day 20: purposeful housekeeping.

Last week I wrote about finding purposeful simplicity in your home. I’m convinced that one of the biggest keys to being content with your home is keeping it clean. Now by clean I don’t mean impeccably dusted baseboards or sparkling windows (neither of which I have); I just mean a home that’s clean enough for you to rest in.

The best trick I know for keeping a consistently “clean enough” home has been learning utilize the little pockets of time in my day. I try to snatch that 10 or 15 minutes here and there and get one thing done: unload the dishwasher, put laundry away, clear off the dining table. I’ve found the more I do this and stay on top of housework, the more I can get done in a 10-minute slot.

Here are a few more tips I’ve learned:

1. Make straightening up part of your daily routine. When I walk through a room, I try to grab one thing to take with me and put in its proper place.  Judah and Amie have clean-up times after lunch and after dinner. Regular house-straightening gives the appearance of a clean home and at the very least gives you space to relax in.

2. Everything should have a place. Our house is small and we have little, old-house closets, so I have to stay organized about where things go. As much as possible, I try to find a specific place for everything we own. When I clean up, the item needs to go all the way back in its spot. Even with this system stuff gets shoved here and there and I still have to organize my closets regularly, but because everything started out with its own place, the re-organizing takes only a few minutes.

3. Don’t go to bed with a dirty kitchen. Wash and put dishes in the dishwasher. Wipe the counters and dining table. Put leftovers away. Sweep the floor or run the vacuum. I’m always surprised at how much better my attitude toward the day is when I walk into a clean kitchen in the morning.

4. Make your bed. Every single morning, right when you wake up. It takes maybe 30 seconds but calms and tidies the whole room. Judah and Amie make their beds as a part of their daily chores.

5. If kids can’t put all their toys away in 5 minutes, they have too many toys. I keep half of their toys in storage and rotate them. Cheap plastic toys that break quickly are enjoyed for a few days, then thrown away. An uncluttered room helps prevent children from feeling overwhelmed with stuff, let’s them be more creative with a few things, and gives them a sense of accomplishment when they do their chores.

On Saturday Amie said, “Mommy, come look what I did!” She had emptied, purged, and organized her and Judah’s closet all by herself. She said, “Everything was too messy and getting broken.” She was so proud of herself.

6. Don’t let laundry pile up. If that means you need to do one load of laundry every single day, then do it. I do mine every other day because I prefer washing a couple loads and then having a free day (although I’m sure this will change when we have a new baby). Make yourself fold and put away (or have your family put away) laundry as soon as possible after it’s clean. Otherwise you’ll just stare despairingly at that growing mountain throughout the week and want to give up. If I come to your house, leave your laundry-folding for me: I find it very therapeutic.

7. We have people over regularly, so I typically don’t do any real cleaning chores until then. Before we have guests I’ll straighten up, do a quick dusting of the furniture, sweep/vacuum, and wipe down the bathroom/mirrors and light a candle. All of this can be done in 30 minutes to an hour.

8. I tackle bigger cleaning projects once a month or so, and usually in a 2-3 hour stretch when David is out with the kids or they’re at a friend’s house. I use this time to mop the bathroom floor, damp mop the hardwood floors, wipe my stove top, etc. Yes, it’s kind of a bummer to use precious free hours to clean, but I know myself: I’ll enjoy my life and my family much more for doing it.

9. Finally, if you’re super busy and feeling overwhelmed even reading this list, don’t worry. This is a season. My advice is to find the one chore which makes your home feel calmer to you: Vacuumed floors? Laundry folded? Piles off counter tops? Start there. You’ll feel better about yourself and your house. If you can’t even do that, find a corner, light a candle, set a jar of flowers next to you, and enjoy your little pocket of peace.

Please don’t wait ‘til you have a “bigger and better” house to make it a haven of purposeful simplicity!