Housekeeping Tip #4: Stop Waiting for Perfect (and My First Vlog!)

I tiptoe toward my bedroom to sneak away for a few minutes of quiet relaxation. Just before crossing the threshold, I pause and glance back to the kitchen. It’s quiet now and the lights are dim, but plates and cups remain on the table.

I turn to my room again, my eyes drinking in the site of my warm comforter. Just a few minutes, I tell myself. Then I’ll be refreshed and ready to clean.

But I hear a phrase echoing in my mind:

“The bitterness of living in a mess remains long after the sweetness of resting is forgotten.” – Sandra Felton, The Messies Manual

Hesitating, I pivot my body back and forth as I glance from my bedroom to the kitchen and back again.

My heart knows that Ms. Felton was right when she penned those wise words. The inward battle is over. I stride to the kitchen and roll up my sleeves. I know this is a choice well made.

And the resting will be even sweeter because a bitter mess won’t be waiting for me after.

Sometimes we wait for perfect. We wait for the perfect schedule, the perfect timing, the perfect mood, or the perfect weather. We think that we’ll clean when our kids are older, or we’re less busy, or we have a week off work, or after we get a better night’s sleep. The list could go on forever.

But a life lived in waiting isn’t a life fully lived at all. Life isn’t about one big choice that magically fixes everything and makes our lives perfect. It’s about little decisions. Small, right decisions many times a day over the course of many, many years.

Those small choices will turn into large habits. And those habits will greatly impact the quality of our lives and the value of our memories.

Tidy Up friends, we can’t do everything, but we can do something. Choose one room, or even a corner of one room, and start there. If you need a little extra encouragement, you can join the private Tidy Up Facebook page.

We’re working on a challenge this week of Preparing Our Homes for the Holidays, and the before & after photos are so inspiring! After you join the group, you can view Assignment 1 encouragement here.

And friends, I would absolutely love to have each one of you into my home. It would be glorious to sit together as we inspire one another to create space for life, love, and warm memories.

But because teleports aren’t yet real, I created a video channel on Vimeo. Consider this your invitation to housekeeping inspiration as I virtually welcome you into my living room.

When you know you need to clean, what holds you back from beginning? Is it feeling overwhelmed, being too busy, or thinking a project needs to be completed perfectly before you can even start? Let’s encourage each other in the comments as we begin together.