A few excerpts from my journal:
Day One - Breakfast done. Dishes washed. Sinks and cupboards scrubbed. Dishwasher running. Blog post written . . . Boy can I start strong, though!
Day Two - . . . Kids may hate me when this is done, but I love our clean house.
Day Four - This project would likely be easier without a family to mess up my hard work behind me. It tuns out I can be quite the screaming lunatic as I remind myself this is my experiment not theirs. Still, cleaning up after their smoothie making is on them, right?
Day Eleven - And . . . stalled. Bee guy came out and porch is un-usable. Plus it's 8,000 degrees, so there is no painting or organizing happening . . . It turns out this keeping things clean is tricky when I'm barely home. And when it is so hot. I've also noticed the key really is cleaning every room as I move through it. If only I could convince my kids to do the same.
Day Nineteen - Oh my. Full confession time. Not only has my room not been clean at bedtime every night, but it isn't even clean at all. Like, not a single time . . . I'm not going to get all of these projects done this month. But I'm loving the satisfaction of finishing up.
Day Thirty-one - I did it! It was rough by the end, but I think I have a handle on the schedule I need. Got our room clean and love keeping it that way. We have also spent the day(s) fighting with the girls to get their rooms clean. Now to get them to school and get their "back to school" stuff cleaned up and out of here.
How I did: I got the projects done (plus two)! Cleaning each room as I walk through it is the key to this whole puzzle. As is a schedule for deeper cleaning (so many spiders in this house!). Also, family is unwilling to be enlisted to empty their laundry baskets.
What I'll continue:At least two projects completed per month. Clean rooms as I walk through. Keep trying to enlist family. Create monthly and yearly schedule for cleaning.
Now on to month two! I like this game plan bit with the goals as I try to continue this experiment of loving my actual life . . . by first getting to know my actual life and sorting it all enough that I can actually see it.
Month Two is "First Things First -- Mornings." I used to be a morning person, but somewhere along the way I started staying up too late and barely functioning before 8:00 a.m. Last school year that left us frantically running to beat the bus on our best mornings and arguing and crying on our worst (that would be me and at least one child crying). Something's got to give if I'm going to love this actual life . . . and be a bringer of peace in the morning instead of a creator of chaos.
So, first things first. Mornings. We camped for Labor Day weekend, so I actually started today, Day Six. The first day of school.
What I Will Actually Do:
* Wake up before the rest of my house.
* Be dressed and ready for the day by 7:00 a.m.
* Prep breakfast and leaving the house the night before (as much as possible).
* Go to sleep by 10:30 so all those things can happen.
What I Will Always Remember:
His compassions never fail. They are new every morning.
{Lamentations 3:22-23}
Every. Single. One.
{Have you checked out this book yet? Go get it now. You'll thank me.}
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