A clean house

My house has been clean for an entire week. I've only said that two other times since the day Zachary started crawling -- the week we were in DC last year and the week we were in Colorado this past summer. It could only stay clean if were not home. The kids are messy and I didn't know how to stay on top of it. The kitchen messes. The laundry. The beds. The bathrooms. The dust. The art supplies. The toys dragged from room to room. Their play rooms! Most of the time, one or two of these things were in order, but never all of them.

Till now.

I've decided that it's high time we have some order around here. The kids are old enough and are responsible at church and school... It was time for me to encourage them to clean their own messes at home every time and not just occasionally. It's amazing the difference it's made! And they feel so good, knowing that they are helping. They also love knowing where their toys are, since the new rule requires them to put toys away as they move from one activity to the next.

As for me, I try to use my time more wisely. Instead of watching the kids dress (hovering, bossing and nagging!), I dust their room and make beds. While supervising their baths, I take Lysol wipes to the sink and toilet. I never leave dirty dishes sitting around and I am putting away laundry immediately after folding - no more stacking for days on end! Honestly, my friend Melissa told me the other day that she'd never seen our dining table - formerly the laundry folding station.

I would think that all this cleaning would make me tired, but it actually excites and energizes me. I'm THRILLED to have a clean house and I feel so productive. I think this is similar to the way exercise makes other people feel. Other people. I have yet to feel 'energized' and 'better' after exercising!