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Home all day, yet nothing gets done: One mom's explanation

At the end of a day of looking after kids, cleaning the house and doing laundry, why is it that we parents sometimes look around and wonder how our homes are still so messy?
/ Source: TODAY

At the end of a day of looking after kids, cleaning the house and doing laundry, why is it that we parents sometimes look around and wonder how our homes are still so messy?

Esther Anderson, a Tampa, Florida stay-at-home mom, recently posted a video to YouTube that shows the adorable reason.

In the video, Anderson’s 15-month-old daughter, Ellia, follows behind her, un-doing all of the housework she tries to complete throughout her day. Anderson puts laundry away as Ellia pulls clothes out of dresser drawers, Anderson sweeps the kitchen as Ellia plays in a pile of swept up dirt in the other room, and Anderson tries to clean a sliding door while Ellia drools on the other side of the glass.

Anderson, who also recently created a video about escaping a sleeping baby, says that now that her daughter has started walking, she and her husband, Thad, are facing new parenting challenges, and are constantly on their toes, following curious and adventurous Ellia throughout their home.

“I’ve realized that productivity throughout the day is often laughable, so it’s during her two naps that I’m able to really get anything major accomplished,” Anderson told TODAY Parents.

And Anderson, who blogs at Story of this Life, says she has learned to save tasks such as cleaning up toys or doing laundry for after Ellia has gone to bed and can no longer make messes out of her housekeeping.

“Often my most productive time of day is between 10 p.m. and midnight,” said Anderson.

This article was originally published Feb. 23, 2015 at 5:15 p.m. ET.