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!
Have you heard the news? It’s the 12th Anniversary of our LWSL Holiday Planner! For…
LWSL & Co. Favorite 5 It seems crazy that it's fall already, but we can…
Lisa's Favorite 5 I'm a busy wife, mom, and gigi, so I'm all about finding…
Feeling like your finances are out of control can be downright scary. Don't miss these…
Amanda's Favorite 5 Do you spend so much time pouring into everyone else in your…
Danny's Favorite 5 Need some gift ideas for the Dads in your life? I've got…
Simplify your life in just 3 simple steps. Get our Living Well Starter Guide, absolutely free!
View Comments
This is a great post! My mother always told me to make my bed so I can leave the house knowing I have accomplished at least one task. Starting the day out with a freshly made bed helps me keep a fresh outlook. Thank you for sharing!
I, too, make my bed everyday. It makes me feel like I've accomplished at least one thing that day and I like pulling the sheets tight so when I go to bed that night, everything feels fresh and crisp!
I too make the bed every morning, air the house, and do one hour of housework before leaving the house. I have tried Tom
eave the dished in the sink, as my sister does, but just couldn't. it just makes everyone's life easier, on 22 mth old already knows that the laundry gets sorted after we get dressed in the morning !!, and that mums duvet get hung over the banister to air.
I just came across this page via Pinterest and I have to say, I totally agree with the feeling of accomplishment one gets just by making the bed. However, I have one question that nobody seems to have addressed - what about all the sweat? I've always been told that you should let your covers and mattress air out well before making the bed, and if you've ever really felt your bedding, I'm sure you will notice a little dampness. Do you make sure that everything is well aired out and dry beforehand?
Hi Rachelle, I recently read Anne of Green Gables with my daughter and learned something about this very thing from that wonderful book! When Anne wakes up after her first night at Green Gables, the brusque woman of the house, Marilla, instructs day-dreamy Anne on how she should start the day properly: "You'd better get dressed and come downstairs, and never mind your imaginings.... Breakfast is waiting. Wash your face and comb your hair. [Put] the window up and turn your bedclothes back over the foot of the bed. Be as smart as you can." Then after breakfast and dishes, Anne is sent back upstairs to make her bed. After that she is ready for the day. I had never heard of airing out the bedclothes before this, but it is such a great idea!
Finally! Someone who agrees about the bed! I too let it "air out" before going back in and making it. The beds get made eventually, just not immediately! :)
We have purchased a cover that goes between the fitted sheet and the mattress. I strip it when I strip the sheets. It has really helped keep body fluids (ewww) from getting onto the mattress itself and makes the bed feel so much cleaner!
Oh how I loved this post, I could have written it. Even now that I've gone back to work [kids are grown, homeschooling is done] I still make my bed every day, the rest is hubby's as he's not working. I can't even think straight with clutter, let alone create. Thank you for writing this post! [And I totally agree about it being your job....it didn't kill my grandmother or mum to do it, and it didn't kill me either, I never felt put upon, just privileged!]
This could have been written by me!! I feel exactly the same way on all the points you listed. Nothing like sitting and enjoying a neatly kept home.
I am a stahm of 4,ages 8,3,2, and 8 months. It seems like I go go go all day cleaning up after little ones but the house still never really gets clean. Mainly I try to keep the floors clean, and laundry and dishes done. It's just not right that I do this all day and then he gets to come home after an 8 hour day and '' put his feet up'' so I have to clean up after him also. When do I get to put my feet up? I work twice as many hours as him at least, plus getting up with babies in the middle of the night! The least he could do is pitch in with bath and bedtime and help me clean the kitchen. Then we could both put our feet up!
I have 4 as well Layla and am a sahm with a home business. Our oldest is now 12. What worked for us was me telling my hubby, in a sincere non-judgey way that I was overwhelmed and I couldn't do it all. It took a few talks, best done without kids around as they can be distracting! I flat out told him "I'm overwhelmed with all my jobs at home. Here's my list of what I did today. Some of it seems meaningless, like sweeping the floor 4-5 times per day, but it still needed to be done after every time they ate and it still takes time. Playing with them takes time but I want to do it." I handed him an itemized list including how much time each thing took. I even included "helped kid #1 with potty". EVERYTHING. He honestly didn't know how much time everything took or what I did in a day. He was way more helpful after that! I also was able to tell him that I didn't know how to do some things (his mother is absolutely immaculate) and that I was working on it so I needed some time to learn, and some help learning. It was humbling. We see so many people seeming to be able to do it all. They can't. Something gives somewhere. We also taught our kids very early to help with laundry, dishes, table setting, sweeping, washing windows, making their bed etc. That has been huge as they got older. I wash laundry during the day then fold it in front of a movie/tv at night when everyone is in bed. It works for me. It will get better. You are in the trenches with all the little ones and this time goes so fast, even though it seems its at a stand still some days/weeks. Ask for the help - our 7 year old loves bedtime because he gets Daddy reading to him. They've read many many stories and spent countless hours together that they wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Good luck!
My husband always complains that if he gets up in the middle of the night to "get a drink" I would make the bed. I am pleasantly surprised to find SO many women who do too! Funny that a statement you made is EXACTLY what I have tried to teach my daughters and daughter-in-laws..."It is my job"! As a stay at home mom / wife it is my job to take care of these things. Quite honestly, I do it for myself as much as I do it for my husband, (just one of my secrets)
And I would love to add that it is s good to find someone who thinks like I do!
I've had some rough years and my house is a mess. I know it affects me mentally, dislike the disorder very much. But, I am so overwhelmed I cant figure out where to start. Help? :)
I am working on a series with that exact problem in mind--give me a month or two! :-)