It has been 6 months, six long months since I've had a home of my own to tend to and take care of. Our house is almost ready, and I'm so excited to be moving in and have a place of our own again, but there is one thing that looms on the horizon...dun dun dun...housework! Cleaning, dishes, cooking, laundry, yard work, etc. I don't loathe doing all those things, like cooking! I love to cook and am anticipating the day soon when I once again fire up my crock pot (best invention ever! don't tell the shamwow I said that). Since I know how I have been in the past, I seem to let things get away from me. Now I have grandiose ideas of how I am going to keep with it all and stay organized. For instance I am going to have a chore calendar for myself- do certain chores on certain days every week. Like instead of tackling cleaning the whole house in one day (which is what I stupidly do), I hope to dedicate a room to each day of the week! Anyway, I say "grandiose" because it is going to take serious dedication for me to stick with it. BUT no matter what ideas I come up with, it is all for naught if I don't offer my day to Heaven. Our Lady of Schoenstatt has taught me to say, "Blessed mother, help me get done today what Heaven wills." I often forget this, perhaps I should write it on my kitchen wall. I also found this prayer recently which I love!
Lord Jesus,
You chose to come to earth and share our human condition,
and You lived as the Son of a simple humble carpenter.
You knew what it was like to work,
assisting Joseph in the carpenter shop
and helping Mary in the home.
Grant me, I beg You, the grace and humility,
perseverance and fidelity I need to fulfill my daily duties.
Remind me, as often as necessary, that there are no small jobs,
But only small and mistaken attitudes,
and show me how everything I do can bring me closer to Your kingdom.
I offer You all the chores and duties,
labor and efforts,
And successes and failures of this day.
Please make them holy, that they may be a source of glory or You
and a source of grace for me. Amen.
I would love your ideas and suggestions. How do you stay organized and keep a tidy home?
Matt and I have found that all it takes is 20 minutes each, consistently each day, to keep the house tidy. We will set the kitchen timer for 20 minutes and then clean or organize until the timer goes off. Sometimes after the 20 minutes are up, since you are already going, you will continue. As they say, "once you get the ball rolling."
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem for this plan is to actually remember to do it everyday. Sometimes you have an evening out or just don't feel like it, and next thing you know it's been a week and you haven't been doing any cleaning. At this point, we will try to commit to doing several 20 minutes, back to back, to back. He'll clean for 20 while I watch tv or play on the computer, then when his time is up I'll clean for 20 while he plays video games, etc. We can go like this until the house is spic and span, but it doesn't feel like such hard work because we've been taking 20 minute breaks throughout. But the house has been being cleaned by one of us straight for that amount of time.
We thought we were so brilliant coming up with this idea, but since then, I've seen other people recommend the same trick. It works!
This has been a real difficulty for me in the past few weeks. When I was working, I could make a good excuse for having a messy house, but now I am home all day, I feel like I should be able to get something done! I read the other day that you should focus on the tasks that were completed each day, no matter how small, not the list of things that didn't get finished. I think the prayer you posted definitely needs to be added to my morning prayers!
ReplyDelete*amy :)
I just wrote that quote on a post it and hung it on my cube wall at work! I have a to-do list a page long and, of course, everyone thinks their stuff is most important and deadlines loom. All morning I've been wondering how I'm going to keep it together. Now I know. :)
ReplyDeleteNO LAUNDRY OR HOUSEWORK ON SUNDAY! Each day we have light chores and I live for lists! It feels so good to check things off. I also set the timer and when it goes off = I'm done. So rush, rush, rush!!! The big difference and one I struggle with, put things away NOW not stash it for later...Enjoy the new home! I love your photos of the country!
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