This isn’t the
usually post you might see on my blog,
but since I usually
write about what I am learning and how God is teaching me I thought I would
share this.
This is something
that I have long struggled with in my life (my parents can attest).
The daunting tasks
that it requires will sometimes bore me or be too overwhelming to even interest
me in beginning anywhere.
I often find myself avoiding this at all
costs, hoping things will improve
tomorrow,
next week,
next month…
but it never does.
I’m sure you’re wondering what I’m talking
about.
Let me enlighten you.
I’m talking about
Keeping House.
Yes, you heard me
right.
The conglomeration of
many chores that some people find simple and routine sometimes feel too much
for me to handle.
But I really can’t
stand living in chaos.
It makes me crazy.
Recently, I was
forced to take action in my own home.
I could barely even walk in my front door (maybe a slight exaggeration...slight) .
I lost my chairs in
the abyss and had nowhere to sit.
I forgot there was a rug in my house (oh wait,
there’s two!).
Clothes hangers? How do those work?
Now, keep in mind I
don’t have a huge house.
I have a sitting
room, which doubles as a ‘kitchen’ (really just a table with a stove on top),
and I have a bedroom and bathroom.
Pretty small. But it
works well for me. And it was a mess.
Unsure of how to
begin, I did the best thing I knew how to do in such a bewildering crisis; I
googled.
“How to keep my house
clean”
“Organizational tips for small apartments”
I even took to typing in “how to organize (insert section of house here i.e. closet,
bathroom sink, shower, bed, refrigerator, etc.)
Pathetic? Probably.
Necessary? I thought
so.
While on Pinterest fantasizing about a cleaner
house and looking at pictures of homes that seemed to be nicer and less dingy
than mine,
I stumbled across a
blog entitled Aqua Lane Design.
She had a wonderful
blog post on how she keeps her house under control.
She had tips such as,
"don’t go to bed without doing the dishes".
Sweep the floor after
dinner every night.
Make your bed every
day.
I was reading this
and though it was revolutionary.
Of course I soon
realized that it really wasn’t.
These were things my
mom had always taught me.
This was the way I
grew up.
But in all honesty, I
would rather feel the Ugandan sunshine on my face and enjoy the neighbors than
be locked up alone in my house.
I sat in all seriousness,
and wondering now if all my internet surfing had actually cleaned my house,
and with the
realization that yes indeed, my mother was right again when it comes to keeping
house (along with a boat load of other things).
I have a dear
neighbor friend who lives on the same compound.
She sometimes sends
her kids over to visit me.
She saw my house one
day and I think she was scared that her kids would get lost in the abyss with
my chairs and rugs if she ever sent them over unsupervised.
She encouraged me to
clean up, and she helped me the whole way.
I was so thankful!
We got the work done
rather quickly.
Now it’s clean, and I
love my house! I enjoy being in it.
It is simple, but it
works for my Ugandan life.
I have enjoyed
keeping it clean (I was up at 10:00pm last night cleaning and I was actually
having fun!).
So, in an effort to
keep the “theme” of the rest of my blog posts, what have I learned?
Well, mom is always
right.
She knows how to keep
house like a serious pro and I never had to go online to find out how to do it.
She definitely raised
me right.
I was simply in denial.
Second, God has gifted me with such a
beautiful little home on a beautiful compound in a country that I love, and I
want to honor that and be a good steward.
So here’s to my mom, and my new daily cleaning
routine!
Praise God!
