As a teen, I never kept a clean room. My mother recounts how every Saturday she told me I couldn’t go anywhere with my friends until my room was clean. Two hours later she came to check on me and the bed was still unmade, the vacuum right where she left it, and I was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, reading a book.

This bothered her more than me, because 1) I hated housework, and 2) books were my friends.

Nothing has changed. Today I live in a little house in the country, well off the beaten path.  You have to be coming to my house to come to my house, so nobody just ‘drops in’. And it’s a good thing because a whole house means, well, more unkempt rooms.

You see, I’d rather be writing, or reading.

When Saturday morning comes, I get up intending to thoroughly clean that day. But then something pops into my mind and I need to go write down the idea (remember, I have W.A.D.D.). Or I get a cup of coffee and decide I have time to read the next chapter of a book I just started. And at five o’clock in the evening I’m still in my pajamas, pecking away at the story, essay, or blog(s) that grew from the thought,or finally close the book (finished!)  – and the dishwater has grown cold, the vacuum is still in the closet, and I’m tripping over stacks of dirty laundry. Yes, Febreze is my friend. And it’s a good thing they make paper and plastic dishes.

Dusty Richards, a western writer in Northwest Arkansas, says the daily chores can wait until you have nothing to write. According to him, writers sit down at their desks to get in an hour or two of work and decide to sharpen pencils, or rearrange the drawers, stack the paper, or change a light bulb. At the end of the time, the desk is clean and neat but there are no new words written.

He advises us to block it all out and only think of writing. When the writing hour has passed, there will be plenty of time to do all those other things. For some people, that’s good advice. Me? Not so much. I told him that he doesn’t understand. Writing gets in the way of my everyday chores.

I’ll get up this weekend, make coffee, and start to wash the dishes. Hopefully, inspiration will save me from a day of drudgery. If not, then I’ll be able to eat dinner on a real plate Saturday night.

Is there anything you avoid in order to write?

(Several  years ago, a local magazine published my short humorous essay, I Hate Housework.  It will be my Fun Friday feature this week – 10/18/13. Check it out!)