A clean house can be an unattainable goal for parents! It is like children have an inborn instinct to go around behind us and undo our hard work to keep the house clean!
So, the thought for today is GRACE! The housework will always be there! I know that we want to have a perfect house, perfect kids and the perfect life….but those things DON'T exist!! A truly clean house may never happen while I have 4 kids at home! Sure…you may come over and think…WOW, this house is really clean…but I guarantee you that there are areas that are not “company” ready!
I have a little saying….only one floor of my home is ever clean at the same time! My main level may look presentable, but if you go upstairs….not so much! I am coming to accept that this is OK!
I know that when I get the family room picked up and walk back in there 10 minutes later and my 2-year-old has dumped all of her toy buckets out all over the floor….my initial instinct is irritation and despair! I wonder why I even bother….but I have to remember that kids are messy! It is in their nature to be messy.
I am trying to not be as worried about trying to keep the house clean all of the time. I am trying to be more intentional about relaxing with my children while they are young!
So, today…give yourself a little break! When your house is a mess and you feel like it will never be clean again….just know that these days will pass! Don't struggle too hard to keep a clean house all of the time…enjoy the small moments and know that the housework will keep for a few more minutes!
I really needed this portion of grace today, as I sit amidst the mess. Thank you!
I live in a 700-square-foot open-concept condo, don’t have any kids (OR animals), and I STILL can’t seem to keep up with having a clean house! Parents definitely need to give themselves a break 🙂
And SO TRUE to enjoy the small moments and be intentional with relaxing.
Ha! Your house sounds a lot like mine! It seems like it takes a week to get the whole house clean. Then, it’s time to start all over! lol
I guess it is the life of moms!!
I was talking to a friend about this today and his kids are 18 and 16, but still make messes, break stuff and just don’t keep the house as neat and tidy as their parents would prefer. I don’t think kids really start to care until the become adults and get their own place.
I agree…it wasn’t until I had my own home that I really “got it”!
Oh I can’t. i have to pick up because with the dog, the country dust, kids and my husband it just gets worse.
I think that we all need a little of that grace. There is a part of me that seriously hates having my desk cluttered, but then I realize that there are more important things to focus on and sometimes I need to focus on those before I can act on the clutter.
Well said! I can’t tell you how many days I have looked back and said “what the heck did I do all day??” even though I know I ran around crazy all day! We just spend so much time redoing and redoing and redoing the same things! You definitely need to just give yourself a break sometimes 🙂 Thanks for the reminder 🙂
Thanks Nikki!!
sounds just like my house with four kids with an upstairs and downstairs. Grace is a much needed virtue. Great post.
Thanks Michelle!
Mine are older, but I limit where toys are allowed to be. When they were younger, it was tough. There was always a mess, somewhere, at all times. It drove me batty. Fortunately, that’s only a short phase.
So true…I know it won’t be forever!
I don’t even have kids, yet I still struggle with work and trying to have a social life before I even think about cleaning the house! Luckily I am not too messy and my boyfriend is a bit of a clean freak!
Love this article — it’s better to have happy kids than a super clean house! <3
There are some perks to being with a clean freak…!!
My dog always makes it impossible for me to do housework, especially when I vacuum. Silly dog!
I don’t have kids but we have a pretty packed work schedule so when we come home for an hour or so, we dumb everything on the floor, grab the stuff we need and go. Our place look like a mess by the end of the week but I’m trying to learn to not care so much because it’s not that big of a deal when you think about it.
Good attitude…it will serve you well if you ever add more people to your family!! 😉
After a week of snow days and delays, I’ve gone from cleaning all the mess to ignoring it all, lol!
That would definitely do it for me Laura!!
no kids here so I can only imagine that would drive me nuts haha. try not to work too hard ♥
It’s snowing and super cold here today so not getting much done and not feeling terrible about it ha.
Thanks! I totally needed to hear this today haha. I don’t have children, but with two jobs and a business I have been crazy busy and my housework has been SLACKING. I decided to start tackling things one at a time and finally made it through the entire apartment! Only to find that the kitchen, which I had started with, was back to it’s messy and unorganized self haha.