There’s a secret to feeling accomplished and satisfied with your homemaking … to find perfectionism in homemaking. It’s really quite easy!
We’ve all had these feelings – feelings of wanting our homes to look like they belong in a magazine or on Pinterest. The feeling that people will be in awe with our ability to keep a home looking picture perfect, be a gourmet cook, have a happy husband and family.
Admit it – we’ve all wanted and desired that!!
June Cleaver didn’t do us any favors! I hardly ever clean in a dress and pearls … hardly ever. (LOL)
The pictures that we see in magazines, blog posts, or on Pinterest are not the way that real life looks. At least my reality doesn’t look like that!
I have people who live in my house and I’m pretty sure that you do too. That means that it will not stay the way that you left it (this is a guarantee). Your can finish laundry and the someone will shower and change their clothes and viola there is “laundry starter”.
Even in those pictures that we admire so much, we only see what they want us to see. We don’t see what is sitting behind the camera (I really hope it’s a pile of laundry).
So what is the secret to having the home that we desire without the stress? I’m so glad you are asking that question!
Dump the idea of perfectionism!!!
(pause here for a moment and read that again)
That doesn’t mean that we don’t have to clean, cook or do laundry. What it does mean is that we are realistic about how our lives really are. We have people who live with us … have other commitments either inside or outside our homes, other responsibilities or perhaps a chronic illness that prevents us from doing all that we want or feel is needed.
There are many reasons (they are not excuses) why we don’t live up to our own expectations of ourselves.
So let’s start a new mantra! Are you ready for it?
Anything I do blesses my family!
(I really want this to resonate with you so say this a couple of times to yourself or out loud)
It doesn’t say “anything I do perfectly” or “anything that I do every day” or “anything I do that someone notices” … it says anything!
Even little things bless your family.
A clear dining table so that you can eat together blesses your family.
Serving a simple home cooked meal blesses your family (maybe even more than a “gourmet meal” because you aren’t stressed about it).
Clean clothes bless your family (this doesn’t mean that all the clothes are clean all the time)
When you clean the kitchen … except for the floors … your family is still blessed.
“Keeping a home” doesn’t mean perfection. I know that there are many who struggle with this concept but it’s true. Your home doesn’t need to look like it belongs in a magazine. Those pictures are staged and people are kept out of that room so that it can continue to look like that for picture day.
The reality of day to day life is that people live in your home … you live in your home. Meals are eaten, dogs and kids may be there too, you probably have a spouse or significant other who spends time there too.
When you have people in your home, it will not be perfect … and perhaps it shouldn’t be.
My husband used to get frustrated with me because he occasionally came home to something that wasn’t completed (dishes, cleaning, laundry, etc). It took him awhile to realize that we had 4 kids and 3 dogs in our home and I wasn’t set on having my home picture perfect all the time. Now don’t get me wrong, I like a clean home BUT I would much rather make a memory then spend my time cleaning and stressing about cleaning.
There is a phrase that I like to use when it comes to homemaking … “company ready”.
Company ready is different than perfection.
Having your home be company ready means that if someone shows up at your door (or texts you from the end of the driveway) you can open your front door with a smile and no apologies (or at least very few). On a good day, you may even have cookies to go with that cup of coffee or tea! It doesn’t mean that your home looks like it should be in a magazine.
So relax a little … let go of the perfectionism …
Don’t let the idea of perfectionism get you bogged down so that you enjoy don’t life or your family.
Blessings,
Heidi
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