The answer to the title of the blog is yes!
I am not the best housekeeper. In fact, it really isn’t one of the reasons my husband married me. When I first walked into my boyfriend’s (now husband) home it was spotless. He was a late 40s bachelor and it was so neat and clean. Wasn’t dust anywhere, there were no dishes in the sink, I mean seriously, his home was cleaner than the apartment my roommate and I shared.
I come from a home that had some help with the cleaning work because my mom was disabled. I did grow up doing chores, cooking, folding clothes, etc. I knew how to keep a house clean, but had never workout at a schedule or read books on the subject. And I like things clean, but not near as clean as my husband would like things.
Whether you are married or not, I do think that the Bible encourages women to be keepers of the home – making sure your home is tidy, picked up, and hospitable. Doesn’t mean your home needs to be magazine worthy at all times. in fact, I think if you have kids, and your home is spotless, it makes it hard for kids to be kids because they might be afraid to get anything dirty.
Dana White, in How to Manage Your Home Without Losing You Mind, encourages women who don’t know a single thing about cleaning their home, to start somewhere! I think for me it is definitely too basic. But, I do like how she takes the thoughts that we have and helps us move to actions.
One thing that I do love that she emphasizes is “That’s all that matters: finding what works in your home for your unique family.” What I like to tell other wives and young moms: ask your husband what is most important to him in a home – and do that first. For my husband: he wants things decluttered and the clothes washed and food. So I try to do those things then work out time to do everything else.
No matter where you fall in the realm of tidy or slob – we all are given much to take care of – and we need to be good stewards. That possibly means doing the dishes!
If you would like to win a copy of this book – just leave a comment with your least favorite chore to do. Mine: cleaning the showers.
Thanks to Tommy Nelson for this book and the giveaway copy. All opinions are my own.
My absolute worst chore is cleaning the bathrooms! I have a son and a messy husband and my daughter and her friends seem to live in my house! The bathroom seems to have a revolving door on it and no matter how many times I clean it always seems to be a mess! I can’t stand stinky toilets… the smell of urine…. and the shower always seems to look grungy. I just blame that on my 18 year old son…what are teenagers for if not to blame them for funky smells and grunge, right? I don’t think he appreciates it but I really dislike cleaning the bathrooms as a whole room!
Least favorite chore? Definitely, doing dishes. Now my favorite would be hanging clothes on the line. There Ain’t nothing like line dried clothing and bed linens.
Floors! Sweeping, mopping, vacuuming. I just never seem to get to them until it’s way past yucky… Hoping to get a good system (simple/sustainable) going in 2017…
My least favorite chore is also dishes! I would rather scrub a toilet, lol! My sink has “thrown up” onto my counter countless times…and I really have no excuse not to do them since I have a dishwasher!!
My least favorite chore is laundry. It is in the basement. After falling down the stairs and up the stairs (on several occasions), I really don’t like doing it! I find myself putting it off until the last possible moment
Dishes here too!
Dishes as well.
My least favorite chore is cleaning the bathroom.
The microwave!
De-cluttering is my LEAST favorite because I get over whelmed and shut down. I have the desire in my heart to do it, but my brain is like “Try it woman and you know EVERY friend and relative within 100 miles will want to come over.”
Love your comment about asking your husband what is important to him. I’d have to say cleaning the floors because I have to move everything to do a really good job and there are so many stages…sweeping, dust mopping, wet mopping, vacuuming and baseboards. Whew! Wears me out just thinking about it!