I have always struggled with cleaning my house.  It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do it, it was just that I never felt like doing it!

I was a working mom when the kids were younger and I was dealing with three children all two years apart. . .  I was exhausted all the time! It wasn’t until my kids got a little older that I learned how to delegate chores and maintain a level of cleanliness.

Now I have a rotation system in place and I have my children in training on how to really keep the house clean.

This article is not about my rotation system, instead it is about relating to the hustle and bustle of being a mom.

I’m happy to learn that I am not alone in my cleaning despair.  Yes, God wants us to be clean, but there is a learning curve.  Join the mom club and know that everyone has their own way to clean their house.  Let me share with you 5 articles that are truthful about cleaning and being a mom.  Then I would like to talk about what the clutter around your home really means . . .

#1 How to Fake Clean Your House

I thought this article was so funny!  Sometimes you have to fake it until you make it!  She’s not the only one who does this.  We have all come up with creative ways, like shoving things in closet, to give the appearance of clean. One of the funniest things in this article was the blind spot she created behind her couch.  This was a place where she would quickly throw all the kids toys and clothes if she had a visitor coming within the next five minutes.  It would only actually work if it was a quick visit and the person wasn’t a roamer.

http://www.thriftyandchic.com/2014/03/how-to-fake-clean-house-for-those-last.html

#2 Real Mom’s guide to a clean house

I’m in love with Pinterest because I find so many funny articles there.  This article caught me with a picture of her cleaning schedule:

 

This was totally relatable!!  And there is more.  Check out Meredith’s full article below, very funny!

https://www.perfectionpending.net/2017/01/23/a-real-moms-guide-to-a-clean-house/

#3 The Exhausting Reality of Being a Working Mom

When we ask ourselves why we do this job of motherhood, we just accept the task that God has blessed us with.  We collect the small victories of joy, love, and peace that give us energy to keep going. These memories we hold close and treasure for always.  Check out this mother’s truth about why not to stress over the mess!

https://www.perfectionpending.net/2017/10/04/this-mom-nails-it-with-her-honest-post-about-the-exhausting-reality-of-being-a-working-mom/

#4 The Illusion of Clean

Here is an excerpt from Fun Money Mom

Take Whatever Drastic Measures Necessary

"The other day I could barely see the living room floor and told my girls they had to stop everything and put their toys away.  What I didn’t know at the time was that both my girls were picking up all the toys, books, stuffed animals, etc and just throwing them in the middle of my 3 year old’s room.  At bedtime, we seriously couldn’t even get to the bed!  I had one of those “mommy moments”…you know the one, where you just can’t take it anymore!  I grabbed a large trash bag and stuffed everything in it that would fit.  They were pretty upset but I told them they could have all that stuff back but they had to put it where it belonged first.  That was two days ago and it’s all still in the trash bag…however the room is still clean so that’s a success story, right?"

Have you ever had to resort to such drastic measures? What are your go-to tricks to create the illusion of a clean house?

Check out full article:

https://funmoneymom.com/7-ways-to-quickly-create-the-illusion-of-a-clean-house/

#5 Clean Up and Clean Out

Cleaning house is a hard job, but somebody has to do it!  I did the trash bag trick before.  I had trash bags full of stuff that sat in my garage for months.   The kids didn’t care, they just played with other stuff they forgot they had.  As a result, I took a trip to Goodwill.  Sometimes we just have too much stuff.  We have trouble trying to keep everything organized and clean because we are trying to manage too much!

Terri wants to help us with some motivation to clean house.  She doesn’t do it like her mother, but she knows how to get it done.

http://www.terri.com/clean-up-and-clean-out/

 

What does this mean for mother’s spiritually?

I remember when I tried so hard to keep the appearance of clean.  I would try to keep my front room tidy, especially for those quick pop in/pop out visitors.  If they had to stay longer, I kind of did that, “wait here for a moment, while I . . .” yell from the other room asking you how everything is going, rush around to make sure there are no major disasters. . . pick up laundry, mail, projects, book bags, power tools, socks, and dirty underwear, then throw them all in a laundry basket.  After that, I would throw a blanket over it and pretend that it’s perfectly normal for that mess to sit beside the couch like a decorative side table. . .

or I would blame it on the kids . . .

“Those kids, I’m always having to straighten up after them!”  hee hee (that’s my laugh). . .

Now, however, I understand that the struggle is real for all of us.  Some of us handle it better than others, but there is a process to learn how to keep a clean house, how to manage the kids, the schedule, and everything else we moms have on our plate.

Often times in life we can find ourselves "putting on the appearance of cleanliness."  Which means that we are all trying to present our lives as well ordered, well managed, and altogether clean.  This is not reality.  Everyone has their areas of growth.  Everyone has their struggles in life.  Your Christian life will not always be perfect, spotless, or neat.  We all have hiding places for our mess.  If we have someone in our lives who is a meddler, they will find the blind spot behind the couch!

No worries!

God has a way of cleaning everything up.  No spots, no wrinkles.  We count on him to keep us clean while he teaches us lessons on how to clean our spiritual houses.  He is always preparing us for greater things.

As we navigate through our cleaning challenges we must realize that there is a spiritual connection to how we clean, what we clean, and how often we clean.  Do we all get it at first, no, we are just trying to make it through? This is just like life, we are trying to make it through.  We are not perfect, and the Lord doesn’t expect us to be.  But we can do a lot with his help.

So just to recap when it comes to cleaning our houses and cleaning up our lives:

We don't really want to fake clean our houses.  The way you keep your house is a reflection of the way you keep your life.   Really!!! . . . but no worries, God knows that being a mom is hard and that is why he chose you to get things done.  If you have figured out thus far how to fake it until you make it, then God will take you the rest of the way.  Yes, we fake clean it, yes we throw our problems into the closet sometimes, and yes we forget about the moldy issues under the sink . . . but God wants us to ask for help. Give it to God.  He will clean everything up for you. . .

I want to refer the following materials to you. This goes even deeper than just cleaning your house and your life. This whole life is about getting your mind cleaned and organized.  Terri has a great resource for you to declutter your mind.  Check out the link to request your copy . . .

http://store.terri.com/p-143-declutter-your-way-to-success.aspx

The Kingdom Principle to take away: 

This life is a process.  God needs us to let the Holy Spirit take us through this process of life and learning.  When we let the Holy Spirit teach us, then we are changing our minds every day about what it means to be prepared for the Kingdom.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:2

 

Teaching Christian Living and Kingdom Principles

until next time

-Tamorra