I used to have a clean house

July 25, 2012

Back in the day when I had just two kiddos and a 700 square foot house, my home was super clean.  To the point of being annoying to others, I am sure : )  I was very much ‘Type A’ and that definitely came through in my housekeeping.  I cleaned my entire house once a week. Top to bottom.  Rain or shine.

Fast forward to present time.  We’ve added another little one to the mix, and have relocated to a home more than twice the size of our cozy, little, cottage.  And while I am still ‘Type A’ in many ways, the size of our house and the number of small people have won out over my love of a clean home.

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I am an all or nothing kinda gal.  If I can’t enjoy a perfectly clean home then why even bother.  Plus it’s going to be dirty again in 7 seconds anyway.  So these days I really only clean something when I can’t stand it anymore.  Or when company comes over.  And believe me, I avoid that at all cost : )  So yes, this means my toilets get scrubbed when mold starts to grow.  My mirrors get cleaned when I can no longer see through the hundreds of tiny fingerprints.  And my floor gets mopped when my feet begin sticking to the linoleum as I pass through the kitchen. Surely there has to be a middle ground. But truly, most day it’s all I can do to get 3 meals on the table, and stay on top of the laundry and the dishes.

I read a quote from a fellow blogger, months ago that resonated in my heart.  The quote was this, “I am not a full time housekeeper with a part time job as a babysitter.”  Such a simple statement, but it so succinctly puts her priorities into place.  That is how I want to view my job as a mom.  But I can tell you that there many times when I value getting the laundry done over spending time with my children.

And the truth of the matter is there are things that just have to get done.  Our kids have to eat.  Dirty clothes won’t wash themselves.  And mold in the toilet is just disgusting : ) So how does one reconcile the deficit between these two needs? Our children need to be our top priority.  Absolutely.  There’s no disputing that. But the other part of our jobs as ‘mom’ is keeping our home.  So how does one do both well?

So fellow mommas, I’m asking you.  What do you do?  Are you super organized in your housekeeping?  Do you have a schedule?  Do you try to tackle one room a day?  Do you have a certain day you clean?  Or maybe you’re in my camp and your bathrooms have turned into a science experiment…please, please tell me I’m not alone!  Let’s talk. Maybe we can help each other out!

 

I used to have a clean house appeared first on Mom4Life Blog.


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