How Do You Do It?
I often get asked, "how do you do it all?"
This, I'm assuming, refers to being the mother of three kiddos.... 7 1/2, almost 3, and then an almost 4 month old. I also homeschool, volunteer at my church nearly every single weekend, read my Bible several times a day, keep a somewhat clean house, fairly minimalist, crafty, cook and bake some delicious things from time to time....
The truth is.... I don't do it. I do it sometimes, or do somethings, but I lack in other areas. Most days my house is fairly spotless. I was obsessed before but even more once my mom passed away. She always kept a clean, tidy house smelling of bleach and/or pinesol. HA! She set the bar high. I really just flow better, feel better, and parent better when I have a clean and tidy space. Less clutter allows me to be more creative and less crabby. I don't judge anyone else for not prioritizing this. In fact, It's often a curse rather than a blessing. It gets obsessive. If I don't clean before bed, I wake up crabby. I can't focus on my family or life in general until it's clean. This is something I truly have to work on. This is something you don't often hear as a part of this journey. People may envy or wish for a clean home but they are missing the downside of it sometimes and that is my attitude when it's not perfect. My house is something I can control (mostly). I can make sure certain things are done and I can spend my days picking up after little ones, decluttering, tidying up, and keeping order where the rest of my life may be falling apart sometimes. Whether it be grief, feelings of being overwhelmed, screaming kids, whatever it may be. My tidy home is something I can generally control.
That all sounds like the downside, right? But let's take a look at the positive real quick. Because we are minimal and intentional about what we allow into our home, cleaning takes a lot less time. I posted a few photos of my clean house last week and had a few others ask how long the baby slept in order to let me do this ;-) It was an hour. In one hour, I did the dishes, picked up all the toys, folded blankets and fixed pillows in the living room, cleaned counters, and even hung up some laundry! The trick to this is not having too much junk! I know that's so hard for some. It was for us until we moved into our new house. We went from a two bedroom apartment to a 3 story, 3 bed, 2 bath home. We got rid of all our furniture besides two beds and started with that.
I plan on going into more detail at some point but I wanted to stick to "how I do it" for now. Some days, my house will be spotless and the kids happy. Sometimes, my house will be full of messes and crying children who didn't sleep enough. Some days we rock the homeschool life! Lessons go well, kids are attentive, and heck, even hit up the library! That is how people often think my days go but those days are SO rare. Right now, I woke up at 6 rather than 5am which means I have zero time to get myself together before the kiddos are up. My toddler is currently hanging on my arm and I'm typing this one handed. The house is a disaster even though they have only been awake for an hour. Oatmeal is spread all over the kitchen island. My 7 1/2 year old has been upstairs for 30 minutes after I asked her to get dressed.. probably distracted by a book, which means school will be postponed. And by then, the baby will be crying and the toddler will have dumped toys out all over and he will be naked because he refuses to keep his clothes on. My coffee is already cold. It's a balance that I don't often achieve.
This is how I do it all. I just simply don't.
This, I'm assuming, refers to being the mother of three kiddos.... 7 1/2, almost 3, and then an almost 4 month old. I also homeschool, volunteer at my church nearly every single weekend, read my Bible several times a day, keep a somewhat clean house, fairly minimalist, crafty, cook and bake some delicious things from time to time....
The truth is.... I don't do it. I do it sometimes, or do somethings, but I lack in other areas. Most days my house is fairly spotless. I was obsessed before but even more once my mom passed away. She always kept a clean, tidy house smelling of bleach and/or pinesol. HA! She set the bar high. I really just flow better, feel better, and parent better when I have a clean and tidy space. Less clutter allows me to be more creative and less crabby. I don't judge anyone else for not prioritizing this. In fact, It's often a curse rather than a blessing. It gets obsessive. If I don't clean before bed, I wake up crabby. I can't focus on my family or life in general until it's clean. This is something I truly have to work on. This is something you don't often hear as a part of this journey. People may envy or wish for a clean home but they are missing the downside of it sometimes and that is my attitude when it's not perfect. My house is something I can control (mostly). I can make sure certain things are done and I can spend my days picking up after little ones, decluttering, tidying up, and keeping order where the rest of my life may be falling apart sometimes. Whether it be grief, feelings of being overwhelmed, screaming kids, whatever it may be. My tidy home is something I can generally control.
That all sounds like the downside, right? But let's take a look at the positive real quick. Because we are minimal and intentional about what we allow into our home, cleaning takes a lot less time. I posted a few photos of my clean house last week and had a few others ask how long the baby slept in order to let me do this ;-) It was an hour. In one hour, I did the dishes, picked up all the toys, folded blankets and fixed pillows in the living room, cleaned counters, and even hung up some laundry! The trick to this is not having too much junk! I know that's so hard for some. It was for us until we moved into our new house. We went from a two bedroom apartment to a 3 story, 3 bed, 2 bath home. We got rid of all our furniture besides two beds and started with that.
I plan on going into more detail at some point but I wanted to stick to "how I do it" for now. Some days, my house will be spotless and the kids happy. Sometimes, my house will be full of messes and crying children who didn't sleep enough. Some days we rock the homeschool life! Lessons go well, kids are attentive, and heck, even hit up the library! That is how people often think my days go but those days are SO rare. Right now, I woke up at 6 rather than 5am which means I have zero time to get myself together before the kiddos are up. My toddler is currently hanging on my arm and I'm typing this one handed. The house is a disaster even though they have only been awake for an hour. Oatmeal is spread all over the kitchen island. My 7 1/2 year old has been upstairs for 30 minutes after I asked her to get dressed.. probably distracted by a book, which means school will be postponed. And by then, the baby will be crying and the toddler will have dumped toys out all over and he will be naked because he refuses to keep his clothes on. My coffee is already cold. It's a balance that I don't often achieve.
This is how I do it all. I just simply don't.
Honey you are doing great! Thank you for the last little chunk of your post. That’s the reality of every mother I think, but most think they are alone. Tribe on sista!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your encouragement and for inspiring me to start this! YOU ROCK!
Delete"The trick to this is not having too much junk!" --- YES! GOALS!
ReplyDeleteLoving your posts :)
You can do it!!!!!!!
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