"Clean your home and keep it clean!"
We've all heard and read this advertising ploy. Isn't that what we're all looking for? We clean our homes every day. We're always looking for a faster, better & more efficient way to clean out homes, but the reality is that we're all looking for a way to keep our homes clean.
Go to any store today and you'll see a large array of storage. In fact, the storage sections of most stores today are usually one of the largest. only surpassed by the cold cereal aisle.
Kitchen storage, laundry storage, bathroom storage. Why?? Could it be we have too much stuff??
I think we do. Sometimes less is more!! Look at all the books (Please do not look at my book hoard.. Errr.. I mean collection.) about "Simplifying" and Marie Kondo's book. These all talk about getting rid of excess *stuff* and only keeping what you LOVE and what is really NEEDED!!
What's at the root of this? Sure, I could say it's the American way, I could say it's that we *Need* all this, but that's not really true. We live in a world where much of what we use to *Need* can be done on the computer. Pictures, documents, phone numbers... all of the things we need are on our computers. Even my recipes!! All my recipes are in a "Notebook" binder on my OneNote. I can share, retrieve and even email a recipe faster than I ever could.
So why all the stuff?? Why the need for more things and more efficient cleaning??
Could it be that we're trying to fill a void that can't be filled?? I see that as our country moves further away from the Lord, we seem to be gathering and hoarding more "Things".
I use to get so aggravated when I had to clean over & over again. It would ruin my day. It made me a horrible mother, filled with resentment. Then the Lord showed me something that forever changed my heart. I'm hoping that I can bless you with this.
The analogy He showed me was that dirt, dust, and cleaning Is very much like sin.
We clean every day, we dust, mop and put away our "Stuff" over and over. We never really get rid of all the dirt. Even if we think we've cleaned EVERYTHING and there isn't anything left to clean, there is!!!
Sin is very much like this. Every morning, I pray, I ask the Lord to help me, to give me strength and to forgive my sin. This is very much like dusting. I'm lightly rubbing the surface of my sin...picking up the small pieces to make it look good. The real cleaning comes as I read God's word which mops up the dirt in my thinking. We always think that if we "look" good, then we're good, but in truth, my thoughts alone are enough to send me to hell. Many times I'll get a thought that I KNOW I shouldn't have and will immediately ask the Lord to forgive me and to show me His ways. Scrubbing our hearts is a daily task!!
Proverbs 4:23 tells us the "Guard our Hearts"... this is a daily job. We must take up our cross daily to protect our hearts. I can't do this alone. Philippians 4:7 tells us, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
The Lord gives me a daily renewing of my mind and peace ONLY in Christ Jesus! If you know the Lord, you can KNOW PEACE!!! If you haven't fully given your heart over to the Lord, To HIS peace and LOVE, then you're missing out on the ONLY way to truly "Clean your home.".. Our hearts are the homes that need to be cleaned. Daily!! Over and Over again!! Take time to clean your heart.
The LAST Thing the Lord showed me, is that He repeats himself to me daily!! He has forgiven me daily, He Reminds me daily, He loves me daily!!
So the next time you find yourself yelling at your children, "I'm tired of repeating myself..." Remember that we serve a Merciful Lord who repeats Himself Daily as we pick up our cross and try to keep the sin under control in our lives.
As for our children, I do repeat myself. Daily I repeat myself over and over. One thing that drove me nuts was making sure they did everything they were supposed to each room. I found myself sounding like a nag...."did you look under your bed?" , "Did you empty the bathroom garbage?"...the list goes on.
Then I saw something called "Zone Cleaning." I understood the concept but thought what they were selling was expensive and wasn't simple enough. All the charts and lists in the world don't mean a thing if they're too complicated to keep up with.
I created zone cleaning cards for my children. I would have a card for each room and I would list the individual things I wanted to make sure they did in each room. This worked well because they would mark off the list as they worked and when they turned the card into me, if something wasn't done but was checked off on the list, then consequences would follow. This helped me to be more consistent and to give THEM the responsibility while not having to be a nag.
Now, these lists are great for children who absolutely KNOW how to do what is on the list. I wouldn't use these with a child under the age of 7. Why?? Because most children are still learning the proper way to clean areas of the home. Working side-by-side is best until they're old enough to take over. You will know because as you work together you'll see your child's progress.
Another issue that moms have is that you'll send your child to do a chore and then you lose track of them. Oh, it's just me?? Just my children do that?? Here is how I solved my problem. I give them a chore card and then I tell them, "Come and give it back to me when you're done." This does two things.
#1. They KNOW they have to come back to me.
#2. They know that they will be held responsible for the chores on that card.
This makes cleaning easier. Does my home remain cleaner?? No. Does this mean I have less to clean every day?? No. It just makes my life easier while doing the cleaning.
I print these out and then laminate them. I used the Happy Planner mini discs to keep them together, but that's not necessary. These are 5 x 8. Print them out and laminate them. I have 4 different colors with many room cards and 5 blank cards for each color to customize the rooms/areas of your home to clean. I've included all the rooms I could think of. Even the garage, yard, shed and basement!! I have these in both PNG and PDF files. It's one download.
I hope these bless you.
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Have a happy and Blessed Christmas!!
Laura
Imperfect Wife, Mother and Follower of Christ
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