I thought about it and it's not necessarily that I LOVE to clean, but I love the feeling that it brings into my home and how it makes me feel; stress free! I even joke with myself that I'm a "clean weirdo" and my husband often asks why I'm vacuuming the floor again? Now, I'm not perfect and my house doesn't look like a picture from Home and Garden's Magazine everyday. I do have a one year old and a second on the way so I stay pretty busy with that and other activities. I'm also blessed with a husband who picks up my slack and does the dishes when 9 pm rolls around and I hit a wall and become a "zombie." (Pregnancy and taking care of a one year old all day will do that to you).
But I mostly get it done and my house is clean. Some might say, "It's because you only have one kid," or "wait till your second comes, then you'll see." Others may say "You are a stay at home mom so you have time."
Not necessarily. I've lived with roommates, seen other girls dorms and it wasn't exactly clean haven and they were single!
My point: if you want a clean house you need to make time....and if you don't have time; keep reading;
Go through everything and De-junk! I don't know how many times I've held onto stuff and said
"I'll eventually use this." and years go by and Nope! Still not used.
Items to go through:
- clothes
- kitchen items
- shoes
- clothes that don't fit
- Decorations you don't use
- Fluff
- More fluff
- Papers
- Junk drawer
- toys that never get played with
- furniture that doesn't get used and is wasted space
- books
- movies you don't watch
- posters
- crafts
(Now doing this will create a mess; but sometimes you have to make a mess to clean)
-We want everything in our house to have a purpose or help in organizing that purpose
LESS IS MORE!!!
Organize: Before you even start to clean make sure everything has a place to be put away. Seriously, go buy some organization totes for crafts, kitchen ware, decorations and those things you don't use everyday but still use. A place for everything and everything in it's place. Once I did this cleaning my house has become so fast and easy.
Change your Attitude and Find joy in cleaning. When I was about 17 and in Sunday School my teacher told me that there was an old man who hated washing dishes, but the dishes still needed done. They weren't going away and someone had to do them. So, instead of getting a bad attitude he started to tell himself that he loved washing dishes. At first it was hard but overtime he soon became to enjoy doing dishes. I took that to heart. My house needed clean so I can either do it angry or happy. So, your saying I'm supposed to be happy while scrubbing that toilet? Sure.....which leads to my next point
Find Purpose: If you don't have a purpose or an end goal with something you are doing than it really makes it pointless. So, why do I clean my house? Here's my reasons
- I'm happier (When I'm surrounded by clutter or mess I get stressed) But if it's clean; I'm a better mommy, friend, and wife to my husband
- I like the way it looks and makes me feel
- The spirit is present in my house...a House of Order is a House of God and I can receive promptings better and am more willing to serve others since I've already done my part for my home.
- I have more time to do other activities (Since I've organized I know where everything is and can get straight to the activity instead of searching around for it)
Teach your children. Even though my little girl is only one I still sing the clean up song when she is around and I'm picking up toys and putting them back into her play bin. She might not get it but she see's my actions and starts putting toys in the box with me...and sometimes takes them out again :)
Make it a family effort! Get everyone involved...It not only makes everyone responsible, but it teaches them good cleanliness as well. My husband helps me with dishes and laundry and things when I need it. I also respect that he works full time and goes to school full time, but he's willingly to help me when he can and I let him know how much I appreciate that.
Have a schedule: Some chores don't need to be done everyday and can be done weekly. Things that have worked for me are having specific days for laundry, bathroom, mopping and other task that don't necessarily need to be done everyday. That way I don't feel overwhelmed like I'm cleaning all the time
Tips and Tricks:
-Do a ten minute tidy after all the kids are in bed! 10 minutes at night is worth an hour in the morning! -Set a timer and see how much you can get done!
-Fold laundry and put away as it is fresh from the dryer; then you won't have a huge pile of clothes and taking it in small spurts will actually save time and you won't feel overwhelmed. I'll be honest: laundry is the hardest thing for me to get done....It get's clean; it's the folding that get's me!
-Cook simply! (What does this have to do with cleaning?) During the week I cook simple meals and try to use as little dishes as possible. Which is why I LOVE the crockpot! I try and do a nice, large meal at least once a week. But simple not only saves time on cleaning, but money as well. Win-Win for me.
- Realize your house won't be perfect all the time and remember to enjoy the moments you have with the ones you love.
