A friend of mine came to me and asked me how I get everything done in a day, and how with toddler children running around and a baby to take care of, how I get anything done besides the mundane every day tasks. She asked me this on the occasion of a huge Christmas service project that I was in charge of, making 200 stockings for a local homeless shelter. She said “You and I both have three kids, about the same ages. There is no way that I could have done all this work for this project and taken care of my kids. How do you do it?” My answer: “Don’t you dare come to look at my house!!!”

I have decided that some things are much more important to me than having my house sparkly and shiny clean all the time. I do love having a clean and organized house, don’t get me wrong, but rather than spend day in and day out cleaning and cleaning and folding seemingly endless loads of laundry only to start some more and getting entirely burned out and exhausted, sometimes I like to take a break and do something different.

Sometimes it comes from desperation and boredom from completing mundane chores for weeks on end, sometimes it comes from necessity in needing to complete a project, and sometimes it comes from just wanting to do something more fulfilling and fun for a change. So, when those times arise I just let the laundry pile up for a day or two, let the vacuum sit idle for five minutes, and leave the Clorox wipes tucked away in the closet.

Then I can do things like really play with my kids or take them on an outing, complete a project for church, work or home, or do a craft, scrapbook, read a book for pleasure, bust out the sewing machine, or pursue some of my other interests. After a few days the housework gets the better of me and I spend a day catching up, but I always feel more fulfilled and the kids are happier when we’ve taken some time to just enjoy life, play, and let the little daily stresses slide for a day or two.

My friend said that she gets so wound up and stressed about keeping her house clean and organized- she finds herself cleaning up after messes constantly and always working to keep it clean, so she starts losing patience and just wants to give up because it’s not even fun and she can’t enjoy her children.

I heard someone say once that “the dust and the cobwebs can wait, but children aren’t children forever.” I’ve taken that as my philosophy- I try to play and interact with my kids without constantly worrying about the state of the house, I try to be a good and fun wife to my husband so he’s not always bogged down with work and worry, and I try to keep my own interests and passions fulfilled so I feel like a whole and happy person.

Of course I always love having a clean and organized house, who doesn’t? But if a real feeling of happiness requires the breakfast dishes to wait in the sink until after the kids are in bed for the night, that’s okay with me.

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