I’m not a natural housewife. I’d far rather be out socialising; and doing stuff I like – like spending time outdoors – maybe walking up a mountain or on the beach – and writing and cross-stitching. I’d far rather have coffee with a friend than clean the house. I’d far rather do the blog than clean the house. I can find myself wasting time on Facebook, instead of housework. Cleaning the house is so far down my list of priorities that I have to make a concerted effort to bump it up to the top to get it done. If I were at school and housework was ‘homework’, I would probably fail. There would be some form of penalty like ‘lines’. Did you ever get ‘lines?’ I did. Well, if I were the teacher and I was giving the poor, negligent housewife ‘lines,’ they would have to write 100 x (alternating) “if it is to be, it is up to me” and “just do it.” (I’d also probably throw in some ‘it is what it is!’) When it comes to housework, those are a few of the things I mumble under my breath.
There are always going to be things we DON’T like doing. Eventually, even the things I love doing, could become a bit monotonous. But you can’t walk away from some responsibilities. There are some lessons I have learned when it comes to doing the mundane household chores that just have to be done.
1. The hardest part is the first 5 minutes. I just have to begin. Surprisingly, once I’ve taken that first step, I find myself regularly doing a lot more than I intended.
2. There is a great deal of satisfaction in getting my space clean and tidy. Clearing away clutter, throwing out stuff, getting rid of rubbish, putting things in their right place, altogether is very fulfilling. It’s freeing. In our bedroom, we have a table and two chairs. They are the collectors of clothes and clutter. It takes about 5 minutes to put everything that accumulates on them, away. For the rest of the day, I can enjoy order…
3. It rubs off on others. I have discovered that as soon as I make the effort to really clean up and keep order, others follow suit. When the kitchen is left messy, other occupants of my home tend to not bother washing up anything they have used. They don’t need to. The kitchen is already a mess, so they just add what they have used to the mess. But, when the kitchen is sparkling, their dirty dishes stand out, so they wash them up! 😀 (Of course, this didn’t really apply to my children when they were younger! But it does apply to them now that they are adults!)
4. I feel in control. When my space is organised, I feel far more organised. Empowered.
Just do it!
When I make a start, I’m so glad I did.
1 John 5:4
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Keep the faith.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂