Throughout the day, I look for opportunities to clean. I might wash a few dishes, straighten an afghan, sweep a floor, or tidy a bookcase. These little touches help keep the house in order.
When things get really busy at home, with activities, the needs and troubles of children, and the constant care of the very young, there is little time for housework.
If I gave up and just let all the work go, my house would be an embarrassing shambles. There would be no excuse. I would be utterly ashamed of myself! This is why I love to take 10 minutes here-and-there, throughout the day, to clean and organize. If I keep up with things, in this way, and a catastrophe hits, it is okay to stop my work and tend to other duties, without my house looking like a filthy unkempt home.
We mothers need to be proud of our homes and our work at home. If we don't take pride in our work, we will not give our best effort.
Sometimes our moods will interfere with our ability to work. When this happens, it's time to bring in rainbows and happiness. Whatever ambiance you can create to help you get to work, would help tremendously. Sometimes I listen to Bing Crosby singing Christmas songs! Other times, some gospel or classical music is what I need. I also love to clear off the kitchen table and light a candle. I then clean around the prettiness I just created. Your mood will seriously affect your work ethic. Don't let sadness, annoyances, worries or laziness take away your pride of a neat house.
The grounds of our homes, the front porch, the entryway, and all the rooms inside, give an image of the type of hospitality and love that comes from our family. It must be neat and inviting. This takes a cheerfulness, and a willingness, and a love of HOME.
Blessings
Mrs. White
Solid Old Time Advice - Keeping House with Small Children.
To Encourage You - How the Old Time Mothers Survived Poverty.
Never Forget This - The Home Road to Heaven.
9 comments:
Thank you, Mrs. White. Making the most of ten minute opportunities can make a huge difference, in the way the house looks and in the way you feel about it. For years I had many little ones, and pregnancies and nursing, and a very small, crowded old house. The best advice a friend gave me when I was discouraged about never getting on top of things, was to pick one little corner of the house, and make it better somehow. You don't have to wait for a mythical "someday" when you'll be able to do it all. A few minutes to do little things here and there--straighten some books, wipe the crumbs out of the silverware tray, shake out a door mat--make a bigger difference than you would think.
How do you keep your porches clean? Down here, in South Texas, it is so hard to keep bugs and dust off my porch furniture.
If you have a secret, I would love to know!
I love reading your posts. I agree with you on every thoughts. I do think it is so important to have a clean and lovely home environment. I am finding that the next generation are much more casual in there homes.
Blessings!
Thank you so much for your encouragement! I have four young boys that I homeschool and I often feel overwhelmed by all the housework too. We recently moved out of state and don't know anyone and I have really struggled with my attitude lately. So you especially hit home with what you said! :)
I love listening to Bing Crosby sing Christmas songs! It really makes my mood better too.
Thanks for helping me remember that my 2, 5, and 10 minutes for cleaning does make a difference. Even when it is overwhelming with messes and things undone.
How true this is! Cleaning one shelf of the pantry...mending one pair of socks...washing just one window. Housework, taken as a whole, can sometimes seem so overwhelming. Breaking it down into manageable chores is what's called for. Better for our spirits too. :o)
Brenda
Thanks for your encouragement, Mrs. White. It can indeed be overwhelming when the place looks a mess and there is no time for "a good clean". I also find that it helps to just start cleaning, not to sit around thinking what must be done, but just start and do it. Music helps tremendously and my personal favourite : leafing through one of my household books. They are so inspiring!
BTW, I love your site!
Hugs,
Inez
Belgium (Europe)
This was a lovely post; thank you so much for sharing that thought. It's true that we ladies who stay home full-time need to take pleasure and care in our homes. A lot of times I'll find myself thinking, "Oh, my kid's just gonna mess it up again anyway," but I find that I feel SO much better when I take those few minutes to just tidy it up anyway, pull out the dust rag, wipe off the coffee table. I've found it's helped me to have a second set of cleaning supplies upstairs so I'll have less of an excuse for not cleaning up there. :^) Another thought I had was that if I was being paid to do this I'd be doing a MUCH better job. In a sense, I AM being paid, since my husband's paycheck is as much mine as his. While I don't want to think of myself as just a cleaning lady, it reminds me of my responsibility for keeping my home nice.
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