Wednesday, October 14, 2009

My Cleaning Dilemma

Keeping my house clean and finding the balance between NAZI clean and filthy dirty is so hard for me! I feel like I am either running around after the kids to pick up each toy and getting grouchy about it or in a defiant "I'm not cleaning cause it never stays clean anyway" kind of bad attitude!

It seems like it stems from the idea that if my house is clean I am a good mom and wife and doing my job and if its dirty then I am a terrible mom and need to be embarrassed

WHY
do we lie to ourselves and PUSH AND PUSH to keep up this image that houses are never used or played in and are ALWAYS picked up?
I AM TIRED OF BEING STRESSED AND EMBARRASSED

MY WORTH IS NOT DETERMINED BY HOW MESSY OR CLEAN MY HOUSE IS!

I am not going to give up and never clean but I am DONE feeling like it has to be picked up and 100% show room ready for visitors and family!
WE LIVE HERE, toys get played with food gets eaten, pillows get swung around, laundry gets cleaned (or not cleaned:), beds get slept in!

I AM STILL A GOOD MOM IF MY HOUSE ISN'T SPOTLESS!!!

I refuse to play into this perfect woman perfect house image! SO I PROMISE to NEVER come into your house and think, hmm she hasn't cleaned today! or hmm at least I vacuum before people come over! I PROMISE to come into your house and look at YOU and spend my energy being a friend and not comparing who vacuumed most recently or who wipes their counters most often!

WILL YOU DO THE SAME FOR ME?

4 comments:

HanksFam said...

Cameo, I love this post! I promise I WILL do the same for you! And you ARE a great mom, regardless of how your house looks (I can't even see my bedroom floor right now).
Hey, the party is at 11 on Saturday. We would love to have BJ and the boys come. Good luck with your craft show!

Eileen Izatt Burton said...

Hey Cameo, I am Brooke Louderback's mom and please may I comment on this GREAT post? (I found you through Brooke's blog and your cleaning title looked so interesting) We Mormon women are soooo famous for feeling just exactly as you have described. "I'm not a good ___ if..." We make things so difficult for ourselves. Yeah for you for realizing that you are truly a wonderful person because of who you are and not if your house is clean or your kids are perfect or you make the best green jello to take to the neighbors. I have a door mat at my front door that says it all for me "This house was clean yesterday. Sorry you missed it" and now that the kids are grown and gone and I have missed many moments with them because of the "clean house=good wife and mother" concept, I live by the "sorry you missed it" attitude. I only pray that you will keep your commitment to yourself because no one will ever remember if your house was clean or your jello was great, but they will remember that you took time with your kids and that you are a good person.
Good Luck!!!
Brooke's mom

Chris said...

that is so funny

Brittany said...

You are a good mom, i have the same problem. kids get ignored while you clean, then you are stressed because they need your attention, you don't want to do it while they are napping because you just want to sit down and have some time to yourself...such a dilema. some days its clean some days its a disaster. oh well though. I always try to ask myself what is more important? clean house or spending time with my kids who will not be little forever.