A Clean House

Well if you're here thinking I'm going to show you how I keep a perfect house, well...

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I'm not even sure 'yesterday' qualifies in this house. Usually it's more like an hour or so! Though more often than not,
I feel like my house never actually gets CLEAN.
But if you're looking for tips, you may want to go check out some pasts posts about my bathroom here or here. Or for some organizing or decorating inspiration, you could look at the bedroom or pantry from my old house.  Or even just go on Pinerest and get some ideas from people who actually know what they're doing! :)

I usually have my quiet time late at night. When supper is cleaned up (at least mostly!), the kids are in bed, and the toys/blankets/pillows/books are picked up, I can breathe.  I usually do my devotions, computer time, or reading once I feel like things are 'clean'.  The other night I got up from the living room chair to head to bed and thought to myself 'oh this house feels SO clean right now, I love it!'...then I started to look around.  Ha!
See for yourself!

I had to snap some pictures, because it made me chuckle a bit that I felt like my house was CLEAN with all this going on! Yup, there's a stack of books on the side table, pillows and blankets thrown haphazardly across the couches, toys tucked under and behind the baby swing, socks (mine!) bunched up next to the chair, a book on the floor, a car under the cabinet, a pan soaking from supper, a bib hanging to dry on top the soap dispenser, a waterbottle under the other cabinet, odds and ends on the counter without a home, and kids' clothes on the stand in the bathroom! Yup...that's clean! And that's only in 3 rooms...good thing I didn't take my camera around to any other parts of the house!

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Pretty much that's as far as it gets these days!
My standards used to be so much higher. Before I had kids, my house was not only picked up, but typically was CLEAN too!! Now with 3 kids age 3 and under...well...let's just say it's not so easy! And I'm not trying to justify it, just sharing with you, who may get discouraged about the appearance of your own home, that it really is OK!  I'm learning to let some of these things go; that it's not really as important as we sometimes think it is.

Ask my mom, I've never been OCD about having a clean house. It's always been acceptable, but not immaculate. Which is ok by me.  I'm the type that likes everything to have a place and be somewhat organized and picked up.  But when it comes to scrubbing, dusting, vacuuming, and so on, well...my standards come down much faster.  I don't even want to imagine trying to get pictures of the crumbs, dust, and smears around the house.

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Maybe I wouldn't go quite so far as saying it's a wasted life, but really, it makes you think.  So often, when I'm trying to make sure my house IS perfectly clean and organized, I'm pushing my family aside so I can get it done, or getting upset with them when it comes 'undone'!  And THAT is a waste, because our family should be the true focus. Everything else CAN get pushed aside, to some extent, if we are keeping our priorities in line. Not to mention, it's more fun to read Little Golden Books to little boys than it is to scrub floors! 

This one may be more accurate though...

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It's a funny quote, but even this should make us think. Are things like computers, tv, sewing, shopping, exercising, or any other 'thing' taking away from the things that TRULY matter? 

Take the time to look at how you SPEND your time. 
Refocus and set your priorities. 
Learn ways to make things happen.

I am a list person, so often having a list of things I want to get done during the day, from sweeping to reading to my kids, helps me to stay on task.  Staying organized and on top of things without letting it build up too bad makes it easier to keep up too. I'll be sharing my Home Management Binder system and cleaning schedule in a future post coming soon.  Not that I'm an expert or anything, but I do like to be organized, and I know I enjoy seeing how others run their homes to inspire me and give me new ideas.
If there's a specific area that you are trying to find a system for, let me know and I'll try to include what works for us in a post at some point (IF I've discovered what works for us that is!)
:)

Thanks for stopping in! Now to get off this computer and get something else (cleaning?!) done while my kids are having quiet time! 
Oh oops...one of them is bringing me a Little Golden Book as I type this!

Have a wonderful weekemd