20 Year Struggle...

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!