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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Oh, Ruth! LOVE this! And I am going to share it with my husband...he doesn't understand why I get so down on myself when I can't keep the house the way I want it and he comes home to a disaster and then HE has to help with cleaning, the kids, and dinner AFTER working all day long! This totally captures how I feel and why I feel that way. Very well said (as always)!
Have you ever done a post about your routines? The entire time I'm reading your post I'm thinking, "yes! I love that! My husband too!" but the reality is I have no idea how to achieve this. Thank you for a great post - I am sharing it with my sister:-)
Agree! I have been thinking for some time that the best way for me to be a happy. productive SAHM is to have a routine of my own. Like setting my alarm everyday and getting up 30 min to an hour before my kids and getting my day started, maybe a quick workout in and just not being so cranky like when my wake up call is the kids. I would love some guidance about building/setting my routine. Love your blog! New to it and already has been so helpful and enjoyable.
Oh wow!!!! I just felt like I was reading my own diary! LOL! Thank you for putting into words what I can never get my super messy best friend to understand! I too have 2 little girls and a home based business based on creating things by hand. If clutter is everywhere, not only am I short tempered, but I get next to nothing done. I need to straighten out my whole house before I can sit down at my sewing machine! Great article!
Beautiful! I completely agree! I applaud you and I couldn't have said it better. Thank you for sharing! I am going to pass this along!
I love this post! Totally agree with you! I love a neat and tidy house. Sending this link to my sis and mom because they've never gotten why I am the way I am about trying to keep a neat house. Thanks Ruth!
I'm a single gal without kids. I try to leave for work every morning with a tidy home and my bed made. I want to be able to have spontaneous guests for dinner, or just to know that I can come home and relax at the end of a long day in a place that is calm and comfortable. Mess isn't calm and comfortable for me...and I definitely don't look forward to coming home to yesterday's mess. I think there's such an art to keeping a home....and I really enjoy that.
But I need to pay homage to those of you who work outside (or inside) the home AND take care of kids AND keep your home. Sometimes I feel like all I do is put things away just to stay on top of it....and it's just ME (and sometimes my boyfriend) at home! I wonder how you all do it with kids...and I have so much respect for you all who do it well.
I kept a pristine place as a single. I planned to split all 50/50 married both working FT. A few reality-checks later(my chronic injuries + his complete helplessness) & my husband has completed his 7 yr housekeeping self-sufficiency course (while working FT). Had to turn him over to God & not back down. Now he appreciates every single chore he doesn't have to do himself. Anything I do is amazing and appreciated, and it's a nice not to be taken for granted. He is also the family chef & loves being useful, creative & appreciated after an easy & enjoyable day at the office at the job he loves. He still leaves dishes in the sink but he just called to ask what chores were tonight & I mentioned the dishes attracting bugs he hawed a bit then said "there's really no excuse for that". WOW. To God be the glory.
I have become a better housekeeper now that I am a stay at home mom, interestingly enough. The best part is that the more children we have, the better I am at housekeeping and at keeping them on their tasks. I think this is because if I don't stick with it, it piles up so fast I can get overwhelmed...easily. No more do I have several hours of uninterrupted time to "catch-up" when I take a few days off, so that knowledge helps me stick to it as well. It has taken me a few years and several kids to learn this lesson and many more. After having our fourth child (in 7 years) it just really stuck and now we are hoping for #5. We have also started to enjoy our kids a lot more, which I don't think we would have if we hadn't kept going! I was not a great homemaker when I was single, the need and motivation was not there for me.
Where's the "LOVE" button?!
Both my husband and I work outside of the home and we have a 2 year old, but I just recently started to really take on the "always clean house" and I can't tell you how much better of a mood I am in every day when I come home! What helped me a lot was getting rid of the DVR on the t.v.!
Great job Ruth! You're doing awesome! Even on those days that you don't feel "awesome" , you're still doing awesome! ;)
WOW I was totally meant to read this post today!!! I think that would really help me too, to get rid of the dvr!!!! What an awesome idea! I have been saying I'm going to get rid of cable all together- but I can start with the dvr. That way there's not ALWAYS something on LOL. Thank you so much for posting that :) My house used to always be clean, but the last couple years, not so much. My son left for college and I was injured at work all within 2 months so it has been kind of hard to keep up because I am always in pain.It is very depressing when your house is a mess!! I But I am definitely going to get rid of the dvr- thanks :) And get back to cleaning.
I love your comment about getting rid of the dvr... if you didnt have the time to watch the show or movie in the first place, when would you find the time later? Most anything on tv will either be repeated at a later date or can be found on youtube , netflix or at the video store. My day goes smoother when I dont even turn the tv on.
I kept the DVR because I have what I call TV days where I watch shows I have recorded. I love it that way as I feel 'safe' knowing I have a stash because I can watch them on my terms...yep! owning my control freak. I can fast forward through the ads, delete recording if it's not checking my boxes, gives me free choice [so not into pay TV], it's always available. I do use the overwrite for some shows as I don't 'need' to watch them but its nice to have one there just in case.
And Anonymous is right if I didn't find time to see the program when it aired I usually don't find time to see it's recording. Funny thing is when I have lots and lots of shows I hardly ever have TV days so when I do I unclutter my playlist in line with uncluttering my life and my house and only keep the best and ditch the rest...nice feeling.
My husband has tv on for 'white noise' and to catch the news [the five times a day call to prayer as I call it] and it drives me batty so when he goes out of town for work regularly it is bliss as, other than for my recordings, the TV seldom goes on...gotta love technology when you're a control freak.
I am obsessive compulsive about my house being clean BUT with 4 kids and 2 dogs my house doesn't stay clean very long. I do try to make my bed every day and I definitely keep my dishes clean. I strive to do at least 1 load of laundry a day because it piles up super fast if I don't.
I also have made a chore chart for my kids. Each one of my kids is in charge of a room in the house. My oldest daughter is in charge of making sure the living room is tidy, my youngest daughter is in charge of her and her sisters bedroom, my oldest son is in charge of his and his brother's bedroom, my youngest son is in charge of the dining room and hall way. None of these rooms ever really get dirty but if my kids do their chores they earn money and special privileges.
Erin~ At the moment you are my hero. I feel the same way about everything you mentioned. But my kids and step kids are not as organized. I need to get my act together. Any advice? I would love it?
stepson - 16 (very lazy)
stepson - 14
daughter - 10
son - 6
My bed is made every day and my 18 year old son (who's made his bed since he was a toddler) never leaves home without doing the same. I'm with you! And NO dirty dishes in the sink, either!
I'm jealous! I never make the bed. I do like the look and the feeling of a made bed. I will go forward from today and start making the bed. Cross your fingers.
preech it sister ;)
Loved this post! Very encouraging and we are like-minded. My husband has a stressful job and the last thing I want him to come home to is a disheveled home. My house pretty much reflects me...I'm more productive and well, just feel alot better about myself when my house is clean and organized. If it's not, then I'm not! Thanks for sharing.
Count me in on the like minded.
i think you are soo right when the house is kept clean and things are in place and my bed is made im such a happy person i dont feel upset that someone will come to my house and think wots all this" its easy to find stuff and i think its better to spend a bit tym each day to clean everything then stay in one place and be cleaning that for hours and hours its really deppresing, wen iv had a messy house iv been in one place for 3 hours and when im dun im shatterd and i cant clean anything else,the next day i start on another chore and go on each day doin 1 thing each day, even if ive cooked in kitchn next day i least its not gona take 3 hours to clean but jus 30 minz to qwkli clean and wipe it, keeping on top of things is so easy i only fall back sometimes because i have joint pains and my illness stops me thats why i think doin a bit each day is the best thing i hope my reply helpd out someone out there! good luck
When my house is in order, my life feels in order and it allows me to to focus on other things.
Same here! You can focus on more important things...like family.
This is true there is nothing like relaxing in a clean house on the weekend!