This blog post started as something so different than it has morphed into. My intention was to write a helpful, upbeat account of how I designed and implemented such a flawless cleaning routine in my home that I am nearly always caught up on housework… and you can be too, I’ll tell you how!!! I was going to share my helpful hints and tricks. It was going to be epic.
But then life caught up to me. I really should have seen it coming, it is my modus operandi, after all. As soon as I nail down something in my life and begin to feel the least bit successful, I inevitably focus more on the things I still haven’t done rather than the things I have.
“Wow!” I’m apt to think, “I cannot believe that I planned a menu for the next seven weeks! I am a complete rockstar! I am killing this whole SAHM/housewife thing!!!”
Nearly as quickly as the previous thought pops into my head, others come crowding in on it’s heels, nipping and snapping like my Mom’s annoying, ankle biting dog that I always want to kick:
“There are like 14 garbage bags of kids clothes in the basement that need to be sorted, why haven’t you gotten to those yet? They’ve only been there for 4 months. It really shouldn’t be that difficult, if you sat down and worked at it for even 5 minutes a night it would be done soon. Sooner than if you don’t touch them for another 4 months!”
“Why haven’t you done any cute art projects with your kids in so long? What do you do all day that you don’t have time to slap their painted hands on a piece of paper!? They love painting, for heaven’s sakes, just suck it up and DO it!!!”
“You really need to start working out more consistently. Everyone else seems to find a way to make it a priority, why can’t you?”
And on and on ad nauseum.
And, guys? I AM SICK OF THIS.
So today, instead of worry about writing a post that will make me seem like Mom-of-the-Year and house cleaning guru extraordinaire I am going to write something real.
Focus on the small victories.
Being a parent is tough no matter what your journey looks like, it’s emotional and sometimes lonely and calls for a lot of grace.
Who cares if you haven’t swept your floors in a week, you’ve been feeding your kid right? #win
You might have a pile of laundry the size of Mt. Vesuvius in your laundry room, but you read with your kids this morning. #win
Maybe you haven’t read books with your kids in a week, they have to look at them on their own, but you baked cookies together last night? #win
Or if you hate baking with your kid but you have explored nature together every night this week? #win
Today I am focusing on the fact that, although my house may not be as epic-ly clean as I thought it was going to be, I have all those small successes to be proud of. So here is the one part of that blog post that is still true…
Super Useful Housekeeping Hack: Have AT LEAST two sets of sheets for every bed in your house. That way on laundry day you don’t get stuck without sheets because the load didn’t dry all the way… or even make it into the dryer (whoops!). You can just put the second set on as soon as you take off the first and voila, everyone’s got sheets!!!
It’s the little things.
Good luck out there!
