Confession: at the moment, my home does not [gasp] qualify as clean… there is a fine layer of dust on the furniture, crumbs and paw prints on the floor, smudges and spit from barking dogs and curious children on the windows, and our bathroom fixtures are far from shiny.
Yep, this confession straight front the mouth of the woman who once posted, on this very blog, an elaborate cleaning schedule…
A post that curiously went missing about a month ago…
For good reason…
There exists a very fine line between taking care of what God has given you, and "worshipping" what God has given you with windex and furniture polish…
I realized I was taking my home too seriously, and that I was spending more time cleaning up after my family than I was spending with them. I was suffering from the delusion that in order to be proud of my home, it had to be perfect. Then I realized "perfect" does not exist. Shocking, I know.
The great thing about realizations like these is that, while they are humbling, they also motivate change… good change.
A Type A Housewife's thoughts on cleaning (believe it or not)
A clean home is…
1. Tidy, but not fussy
2. cared for, but not obsessed over
Because you should never…
1. take better care of your home than you do yourself (or your relationships)
2. spend more time on your knees scrubbing floors than you do praying on them
3. invest more time in picking up toys than you do playing with your children
When in doubt, just remember…
A little dirt never killed anyone… something that I have to remind myself of from time to time ;)
Tidy. Hmmm. I wish my house could be described that way! More accurately it would described as "well lived in" and could use a little more fussing:) Honestly I love when other people share cleaning schedules and tips because it does not come naturally to me! But good for you for recognizing when it was taken too far for you (and your family)!
ReplyDeleteI loved the idea of a schedule, but every time I missed something, I felt inadequate and would end up frustrated :(. Clean as you go is better in my (new) book ;)
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