Dear Daughters: Cleaning House

 

Dear Daughters,


Mercy.

I wish I had better news.


This cleaning house business can feel like a thankless task
that never ends.


Truth #1: It doesn’t.


If you work ‘outside the home’, as I did, and

as you do, it really feels like it never ends.


So for whatever it is worth,

here are some additional truths to consider.

Truth #2: Create your own set of standards.

Not mine. Not Martha’s.

Yours.

I spent time worrying about things I could not do perfectly,

and the only thing I accomplished was

learning how to worry perfectly.

                                Truth #3: Use the witching hour (that first hour when you get home from work)

to your advantage and then stop. 


One hour- or less if possible.


When I used that hour when I first got home to start supper, throw a load of clothes in the washer,

and wipe whatever was in my path

and then stop,

I felt like I was in the game


Truth #4: Cleaning house is not a moral issue.

It is simply a series of repetitive tasks.

Maybe an hour after work to deal with some of these repetitive tasks

feels like too much-

as standards’ chairman you decide.

Truth #5:  Again.

I wish I had better news.

At least once a week, we need to take our homes

back to the starting gate.

As in all in, all clean, all done.


We can do this.

As Papa says- ‘no step for a stepper’.

Love, Mom