I (Laura) am the mother of 3 small children ages 4, 3, and 1. Daily these little treasures increase my faith, challenge my perseverance and MESS UP MY HOUSE! As I talk to other mom's in this season of life, I find that I am not alone. I have found that many of you also have given birth to children who have no clue how to keep their food on their tray or plate, who know just how to step on a pretzel so that it shatters into 341 billion tiny particles, and who like to open wipes and decorate the entire house with them. The list of “messy” skills could go on and on for our offspring.
So in the midst of this “messy” season, decorating can sometimes be the furthest thing from our minds. In fact, SURVIVAL is more likely the daily goal…not a decorator's showplace. This is just the kind of week I'm having! I try to invest deeply in others, seek the heart of the Father, love and discipline my children, encourage my husband, nurture the life of my exchange student, and somewhere in the midst of that find time to sweep my floors, do my dishes, make meals, do laundry, etc etc. And how do I do it all??? The answer is…I DON'T!
As I mentioned last week, making our home a blessing often means letting go of perfectionism. The same is true for keeping a house clean or getting it ALL done. With small children, it will never be ALL done, or as soon as it is all clean or polished or fingerprint free, you'll turn your head and the mess has returned. So what can we do to maintain sanity and a little order on these days (or years) of the “MESSIES”?
1. Do the Little Things
I have found that simple things like making my bed, sweeping my floors and clearing/wiping down counter tops bring great satisfaction. It's not perfection, but the little things will make you feel like there is a bit of order in the chaos.
2. Shine Your Sink
The FlyLady says that when your house feels overwhelming and out-of-control, begin by shining your sink. It's amazing the satisfaction you can gain from one simple act like that. And it's a little contagious…the sink looks so nice, you may find your whole kitchen clean when it's all said and done. The FlyLady's website www.flylady.net is a wonderful resource for anyone trying to make order out of chaos.
3. Declutter
All of us have WAY more than we need. In fact, most of have WAY more than we even want. And sadly, in this economy there are many families without proper clothing, or toys for their children, or househould goods. I have had the honor of journeying alonside a family such as this over the past few months. I found that many things we don't regulary use at our house were a “need” for them. For example, my daughters have 2 dollhouses that they rarely play with, so we dropped one off the other day. My friend's little girls started jumping up and down saying “We've never had a dollhouse”. Pure Sweetness! Look around…are there things in your house that someone else could find much more joy in than you do?
4. Don't Sacrifice Character Building and Memory Making for a Perfect Home
Order is important. Clean clothes, healthy meals and tidy living space is also important, but none of these things are ETERNAL. Do your best on a daily basis…find whatever cleaning, laundry and organizational system works best for you. And once you've done your best, leave it alone. Some days your best may be a sink full of dishes or a basket of clean laundry that never found it's way home. THAT IS OK!!! Your children will remember the moments you were present with them, reading them stories, laughing at their jokes, talking with them about their day.
The opportunities to invest in our children are fleeting. Mine are 4, 3, and 1 but I'm going to blink and they'll be 24, 23 and 21 and I'll have plenty of time for a clean house and crumb-free floor. And quite honestly, I'll probably sit on my gleeming floors and weep for the days of little crumbs and little fingerprints and the “MESSY” days I thought I'd never survive. Be encouraged my fellow mom, this season is temporary, but the impact you are making on your children is FOREVER.
Leave a Reply