Beauty is in the Imperfections...

Cleaning? I'm not a big fan of it. See, I live by several different mottos.
1. A clean house is a sign of a wasted life.
2. Beauty is in the imperfections.
3. A woman's work is never done, so why bother.

These are all silly of course, but truly, I am sitting here, racking my brain, wondering WHY in the world I chose the topic of Cleaning Schedule! :)

Honestly, my home really is clean, however, I do not follow a set schedule. I tend to bounce around from job to job, on a whim. I have a bit of a case of "Cleaning A.D.D." A typical day of cleaning may look a bit like this:

I will be sitting folding a pile of laundry, only look up only to notice a little dust bunny scurrying across the floor. Abandoning my immediate task, I leave the laundry to fold itself (it never does) and attack the dust bunny. As I'm throwing the little bunny into the trash, I'll notice the dishes in the sink, and think to myself, "The kitchen looks so much nicer when there are no dishes in the sink." I proceed to open the dishwasher, and realize that it's full of clean dishes. Ugh. I start to unload the dishwasher, and my son, Noah, will immediately toddle over and try to climb inside. Ok, I'll do this when he's napping. I shoot a menacing look to the dishes sitting in the sink, "I'll be back for you!" I mutter, and move on to my next task. What was it? Oh, the laundry, yes. I hunker back down to continue folding, and realize that when I was bunny hunting, Noah decided to unfold my little pile. Hmm. Maybe I'll just do this while I'm watching TV tonight. Yes, that's what I'll do. Up to the bedroom goes my pile of laundry. Once upstairs, I realize that I never made my bed. I proceed to make it, and notice the layer of dust on my headboard. Conveniently, I have a dust rag in my clean laundry pile. Yes! I snatch it up and get at the headboard, once it's all done, I'll do the footboard, but notice a shiney object jutting out from under the bed. "What the...?" Upon further inspection, I notice that it is a spoon. I am always finding misplaced items now that Noah is walking and into EVERYTHING. You moms know how that goes. No big surprise there. The big surprise actually comes when I lift the bed skirt and peer under at all the other "treasures" that Noah has stowed away. Ah-ha! THERE is my alarm clock! And Jason's khaki belt with the good gold buckle too! He'll be glad to see that! And so it goes... Every day is an adventure in cleaning. Cleaning one thing naturally leads to cleaning another until our home is restored to it's natrual beauty!

No matter how we go about the daily tasks in our lives, as long as we do it with joy and a happy heart, I believe that's all that matters!

My husband and I have very different ways that we go about cleaning. Mine is described above. His, being raised in a very tight ship, so to speak, and now being a Naval Officer, is a bit different. He has a motto of his own: Cleanliness is next to Godliness. How do we live under the same roof? We've come to the agreement that "Everything in moderation" should be our mutual "motto. I appreciate his need for order, and he appreciates my need for a little chaos. I've taught him that our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy. We are a good balance.

All kidding aside, I do love the peace and tranquility that a clean home brings. I love the feeling of completion and accomplishment when it's all over. I adore to have a home full of shiny, dust-free surfaces and a floor I could actually eat off of. The act of cleaning does have a very therapeutic quality to it. When you are finished, there is the feeling of completion, and peace. It is a gift to be able to clean your floors, because there are some who do not have floors to clean. It is a gift to be able to pick up after messy children, because there are many couples who long to do so and are not able to have children. It is a gift to be able to wash dishes or put them in a dishwasher, because that means that you've had a meal. The act of cleaning makes us aware, and present in our lives. With order comes energy, inspiration, and life. When we clean, it shows those around us that we care about them, and that we love them. A clean, orderly home welcomes and nurtures a frazzled husband after a long day at work, or a child who's had a bad day at school.

I feel blessed to be able to be a homemaker. However I begin the process of cleaning, with enthusiasm or distain, I try to stay mindful of the process, and grateful for everything I have.

Thanks, girls, for the opportunity for me to be a guest blogger! I've enjoyed reading all of your posts, and I've actually learned a lot about myself writing this for you! Very therapeutic. In fact, I think I'm going to go clean now!

Bless and be blessed,
Becca

Becca lives in Connecticut with her husband and son. She stays busy during those long submarine deployments with her art and cleaning, of course. You can read more at Lovely Yellow Ribbons and My Soul Shines.

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