Homemaking
An unexpected guest sometime last week had me remembering a magnet a dear friend once had on her refridgerator. It said this:
God blesses this house, but He doesn't clean it
If you're here to see me, come any time
But if you're here to see my house, make an appointment
It's always so embarassing when someone stops in and there are dishes from the night before still gracing the counters and stove, and overflowing the sink. I always think, I really need to get better at this homemaking thing. And honestly, I really have made some progress. The other day I spent a couple hours going through our linen closet which also doubles as storage for household items, first aid, personal care stuff and I threw so much stuff out I actually have a bare shelf in there now. I am by nature awful at doing that kind of thing. I could spend endless hours watching nonsense on the tv, or reading blogs, anything but going through droors or cleaning cabinets, or that dreadful dust-covered top of the refridgerator.
I once told my friends mom about my cleaning "style". Without thinking I told her that I pretty much just clean on the surface of things but will stuff things under the bed and into droors, as long as it looks OK who cares?
She said something to me I'll never forget. Come to think of it I was pretty miffed by what she said: "Hmmm, wonder what that means about you as a person."
Ouch.
So now I'm training myself to peer into droors and instead of frowning and leaving them as they are, I'm beginning to straighten them out, get rid of unnecessary junk, and be proud of my work. So when you come by here, it won't be house beautiful, but it will be a work in progress. One day, I can aspire to being so organized that maybe I can have my house "guest ready" all the time. But for now, please refer to my friend's magnet.
God blesses this house, but He doesn't clean it
If you're here to see me, come any time
But if you're here to see my house, make an appointment
It's always so embarassing when someone stops in and there are dishes from the night before still gracing the counters and stove, and overflowing the sink. I always think, I really need to get better at this homemaking thing. And honestly, I really have made some progress. The other day I spent a couple hours going through our linen closet which also doubles as storage for household items, first aid, personal care stuff and I threw so much stuff out I actually have a bare shelf in there now. I am by nature awful at doing that kind of thing. I could spend endless hours watching nonsense on the tv, or reading blogs, anything but going through droors or cleaning cabinets, or that dreadful dust-covered top of the refridgerator.
I once told my friends mom about my cleaning "style". Without thinking I told her that I pretty much just clean on the surface of things but will stuff things under the bed and into droors, as long as it looks OK who cares?
She said something to me I'll never forget. Come to think of it I was pretty miffed by what she said: "Hmmm, wonder what that means about you as a person."
Ouch.
So now I'm training myself to peer into droors and instead of frowning and leaving them as they are, I'm beginning to straighten them out, get rid of unnecessary junk, and be proud of my work. So when you come by here, it won't be house beautiful, but it will be a work in progress. One day, I can aspire to being so organized that maybe I can have my house "guest ready" all the time. But for now, please refer to my friend's magnet.
posted by Lauren S. at
11:58 AM
4 Comments:
Hmm...I'm always nervous about how my house is going to look when I'm on my own. Your blog was encouraging.
man, "guest ready" that's a big aspiration...I'm in the danger free living room floor mode these days. Safety hazards are not good for guests!
I think homemaking takes a long time to learn...probably by the time our kids are grown and well out of the house we'll finally have it down and they'll come over with their kids and spouses and think, "man...she's good, I wonder when I'll ever be able to do that?!"
*sigh* Homemaking=my bane.
You are inspiring, I'm glad you are slowly but surely improving! I'm on the 18-year plan myself (in reference to Sara's comment--so true!). No, I'm trying to get better. I need to stop reading blogs so much! Ack! :D
Oh, and I was absolutely mortified when I invited a friend into my home last month... only to open the door to a horrific, ugly mess of a house (I had underestimated the mess until I opened the door and realized how awful it looked... I was so humiliated and furious at myself).
I think I read too many Christian housewife books in the last couple of years. I can't remember which one it was, but there was a book that talked about the dreaded topic of the Proverbs 39 woman. Anyway, one of the chapters was about housekeeping and hospitality and the author talked about having your home guest ready at all times, because shouln't your family be treated to a nice clean home? And also, what if someone pops in? You don't want to refuse to be hospitable because your house is dirty....Anyway, I found the chapter about as enjoyable as scrubbing a filthy toilet with a toothbrush. I think the notion of always being guest ready is ridiculous at this point in my life, but ah well, I like to aim high. ;)
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