Monday, March 28, 2011

Cleanliness is next to Godliness, part one...



That is what the say anyhow. I have spent my entire life trying to prove that saying an evil myth. Seriously. I say that but I *love* to have a clean home. I just haven't enjoyed the work that it takes to get it & keep it that way. Let's face it, when you have a family, the work is never done.

On top of the normal amount of work, I am sure as mothers we can all commiserate on the tendency of our children to not only leave their messes for us, but to ignore the need for help in other areas in the home. I have heard tale that some women have husbands who actually pick up after themselves and never leave extra work for their wives. I am not married to such a man. I joke that he is my biggest child. On some levels that is true, he is very childlike in his affinity to want toys and to play, but he also tends to leave a mess in his wake and I end up taking care of the mess he left.

I blame a BIG part of this on myself. One could say it is because I did not train my children, but that is not true. I did train my children to understand that even if they left the mess, it would eventually get picked up by me. Well, it was time for re-training. When we moved a month ago, that is exactly what I began to do. If I have to pick up a mess the kids made, they will pay for it. If it is a toy, it will be gone. If it is something of high value, I keep it for a while. If it is just a "mess", they will do an extra chore because I had to take care of it. They are doing so well. Mostly I don't have to tell them to clean anything up, and when I do have to remind them, it has been getting done immediately.

I have also made an effort to work harder at BLESSING my family by keeping the major part of the housework done. My husband works 80-100 hours a week to provide well enough for our family that I can stay home. In exchange, I don't mind cleaning up after him. I have made certain to keep my attitude in check about housework. After a month of reminding myself to smile while I work, and being mindful that my attention to housework is in fact a blessing to my family, I have found that my attitude towards housework has changed. Now, I will not go so far as to say I enjoy it, or want to do more. When it is all done I am just as happy as anyone else to do something different, something for myself. I will say that I enjoy blessing my family though.

I do get the saying "Cleanliness is next to Godliness", because if it weren't true clean wouldn't feel so good! There is not guilt and no regret in keeping your environment clean and tidy. Only regret in allowing the work to pull you down.

Stay tuned for part two, where I will talk on another type of "cleanliness".

2 comments:

  1. HA HA! I understand this post all too well! What I laugh at is I'm one of those woman that you hear tales about. My hubby is one of those picks up after himself and is actually more neat and tidy than I am. If the dishes need to be done, he does them. He does laundry, cleans his own toliet and tub..Man, while sitting here writing this..I wonder how I came across such a wonderful man?? What's funnier (is this a word)..if we go to someone's house..and he sees that their trash needs to be taken out..he does that, too! I'm not bragging by no means...but just in this brief moment of posting this comment, I reflect on my own behavior. Like you said, it's hard to to keep the house clean, especially with a little one. And boy does she make a mess. I am going to make an earnest try at keeping my house more in order..if not for the sake of my husband's sanity and mine!

    ReplyDelete

I *love* getting feedback and comments. I will publish links to other blogs, just as long as they are not derogatory to a belief I hold in high esteem. I will post comments that disagree with my stance, as long as they are respectfully written. Most importantly, I will do my best to reply to all of my comments. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.