’t involve plugging in the vacuum. And maybe when, and if, I ever achieve my ultimate goal of a house that looks like a hotel, I’ll go back to cleaning it myself.