In this article we’ll highlight the scenarios and difficulties we face in keeping a tidy house.

 For instance, you come home and notice it is in need of cleaning.  Instead of putting on your rubber gloves, pulling out the cleaning supplies, and tackling the hurricane of house hold chores that are being neglected, you do the following:

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1. Push the tsunami of clean clothes off the bed into a corner, walk right pass the tidal wave of dishes (but not before you dig through to wash the utensils you need in order to finish off your mid -day meal)
2. Ignore the dust bunny survivors hanging off of the ceiling fans, and hiding behind the couch (or even just in plan site)
3. Sit down, kick up your feet, and soak into the couch. Phew!

 

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Then once you’ve confronted yourself about the cleaning duties you have turned a blind eye to you say the following to yourself:

1. “You see I just don’t have enough time.”–  Sis, believe it or not in today’s day in age “busy” has seemed to become the new normal. Whether it be school, work, projects, or your children preoccupying your time, having a tight schedule is NO EXCUSE  for having a dirty home. If having your hands tied begins to interfere with your household duties try:

A.) Reschedule your Day:  Now honestly most of us cannot change our work/school schedule right off the bat,  but organizing your personal daily affairs could give you the extra time needed to tidy up.  For example, instead of waiting until the morning to iron your clothes or prepare your lunch, try preparing them the night before.  Record your T.V shows or catch a re-run at a later date.   After all ladies, there is no need to reward yourself if your chores aren’t done!

B.) Write out a Schedule:  Time can be easily wasted unknowingly especially if you are unable to recall the time you spent during the day.  Try designing a “REALISTIC” schedule to help you manage your time and prioritize your chores. Go ahead and penciling yourself in for laundry at your next earliest convenience! (Sirach/ Ecclesiasticus 42:7)

   C.) Wake Up Earlier:  Too much sleep can really put you behind in your day.  Waking up 30 minutes to 2hours earlier to get some cleaning done can really give you the boost you need. Just make sure you have your Coffee! (Proverbs 20:13)

2. “I am the only person who lives here”-  This maybe a heavy duty task depending on your lifestyle, availability and size of your home.  If you are your only help then taking proactive steps can make the difference. For instance cleaning up  immediately, as opposed to leaving things in the sink to pile up.  As for laundry, the loads should be lighter considering the fact there is only you in the house.  Try wearing your house clothes more than one day and limit necessary washing to once every two weeks to be cost efficient and time conserving.  The advantage to being the only person in your home is you control the mess so be considerate of yourself and your place.

3. “My children always come and mess up once I clean my beautiful home!” – If your children are the cause of the house being messy, then involve you kids in the cleaning routines of the home. One great way to do this is by hanging a chore chart on your refrigerator, or even playing music while cleaning. Making sure kids understand the importance of structure, will help them develop skills that will assist them in their adult lives such as management and organization.  However, moms, while writing out schedules for your children make sure that you are not expecting TOO MUCH.  Base your chore hand out on  your child’s age and ability and above everything else BE A GOOD ROLE MODEL! (Proverbs 22:6)

4. “It is not that bad…” – As you know, the first step to solving a problem is admitting that you have one.  So ask yourself the following questions:

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• Question 1:  Are the items in my home in their designated locations?
• Question 2:  Are there dishes in the sink?  Is the carpet or floor clean?
• Question 3:  Is the carpet or floor clean? (i.e. swept, mopped or vacuumed)
• Question 4:  Are you dirty clothes spilling out of your laundry basket?  Do you have more than one laundry basket filled?
• Question 5:  Is there a strange odor inside of your home?
• Question 6:  Is there food stuck to the stove, counter top, microwave?
• Question 7:  Are you make constantly making excuses for why your home is messy when you have unexpected company?

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ANSWERS:

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• 1.) yes
• 2.) no
• 3.) yes
• 4.)  no
• 5.) no
• 6.) no
• 7.) no

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If you answered more than two of these questions incorrectly, IT IS TIME TO CLEAN! (Ecclesiastes 10:18)

  5. “I just cleaned up!” –  Let’s face it some homes need more attention than others! If you constantly find yourself cleaning up right after you have just clean, then it’s time to put a plan into play!  First identify the problem. What is causing the house to continuously become messy? Are you failing to clean as you go? Do you allow guests to come in and dirty what you have cleaned? Do you fail to completely clean up and the little mess that you do make multiplies with the areas that you did not clean? Whatever the cause of your continuous cycle of clean, identify the problem and find tips and advice to solve the issue. After all a clean house should not be a rare sighting, but an everyday lifestyle!  The more organized your home is the more organized you’ll feel and become.

6. “Ugh, I don’t feel like it!” – If you’re okay with sitting in filth then you need to check yourself.  Having a messy home is a representation of how you care about your own personal well being.

Regardless of all the excuses that we make for the lack of cleanliness in our home there is one thing that we must acknowledge; If we can make time for everything else that we find important then we must make cleaning our homes important as well and make time. Dividing up your time throughout the week to clean a little here and there can help tremendously.  Remember that many hands make light work so ask for help where you need it and don’t be too proud (Proverbs 16:18).  All in all, don’t feel like you can’t accomplish your cleaning tasks and don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of cleaning you may have to do.  Pace yourself, find your grove and make it enjoyable for YOURSELF!  Happy cleaning and enjoy beautifying your clean home.  Shalom.