Well, it's that time of the year again! Spring is just around the corner ~ yes, I realize it's still cold in many parts of our country, and it is here in West Virginia, too. But rest assured, Spring WILL come soon!
I remember back when I first started setting up housekeeping (back before I realized it wasn't just housekeeping, but *homemaking* that I needed to be doing), I would get all tensed up around this time of year. You know what I mean...all the media attention given to getting your house spotlessly clean and organized, having the right cleaning chemicals for the job, the right organizers, etc. In other words, spending money you couldn't afford to throw away on things that weren't really needed if you couldn't afford them. Besides, I had 3 sons in diapers and couldn't keep up with the day-to-day chores! How was I supposed to do even more?
Then I came to the realization that my day-to-day work wasn't really a *chore* after all! It was in reality a BLESSING to me! I had been blessed with a lovely and beautiful home, and wonderful family to live in my home with me, and enough food to feed everyone. What was I complaining about?
So I began to see those piles of dirty dishes as a blessing - the chance to clean them so I could refill them with delicious, nutritious, and satisfying food for my family to eat. The dirty floors? A blessing to wash so I could watch my babies taking their first steps on them! Those dirty diapers to be laundered? A blessing that would only last until they were potty-trained! (and they make wonderful cleaning and polishing rags afterward) Those unmade beds? A blessing to remake and fluff up for my family to lay down on and get their much needed rest that night. It became an honor for me to be the one to insure that all was being done to make my home a sanctuary for my family.
But still...what about all those expensive cleaners and organizers "they" said I needed? Well, not a problem. It wasn't something that I had the money for, so I figured I could make do without them.
Now mind you, this doesn't mean I jumped right in with glee on Spring Cleaning! Oh, no! Although homemaking was now a blessing to me, I still had those moments when I just couldn't keep up. But I figured if I took it a few minutes at a time, it was better than nothing. So I started out as my children did...with baby steps. I was still holding on to the edge of something, but making progress.
I started in the room that was usually the hardest for me to keep clean ~ the kitchen! And in the kitchen, I started in a cabinet at one end and worked on it. I took everything out, washed it with plain old soap and water, put some lovely shelf paper down (in those days, my shelf paper was usually something the children had colored and had on the refrigerator door - so I cleaned off that door at the same time to make room for more of their artwork), and then put things back in nice and neat and organized. I didn't have a lot back then, so it wasn't hard to organize it, but I did what I could. I made progress. After it was all back in I cleaned the front of the cabinet nice and clean. It took me a couple of weeks to get that whole kitchen Spring Cleaned, because I only spent a few minutes a day on it. But when it was done ~ oh, my! What a true blessing that was to me! It became even more of a joy to go in there and cook, and I think I became a better cook then, as I had more encouragement from my clean surroundings.
When I saw what a joy my nice clean kitchen was, I decided to move on to the next hardest room to keep clean - the Bathroom! Yikes! That room took a few days, yes. I tossed out old medicine, makeup that wasn't used any more, old razors and bottles of stuff with just a tiny bit left in the bottom. I became ruthless with it all. But you know what? It became clean...and organized! And I didn't need to spend $$$ on fancy chemicals and organizers to get it that way!
Another thing I did through all of this was to write down what I needed to do. This probably was the start of my *list making* habit! LOL Anyone who knows me well, knows I have lists for everything I do. But this was the beginning one. I listed everything that needed to be cleaned, where I wanted to put things, how I wanted to clean everything, and when I wanted to clean it. I planned, and then planned again, and then I planned some more. I set up a schedule. I had my plan. I knew what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it, and what my ultimate goals were with it. And then I worked my plan. And I stuck to my plan. Even when it become an act of perseverance, I continued on with it. It took me many weeks to get my home Spring Clean that year, and then Fall came. Remembering what all I put into it that Spring, I wasn't about to let it build up again for next Spring to be just as hard. So I pulled my Plan out again, and did it all over again. It didn't take me nearly as long that time!
I kept that Spring Cleaning Plan for many years. I reworked it a few times, in keeping with the different homes I lived in as we moved. But finally, I had it so fine-tuned, I didn't feel I needed it any more. I wish I had kept it though. Because although I don't need it personally now, I have reached the age in life where I'm blessed to tutor a couple of younger ladies that are where I was back then. So I'm making the Plan all over again to share with them. And they're understanding why I do things the way I do them. Why do I clean out a drawer here and there throughout the winter? Why do I routinely go through my closets and reorganize in bits and pieces? Because this way, the task of blessing my home isn't nearly as daunting to me. And have mercy, they're beginning to be list makers, too! Oh boy!
Hi Cynthia,
I have just discovered your blog, and I enjoy it very much, I have the same feeling about homemaking, I simply love to have a clean and organized home, by the way I have choosen the same template for my blog !
God bless you
Muriel
In the good ole US of A we've allowed ourselves to become slaves to the Madison Avenue advertising kind of thnking. I believe we should seek only the opinions, guidance, advice of those who truly matter to us and whom we trust...and I don't know a soul on Madison Avenue! <g>
This weblog will be a compilation of happening's here in my home. I will be including homemaking tips, recipes, and encouragement for the homemaker who realizes she is a God-ordained Keeper of her Home.
You surround yourself with art and music and are constantly driven to express yourself. You often daydream. You prefer honesty in your relationships and believe strongly in your personal morals.
