Do you ever wonder what’s the point of keeping a clean house? Here’s how to find motivation and why I make my bed every day (even if I barely have time).
A while back I shared a list of “simple rules” that I wanted my family to live by–something I was planning to hang up as a little daily reminder. It included things like “be kind,” “eat your vegetables,” and “always do your best.” Funnily enough, the one thing people commented on more than any other was a line I honestly hadn’t thought twice about including: Make your bed every day.
Is this really a novel concept?
I have to admit that I am slightly obsessive about making our bed each morning. And even my husband, who used to make fun of this obsession, has now embraced it. In fact, these days he might be even more obsessive than me!
But it’s not just the bed. Most of the time, our house is pretty neat. Speed Cleaning is my jam–I love doing a quick sweep of the house every day. We also require our kids to make sure their room is tidy before they leave for school.
Until I posted that innocent-seeming list, it never even occurred to me that these habits might be considered odd. Even so, when I really started to think about it, I realized there are some serious reasons why I take the time to make my bed and tidy up each day.
1. It just looks better.
This should be fairly obvious right? Straightened sheets and comforters with pillows in their proper place are far more aesthetically pleasing than disheveled blankets and a pile of pillows on the floor. A sink full of dirty dishes just looks ugly, whereas I could stare at my clean and sparkly kitchen all day long. Likewise, toys and clothes off the floor and put away are so much prettier than things scattered everywhere.
2. I get more done when my house is clean.
Taking the time to focus on putting things in order–especially when I set the timer and race against the clock–seems to jumpstart my productivity. When I ignore the mess and try to work around it, I am more easily distracted by whatever comes my way, and at the end of the day I’ll find I accomplished almost nothing. It doesn’t mean I always keep my house clean, but I do get more done on the days that I do.
3. I’m not embarrassed to have people over.
I love entertaining and throwing parties and get-togethers, & greatly value hospitality. When my house is clean I am more likely to invite someone over on the spur of the moment.
4. I can find things.
This part of my life has greatly improved since our Great Purge in December, when we got rid of SO much stuff. Now that everything has a rightful place once again, it is so much easier to put it away and–surprise surprise–to find things again when we need them.
5. My kids play better.
My children have the incredible ability to make a mess instantaneously. Do your kids possess this talent? Sometimes it seems like they spend their entire day just dragging stuff out so they can leave it on the floor. During our great purge I got rid of 4 huge bins of toys, and there is still more purging yet to be done. I have noticed, however, that when we keep their room clean (and I do make them help with this), they actually play much better. Just like me, they can find the things they are looking for and focus on just one thing at a time instead of being overwhelmed by 5,000 toys staring at them from the floor.
6. It makes my husband happy.
Who wants to come home after a hard day’s work to a house full of chaos? There are far too many days when Husband comes home at 5:30 and the kids are hungry and crabby and screaming, dishes are piled in the sink, dinner isn’t made, and the rest of the house is a disaster. (For the record, he never says anything negative and will dig right in and help with dinner, then do the dishes.) But on the days the house is clean and dinner is made and the girls happily run to greet him at the door, there is an unspoken joy that lights up his face.
7. It saves money.
Taking care of my home and my things means I am less likely to need to replace something that gets lost or broken. When things are messy I want only to escape the clutter, which can often mean going to Target and mindlessly filling a cart with even more stuff we don’t need. When things are clean, I have no desire to be any place but here.
8. I am more creative.
Instead of seeing nothing but the mess, my mind is clear to see the creative potential around me, and my desk and table are clear to spread out and complete a project. Likewise, when my kitchen is clean, it makes me want to cook things! I know this doesn’t bother some people, but I have a really hard time creating anything–or enjoying the process–when I am surrounded by clutter.
9. It helps me get a good night sleep.
There is nothing I love more than crawling into a carefully-made bed. It is so comforting! Rather than needing to wrestle with tangled sheets or scoop up blankets from off the floor, I am instantly relaxed and ready for a night of rejuvenation. Even if I can’t manage to get to the rest of the house, I almost always make my bed because I hate sleeping in a messy bed. A made bed just feels better, the blankets stay on all night long, and I sleep much better.
10. It’s my job***.
When I signed up to be a stay-at-home mom, I agreed to all the duties that came with it, including keeping house. It’s not my husband’s responsibility to go to work all day then come home and do my job too. Yes, I work too, but my “work” is secondary to my primary job of Mom.
This is not a sexist thing. Early in our marriage, we agreed that a.) one of us would always stay home with our kids and b.) that the one at home would be responsible for running the household. In fact, when our oldest daughter was a baby, he was the stay-at-home parent for a year-and-a-half. During that time, he did it all–cleaning, cooking, groceries, & childcare–while I went to work, and he did an amazing job. I owe it to him to do the same.
There are plenty of days where my house is a complete and utter disaster. In fact sometimes by the end of the day it is a disaster even when I do spend time cleaning up. And that’s life. I try not to get too down on myself on those days I can’t quite pull it all together, but most of the time I do at least make an attempt. Because, when all is said and done, if my house is clean and my bed is made, I just breathe a little easier.
What would you add (or remove) from this list?
***UPDATE: This post is now a few years old, and while I still agree with everything I wrote, the one thing that has changed a bit are our stay-at-home parent roles. I am now the primary breadwinner for our family, while my husband stays home. That means that he now takes full responsibility for much of the day-to-day cleaning and laundry, though I am still the chief organize and bed-maker! I realize that we are very fortunate to be able to have one parent solely focused on running our home, and this post is in no way meant to be an affront on those of you who work full time and can’t always keep up. Keeping a house clean is thankless, never-ending job whether you are home full time or not. This post was only ever written a reminder of why I continue to work at it, even if it just gets messy again, and meant as encouragement for those of us who sometimes need a little extra motivation to get it done!
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View Comments
It's aesthetically, not esthetically. Check your grammar with the same effort as your bed.
I do agree to some extent. I also spend about the first hour and a half cleaning and then spend time with the kids. I am more creative, generally, when things are tidy. But as a mom with three kids 5 and under I also think some of it has to do with ones personality. I am creative-I have a background in art-and I have found if I allow my kids to be creative-it is never going to be clean all the time. I have found families who don't let their kids paint, play with playdough, create etc.. do tend to be cleaner. I would rather allow my kids use their creativity instead of having a perfectly clean house-which I don't think you are expecting it to be perfectly clean though.
I love a clean house. Come on over and show me how it's done! :-D
Actually, I grew up in total filth and often do not see messy. I do appreciate sanitary, though, so although I do not, umm, dust as often as some, I do scrub more often that people can believe, and my windows, for some reason, are important to me. I usually sweep the whole house only once a week and some rooms not that often. So I guess it's important to me, but so is writing, speaking, etc. Hard to figure where the balance point is...
Making my bed daily & NOT leaving dirty dishes in the sink are the last vestiages of housekeeping that I hold to these days. I am 63 & 1/2, working fulltime with fibromyalgia.
I too make my bed everyday.I just feel better when I do.It doesn't take that long and it gets you started to throw in a load of wash,do some dishes, pick up a room,and when you finally do sit down ,you can look around and count your blessings.Works for me hope it will work for you too.
Judy
..I loved reading this . I was taught - by my late Grandmother- that this is/ was known as being " House Proud', and I will always remember that.She said if one spends the time to make the bed, pick up objects , keep things put away and spend ONE to TWO hours one day of the week on thoroughly cleaning ONE room, and the next day, another room... your home will be clean almost ALL the time.No worries about someone dropping by without calling, or that you are in a cleaning frenzy because Aunt so- and s0 or your friend from out of town is coming to visit. Having been employed as a Personal Housekeeper/ Assistant and having also been a Specialized Housekeeper in Dental Practices and a Veterinarian Practice...cleaner and organized is always better. :)
I also had 3 daughters at that time, and teaching them how to keep things neat and clean and organized seemed a bit of a small challenge;starting in 4th - 5th grade, I even organized their clothes by color in the closets. OH, how they did have a disdain for THAT, at the time...; Fast forward to YEARS LATER, as young women...over 18...and VOILA` ! Guess what??? ALL of them do this...they have their closets so organized, by color and so on. It warms a mothers heart, I tell you...! * smiling*
I cannot stand my house in a mess. I had much rather you catch me in my bathrobe than my house in a mess. I am very picky about a mess, clean it up when it is mad, do not leave a mess and have to go back to it. Of course make the bed and that bedroom looks much better.... I am very particular about my house..... Most men like that house cleaned up.
I have the problem I am sure lots of working women have: trying to keep it all together! Either the house is put together and my work suffers, or vice versa. For the most part the house is semi together and work is semi - kept up. Any tips for balancing both or know any blogs of women who do? Especially since we are praying a baby will join the chaos in a year.
One. Step. At. A. Time. Truly! Pick a task, do your best, and work through it. Then do it again and again. Perhaps set your alarm for 15 minutes earlier, and see how much you can get picked up around the house in 15 minutes! I know this is a struggle many women have, and the trick is to just keep at it!
I love this article. Cleaning house has become a hobby for me. I used to be very messy and unorganized but I had to stay awhile with a friend of mine who was in the military and extremely organized and clean...so I had to learn to follow suite real quick! I do enjoy the feeling of knowing I will ALWAYS come home to a clean house, made bed, sparkling kitchen, and fresh smelling air! I do not have a spouse or kids but I do have a small dog, so staying on top of cleaning helps to keep his hair off of everything. But yes, I LOVE my clean house. It looks like something out of an HGTV series :-) a clean home is a healthy one!
I completely agree with all of the above. It's not easy and I get so frustrated with my husband if he ever says anything. but one, it is my job. I'm not only creating the atmosphere for my family but I'm also training my children on what is acceptable. I grew up in a messy house and it was stressful and depressing. I want my home to be cozy and comfortable. while my home is not spotless all the time, it get's cleaned 1-5 times a day. I have 3- going on four kiddos, and I homeschool, so we are always here to make messes (my toddler's favorite pastime), but all those little hands can and should be taught to be helpful as well. everyone is happier in a clean home. I want my home to be a place where my family wants to be- especially my hard working husband. great post- thanks!!
Thank you for writing this I can now explain to my other mommy friends why my house looks the way it does! They think I have OCD but I know if you really looked my house isn't as clean as it could or should be. I was a real estate stager for 5 years and I just feel better with the house being ready for anyone to come by at a moments notice. Good to know that I am not the only one!
I'm 60 yrs old - I don't make my bed and I have dishes in the sink - I in severe pain most of the time. But if I want my house clean - I just hire someone to do it - I would much rather sit on my back porch with a nice cup of tea watching wild life or spend time with my friends shopping or going to play. Life is too short to spend it cleaning all the time.