#2 is to maintain a decent amount of cleanliness and order. (There is an extreme to this that is not conducive to peaceable, and this comes from someone with slight OCD tendencies, LOL!) I have always been a tidier, always stacking strewn books into a single pile, folding blankets, cleaning away what is no longer being used. My house it NOT always spotless, and PLEASE do NOT attempt to eat off of our floors HEAVEN FORBID (we have an inside dog), but I do love it clean and try to keep to a decent schedule to create cleanliness and order in our home. What I do the most of is a type of tidying that is almost invisible. Sounds funny doesnt it? It is the kind of picking up and cleaning that those who live with you seem to almost miss you doing. My youngest child turns 15 in April and I have raised 4 children and been through many phases of cleanliness and order. I have cried when things have gotten out of hand while I spent countless hours nursing my growing infant/toddler. I was clean to an extreme and wisdom has shown me the error of my ways. Wisdom has brought MUCH needed balance to my life in all areas, but especially in housekeeping. Right before Passover last year (the new year!) Yah gave me the deepest desire for balance in my life, because I have always been an extremist. I have always justified this by saying Id rather be a clean freak than a lazy bum, but Yah has shown me how much I was missing. I learned this in my housekeeping WHILE the kids were growing. You learn valuable lessons with each child and most mamas begin a mental list of what not to do as you go along. The need for change concerning housekeeping changed greatly when we became a homeschool family. 2 of the best things I instituted with my children were 1) Not allowing them to play with ALL their toys at the same time, and 2) taking their clothes out of their room when they got older. Toys, whew! They hit an age of about 2 when everything is large and clunky and sets have so many pieces. By the time my third child was born we began to put their toys into individual buckets and do something similar to a library. They checked out one set and played with it until completely bored, then cleaned it away before checking out the next play set. This cut down on LOADS of work and frustration! Taking clothes out of their room as they neared 10-12 years old helped equally as much! No more hidden socks and underwear, no more mixing of clean and dirty clothes crammed into dresser drawers, no more lack of respect for clothing in general. I know that not everyone has a room that they can devote to family closet status, but a large laundry room will work, or putting sisters to bunk together (or brothers) and converting one room for this is something to consider too. If you have perfect kids that never create disasters with toys and clothes, then just skip this section. ;-) Just roll your eyes at the rest of us and shake your head in dismay, teehee! They still need to participate in their laundry but the accountability changes when where clothes are kept is in neutral territory. Well, I am getting lengthy and running a rabbit trail here so I will get back to maintaining peaceable and quiet through a tidy home.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Jan 2014 21:12:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015