When we got our dining room table we loved the idea of a nice big square table.  It fits the space nicely and it is lovely, when it isn’t covered with crap.

Since May is our “Meal Month” I am working harder then ever to keep the table clean, so we can sit at the table to eat every night.

Here is what I am fighting against.

Then I take 20 – 30 minutes to clean it.

Then T3 comes along and “plays there”

If I don’t clean it up ASAP, by the next day it looks like this.

Seriously clutter magnetically attracts more clutter.

20-30 minutes later I have this – you can see all of DH’s stuff on his “side of the table”

This is one of my biggest challenges.

I can’t put his stuff away because then he can’t find it and it becomes an issue.

Some things have a home, so I can put them away,

but if they don’t have a home,

or he is in charge of their homes,

I can’t risk it.

So I leave his stuff in piles on the table.  Then the whole clutter magnet starts all over again.

HELP!  Any ideas or tips?

Or do I just have to clean it daily?  I am thinking that is it, but 20-30 minutes a day is crazy.  And maybe 1/4 is my stuff, 1/2 DH and 1/4 my boys.

Maybe next week I will take a picture of the table every morning and night.  That may inspire me.  Though eating together at the table has really helped us keep it “cleaner”