Today, I want to talk a bit about housekeeping. I did some praying, and have felt a huge transformation take place in my spirit. What does that have to do with housekeeping,you may ask? Well,let me explain.....one may never guess, just by visiting my home,but I have always had a tendency to feel as though my home needed to be spic and span,or it makes me feel as if I am in a whirlwind of frustration. When my children were young...I would stay up hours at night and have my house spotless before I would allow myself to sleep. I was so concerned someone might show up early the next morning,and find my home in disarray. Even now, I sometimes avoid having guest because I feel my home is inadequate,or not presentable for a guest. Anytime anyone shows up on my doorstep...the first thing out of my mouth is ...Please,excuse the house,even if I have just cleaned my home. You noticed I said IS! I am still not fully recovered,but as I said.....I have made a big turn in this area...with God's help,of course.
Speaking of life in general, in the spirit and the physical, life gets messy! I for one have had to learn that fact of life the hard way! One can clean, go over your house with a fine tooth comb, so to speak, and you will never rid it of imperfection. Our lives,and everything that surrounds our lives in this world, has imperfections. Dirt and dust will always be a big deal here on "Red Rock Hill".....meaning there is lots of it,but I will do my best and refuse to let it keep me in a state of frustration. On days when the floors are a sight,and not in a good way...so be it! When the grandkids are here,they are in and out,tracking up... usually with a dog or two tagging behind. The door is opened a hundred times,it seems, ...they get hot..need a drink... hungry..need a snack...someone hit someone,but nobody owns up to it,etc..etc...etc...as the King and I would say! :) I love that movie!
I think its all how we look at things and take it into perspective...anyway...,the floors are bound to get a mess when there is a house full,but then there are brooms and mops for cleaning when the kids go home :) So,why fret? I am feeling more relax in the area of housekeeping. I will never have a nasty, unkempt home, as long as I am the least bit able to keep my home,but fretting unnecessarily over small things that no one else even notices ,unless of course, I point it out to them, is going to stop happening! A home that is lived in,gets messy from time to time.....we clean them and they get messy again. It does help to make good habits of putting things back where they go,picking up after oneself,etc. Its all a matter of balance.....I fretted over my children getting dirty when they were little....isn't that what tubs and bubble bath was created for.....little dirty bodies :) Now days,...I say...God made dirt,and dirt don't hurt! :) Its washable...
7 comments:
Wise words Shelley!
I had a favorite quote hanging in my kitchen when my children were little...I'm sure you've heard it.
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.
True for my children and now for my grandchildren. Also true for friends that might visit. So many things are more important than a spic and span spotless home!
Amen, Shelley! Well said. I've learned to relax a little on that...I say lower my standards, but it would drive me crazy otherwise. People are more important than things! :)
Hugs,
Tammy
I applaud your new more relaxed attitude toward housekeeping, and it is one I embrace, which anyone who visits our home will tell you.
Shelly,
I am happy for you.. It is hard to not push ourselves beyond our limits.
I too, have tried my best to learn that when the kids/grandkids visit, the house gets untidy, but I have the next day to put it back in order.. So ...just enjoy the visit and like you said, they don't pay attention to it any ways. And those family visits are the most important !!
I try to stay on top of things, like mopping, cleaning bathrooms, etc. And try to always pick up the main room before going to bed at night.. Thus, if the unexpected visitor comes, I don't have to be embarrassed.
I have learned that as you get older, you can't hold out as long as we use too..ha
Have a good evening.
The constantly cleaning and putting things in order is me too....but I am not reformed yet! I did reform when I had babies...just because if you are sitting and nursing and changing diapers and playing, basically you can't clean much. It was a slow process to "let go".
But now, with more time, I am back to constantly cleaning. What does that leave? No time to enjoy and live.
I have this prayer: "Lord, may my home be a happy place in which to live and relax. Teach me to be concerned more about people than things".
Good for you, Shelley! I have struggled with worry about whether the house is clean enough so much, that before I knew it I was dreading the kids and the dogs and the husband tracking in dirt and leaving fur all over the place...slowly I have been learning that it is an uphill battle that can't be won...so the choice is to either make myself and everyone else miserable or to change my attitude and enjoy life and family and pets (they are family too)! It is an impossible unrealistic goal to keep a house perfect day in and day out.
There will always be time for cleaning, as the poem says, it can wait till tomorrow. Enjoying your family...now that's what's important.
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