On Keeping House

Over the last two years I have really struggled with the fact that I cannot keep a spotless house (or some days even a clean house).  I have friends whose houses are perfect.  No crumbs on the floor, no dust on the baseboards.  I have family who takes pride in clean walls and dusted picture frames.  I look through decorating ideas on Pinterest and see nothing but tidy, shiny, beautiful rooms.  I've longed to have the same level of clean in my house.  I wanted nothing more than to have a spotless house ready for company at the drop of a hat.  I wanted to rub my hand down our banister at any moment and not worry about it coming away dirty. It ate at me that our house was not perfect.  It consumed me to the point where I didn't even try to keep up with daily chores because I knew I could never attain perfection.  My house would never look as nice as everyone else's.  

As I'm writing this, our final home study visit (the home walk through) is in 45 minutes.  I'm not running around putting things away, washing windows, or hiding things under the bed.  I'm sitting on the couch across from the cutest three year old boy EVER, watching him sleep.

I'm slowly learning the lesson that veteran moms have been telling me for three years now: the housework will wait.

The kids don't care if the baseboards are dusty (they are) or the mirrors have toothpaste spots on them (they do).  They don't care that the carpet is stained (it's their fault!) or that the walls have crayon lipstick drawings over the fresh paint (again their fault).

And you know what?  I can now honestly say that I don't care either.

I can spend my time scrubbing walls, baseboards, and mirrors.  I can have the perfect sparkly house in Better Homes and Gardens.  Or I can spend my time building blocks, teaching letters, making crafts, and playing the whistle in toddler parades.  That last one is Nathan's favorite right now.  The house work really CAN wait.  It will always be there.  But the kids don't wait.  They grow and change daily.  If I'm wrapped up in having the perfect house (or regretting that I don't have a perfect house), what am I missing in their lives?

I've learned that perfection means nothing to me in regards to our home now.  We do the dishes, wash the laundry, clean the bathrooms and pick up the toys at the end of the day.  Beyond that, not much gets done regularly.

Is the house clean?  No way.  Is it tidy?  Usually.  Am I comfortable having our home study worker come inspect it today?  Even though I didn't dust, wash windows, clean the closets, or organize the pantry?  You bet.  This is how we live.  We love life, toys, games, and laughter.  Our home reflects that.  Walk in at any given time and you will find toys spread across the living room floor.  You'll find stuffed animals covering Alex's bed and who-knows-what in Nathan's bed.  You'll see sippy cups on the floor and dirty toddler underwear in a hamper in the bathroom.  You'll find old cheddar bunnies under the couch and dust on the tv.  We're not perfect and neither is our house.

And that's just the way we like it.