I only have about 30 minutes before I have a lady from Tanner's school coming over for a home visit. I was going to clean my house perfectly but then I thought, NO! I have a 4 year old and if she or anyone for that matter, expects me to have a perfectly cleaned house with a 4 year old, they are crazy! I'm not typically a showy kind of person. If you come to my house in the middle of the day and it's messy, oh well. If I know you are coming over, I will 99% of the time clean it so it looks nice for when you come. I would have made the beds (which I am SO SO SO bad at doing on a daily basis), picked up the toys in the bathroom, done the dishes, wiped off the counters and table. Some days are better than others to do that stuff. If we make a big mess at the table, I wipe it off but if it's just a little bit, I think, "ah, I'll do it tomorrow". I use to be way better at keeping it nearly perfectly clean on a daily basis but now, I have Christmas projects to work on and service to give and bread to bake and school to take Tanner to and other things. Maybe that will be my new year's goal is to be in a better routine to do that stuff on a daily basis. Plus, we are not a very dirty family. With Tanner and I just home, we don't make a big mess. Maybe I'm just lazy. Lately, it's not what's important to me. Plus, I rarely get people showing up at my house to hang out or pop by for a visit. I have a friend that we go over to each other's houses at 10-15 minutes notice, but that gives me 10-15 minutes to improve my house a little bit.
I know of people and have been to people's houses where every time I go over, their house is perfect. Not a thing out of place. This seems a little weird to me. How do people get their house to be perfect all the time? Especially if they have kids? I could understand if you had older kids and they helped to keep it clean by putting their coats away and not leaving their shoes in the doorway, but if you have little kids, how do you motivate or teach them to keep their toys in certain places so they aren't all over the house?
I'm not even sure why I lack the motivation to be a better housekeeper. My house isn't dirty...please don't think that. I just don't mind if there are a few dishes in the sink or on the counter, of it I haven't vacuumed for 5 days, or if my bed is unmade (you can ask my Mother this, I have NEVER been good at making my bed), or if there are toys in the living room. We certainly don't live a pigsty, but some days, I feel like there are more important things. I do get the things done within a day or two, but I'm not an immediate, get it done right now or you'll think about it for the rest of the day kind of person.
So that's my opinion on that for today.
We had a huge sign up last night that said we had no candy (we are watching our budget and candy wasn't in it this month) and we had a group of teenagers come and knock on our door regardless of the sign. We didn't even bother opening the door. I thought it was kind of funny. Only teens would ignore the sign and do it anyways. We took Tanner to a few houses, even though he was sick and we weren't going to take him but he was really upset when I said no and I didn't think that a few (4) houses would kill him. He had fun for the short time and we got a couple of cute pictures.
My Mom sent him a package in the mail last week and she sent one of those garbage bags with the pumpkin face on it. So we filled it up with leaves for FHE and he was pretty happy about that. It's really cute.
Well, I think that's it for now. Until next time....
3 years ago
8 comments:
I totally agree on the clean house thing. Though I'm sure some people think that way about my house. My secret is I have a basement and that's where my kids do their playing. But trust me Frieso has been gone this week and boy does it show. I finally sucked it up and cleaned my house today. But after I did, I realized 'okay now that I've completely neglected my kids how am I supposed to do this all the time'. Seriously, it doesn't bother me, it bothers Frieso so I let him clean it up :D I help and keep it down a little but he doesn't mind cleaning and I don't mind letting him ;D
And you are totally right there is a big different between dirty houses and houses with kids and busy moms.
I'm probably someone who people think has an immaculate house all the time (and with four kids under 7). Fact is, I enjoy a clean and organized house - AND I have a hubby who enjoys one too and helps out a LOT. I have a few tricks that really help me to have a house of order.
1. Have a place for everthing. My kids know which baskets their toys go in, which shelf their shoes go on, which drawer their art supplies reside in etc. And THEY put their things away. They are never too young to learn to clean up after themselves (within reason). I still have things out of place, and I still let my kids make messes while they play, but before bed things are always cleaned up and put where they belong.
2. I split up the big jobs during the week. The bathrooms get scrubbed really good on Fridays, for example. The laundry is washed and folded on Mondays. These things work for ME and may not be for everyone, but I find that I don't worry as much about cleaning all day every day when I've got a specific day to do those things.
3. I clean in the early morning, and later at night. That way, when my kids are home and awake - their time is mine (at least for the most part). I get a lot of good cleaning done that way.
4. Lastly, I try not to compare myself with anyone else. I'll give myself the day off sometimes - and LOVE it! My house has off days, just like I do, and it's fine! When I go to the grave I'm never going to regret that my house wasn't cleaner :P
I know I'll probably get responses to this, but I want to emphasize that this works for ME. You have to live in a way that is comfortable, happy, and peaceful. Whatever that means for you. For me, that means having a clean and organized house. i can't relax otherwise.
I should also point out (since having to keep the house clean for showings) if you do a little bit every day, it's not that hard to keep your house clean. Really. It's when it gets too far gone that it's a huge chore to clean. Remember - I have four little kids, it's not impossible :)
You sure like the "Hot" topics eh, Mandy? LOL!
I am with Bobbi. I LOVE a clean house! The Lord loves a clean house! My goodness, I thought I was a neat freak, until I worked for the church and realized my house is nothing next to the cleaning policies set by the Lord for HIS house.
I guess that is why I feel so good when I go to the temple. There is NO sign of chaos anywhere.
"Cleaniness is next to Godliness" my grandmother Always said. She was always cleaning and taught us how to clean. But being clean sometimes just means being organized. If we are organized, then keeping a constant clean house is a whole lot easier.
A few of my favorite scriptures are D&C 88:119 - 109:8 - 132:8....... and D&C 90:18 is a real good one too! My mom always taught us that one, even though she worked out of the home, she made sure we knew how to clean up the home that we lived in.
But, the Lord has also said, a time and a season for all things. Take this season to enjoy your children. I did. And I still take the time. My goodness, everything I do is FOR and WITH my kids.
However, that being said, there is NOTHING like throwing open the windows, cranking up the music and cleaning the house from top to bottom.....WITH my kids! They don't love it, but who does? That's tuff. That's life. (I don't like cleaning either, but like I said I like a Clean house.)
I use to do absolutely ALL the cleaning myself, until I realized that I was not teaching them any life skills at all. So once the oldest turned 9 (Wish I had started sooner)......the kids have been involved in All of the duties around here. Some days I feel like a sergent, and other days they surprise me and take care of it themselves without being asked. Now that I have 2 adults, 2 teenagers, and 2 little ones, I am starting to reap the rewards of my hard work in training them. I Love it! And they take pride in their own clean space and house too.
I'm sorry that I pick "hot" topics. I just appreciate and need other people's suggestions sometimes. What works for one person doesn't work for the next and I am trying to figure out new ways to do things that might work better for me. I'm trying to learn to be more productive and how to teach Tanner while learning. I wish I had a basement, but I don't. So I need to figure out a way to keep things somewhat contained so that they're not all over the house. I choose to pick my battles and if my house is a little messy because I chose to spend time with my family, I don't feel too bad. I do have Monday as laundry day too. My Mom had that day as laundry day and I kept it for me too. It's the rest of the cleaning. I think I need to write down what day I'm going to do what and stick to the routine. I appreciate hearing what works for everyone else because it might work for me too, so thank you for your input. I'm not intentionally trying to talk about "hot" topics. I'm trying to learn new skills and be more efficiant. Sorry : (
Hey, Don't aplogize! I just thought is was funny or cute (notice I did LOL!!)
You are a good mother, and it shows through your constant desire to learn how to be one. We all have different lives and different talents. One thing about sisterhood in RS is that we can all share them without fear. So Please don't apologize. I don't. It's just the way I am. People have to take it or leave it. Right? : )
I did notice the LOL after. I just didn't want to come off too strong, that's all...lol
As for your clean house hot topic, here's my thoughts! :)
I don't love cleaning, but I hate a messy house. It drives me insane when things aren't put away - I'm quite anal about it - which means I end up doing all the cleaning myself. I try to get Nate and sort of Jax to put away their own toys, but sometimes it's such a fight. I always make sure I have a clean house when people are coming over, but if you popped by, you would FOR SURE see dishes in the sink, beds unmade, crumbs everywhere and toys galore. I also clean at night. Interestingly though, Jason told me that in Priesthood the other week, someone made a comment about cleaning as a family. They said that if you always clean when the children are not home, or sleeping, they never see it get done and take it for granted that the house is clean. So even when children are too young to clean, they should see their parents do it. That would be a tough one for me - even if I agree!!!
I don't think anyone was ever less of a person for growing up in a less than perfect house. At least you make time for your kid - you have your priorities straight!
I tell Tanner that if he doesn't pick up his toys, that there will be a consequence. That usually get's him. I usually tell him that if he doesn't pick up his toys, he won't be able to watch a movie the next day. I too, think that cleaning as a family is important because then your kids learn the value of having a clean house. At this stage in our lives, I choose to pick my battles with cleaning. I am not anal about the toys being picked up every night but it's about 5-6 days out of 7 that I try to get them picked up. And I am totally with you...I do like a clean house because it drives me crazy to have things all over the place, but I don't always LOVE to clean. It all depends on the day. Some days, I do love cleaning and other's I don't. I lack the motivation some days. Tanner is really funny about his toys. If I tidy them up or clean them up while he's at school, he totally notices when he get's home becuase he says to me "you clean/organized my toys because you didn't want to trip on them?".
I'm more of a tidyer than a cleaner. Oh well...
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