When You Need to Move Past a Perfectly Cleaned Home

Sometimes, I’ve noticed that as much as I think I want something, I’m not actually willing to put in the time to do that particular thing. Sure, I have a lot of great ideas and hopes, but when it comes time to following through on those ideas, I’m tempted to fizzle.

One of the first big obstacles to tackling a messy home isn’t the actual mess. It’s you.

Yes, you need to reach a point that you want to take control of your mess so much that you’re willing to do the work, even when you’d rather binge watch a Netflix series or head to Starbucks. It’s not fun to spend weeknights or Saturday afternoons working through a messy room, and it’s really hard to find the motivation to do it.

When you do put in the time (five minutes here, an hour there), you start to make progress. And the spaces that start looking cleaner end up turning into a snowball effect: the clean areas of your home get bigger and bigger and bigger until your messes disappear.

The “Right” Way Isn’t the Only Way

Once you master the art of being productive in little pockets of time each day, you can also start experiencing freedom by letting go of the “right” way to clean.

So often, it’s tempting to complain that my husband or kids aren’t helping out around our house as much as I’d like them to. Yet when they actually do pitch in and help out, it seems like they aren’t cleaning the “right” way.

Here’s the ridiculousness of this logic, though. If I truly want their help, and if they’re truly cleaning – just differently than the way I clean – then I need to gratefully accept it.

There’s more than one way to clean. And logically, this means there’s no one way to clean that’s “right.” Someone else’s style or method of cleaning may be different than your preference, but if it’s clean, it’s clean. Accepting a different way of cleaning may stretch far beyond getting help from others, too. You also may need to give yourself some grace.

Readjusting your cleaning perspective

If you don’t have time or energy to clean the way your mother did or the way you think you “should,” it’s OK. I promise! Your house doesn’t have to be spotless to be clean.

In fact, you don’t have to clean your entire house on the same day or weekend to have a clean home. (Kathi Lipp calls this the “patch cleaning” method.)

Practically speaking, this could look like focusing on cleaning one room a week, and then rotating your cleaning schedule. Over the course of two months, every room in your home gets deep cleaned … and then you simply start the cleaning rotation over again.

And just in case you have a tendency of not starting projects in your home because you’re paralyzed by a perfect standard, just remember – let go. Forget about perfect and focus on making some progress.

Start a small project, even if you wish you could tackle a bigger one.

Make some sort of dent in your housekeeping jobs – and then continue working on small projects to make a bigger and bigger dent.

It may take a while to notice a huge difference, but that difference will come … even if it’s not done in a way you’d necessarily consider to be “right.”

To help get your home under control and cleaner than it is right now, grab my free 7-Day Strategy to Tidy Your Home.

Do you tend to feel like your way is the “right” way to clean? Or are you just pleased that any cleaning gets finished?

Images courtesy of Pexels.

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Hilary

Hilary Bernstein is a Christ follower, wife, homeschooling mama, and writer who believes every Christian woman can live with peace and purpose. She's happiest when she's hosting friends and family for dinner, going on date nights with her husband, singing along to the radio, traveling with her family, and spending cozy nights at home. The author of fifteen books,Hilary also is Women's Ministry Director at The Chapel in Green, Ohio.