homemaking

In my previous post I mentioned that we've had a flu virus circulating through our family. It's still here, but I think it's hopefully on its way out. Fingers crossed.

In that post I mentioned that as I was resting, so my body could heal, I was thinking about what is really important to me. One of the main things that came up for me was a reminder that when our home is tidy, clean and uncluttered, I feel more relaxed and at peace.

This is something I've struggled with over the years. When my husband and I were first married we didn't have a lot of material possessions. It was easy to keep our home tidy and clean. As the years progressed, and we became parents, we naturally accumulated more materials goods. We are not big spenders, but the small amount of things we gradually purchased, as well as the presents for our boys from us and relatives, slowly accumulated. You don't notice it at first, but before you know it you're left with more than you can handle. Then comes the decluttering. I do this sporadically, but we still got to the point where there was too much stuff for our humble little home.

As I wasn't well, I kept looking around our home, and although I started a major declutter last year, there was still too much stuff. I longed for some energy so I could start again on my decluttering project, and so I could tidy and clean.

Each day now, I'm feeling a little bit better and I'm gradually getting my energy back. With each little bit of energy, I've been juicing and preparing some simple, healthy food. I've also been doing small amounts, ten minutes here and there, decluttering, tidying and cleaning. Each time what I've done has made me feel happier and lighter and I'm sure it's helping me heal from the virus.

Today I was thinking about the saying:  "A job worth doing is worth doing properly." I do believe this saying is true, but for a perfectionist it may not be the best way to think, especially a perfectionist who isn't feeling well.

I've come up with my own saying:  "A job started is better than a job not started at all." For me, this is a better, more constructive way to think. For example, today I wanted to clean our shower, but I didn't have the energy to do it all and I certainly didn't have the energy to do all of it well. So I decided to just scrub the floor. Tomorrow I'll clean one or two walls and the following day I'll finish it. My previous way of thinking could of been, "I don't have the energy or the motivation, at the moment, to clean our whole shower, so I won't even start." As a result it could of been days before I got to it and by then, well......let's not go there.

I think "A job started is better than a job not started at all." is also a great one for parents with small children, who often get interrupted and who may only have a few minutes here and there to get stuff done.

So, we're making progress. We are slowly regaining our health and we are slowly, but surely creating a less cluttered space to enjoy.

Happy homemaking beautiful people.

Much love,
Julie
xo