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.
Why I Make My Bed: 10 Reasons I Keep My House Clean
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.
To summarize, here are the Top 10 Reasons why I Make My Bed and Keep My House Clean:
- It just looks better.
- I get more done when my house is clean.
- I’m not embarrassed to have people over.
- I can find things.
- My kids play better.
- It makes my husband happy.
- It saves money.
- I am more creative.
- It helps me get a good night sleep.
- It’s my job***.
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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I agree so much with the clean home theory. I had a very clean and organized house. I was a single Mother working part time. That was all I could handle. Money was tight, I had 15.00 a month cash for extras every month after the bills were paid. Money was very tight, but we were happy. I spent s much time with my Children and my house was so organized. Then I met my husband. He came with 4 children. I didn’t know if I was coming or going. My house has not been organized or clean since then. he’s the best husband. He helps in many ways. Brings me break fast in bed. does dishes, laundry( if I let him), but that’s something Im fussy about. He has a job working away now for weeks at a time. I am hypothyroid and have adrenal fatigue. This makes one very tired and weak. Keeps your blood sugar too low, and mental function very low, very cold and low blood pressure. that zesty person that you were……..isn’t that zesty. I thought that if I went and went full throttle I would get it done. It seems that I have been trying for years and still just barely making it through the day. I should have purged the house years ago. Everytime I said we are staying home tonight and doing nothing but cleaning something would happen, or it was something like a chorus concert, family reunion, someone got sick and had to be taken care of, relatives stopped by…..
I stopped answering the phone because I was embarrassed by the house. I started screenin the calls, caller I d. If it was someone that I knew would want to stop over, I didn’t answer it. I know this sounds sad, but it was a survival mode. I was stressed day and night. all I thought of was how am I going to clean this mess. My bed was hardly made. dishes always in the sink. toys all over. I heard comments from some people about the house. that made me withdraw even more. People kept asking me to watch their children, wanted to come over to use the pool, wanted me to help with activities and it was so hard. Never did they offer to help out. I felt that I couldn’t give much more. I was so tired from the thyroid and adrenal issue. I just started to become a hermit. I have very shallow friends I think, and family isn’t that much better.
I knew there was a way to get on my feet and finally got to an herbalist. I work now but am not all the way fixed. My house still isn’t good. I still don’t have get togethers. But I am trying. I really love a clean house and I feel happy in one, but I don’t like it when people make comments about the mess. They don’t know what it’s like to not have energy. To wake up in the morning with blood pressure so low you can not stand with out your head ringing and feeling too weak to make it to the kitchen to cook. Your legs feel like they wont move. The thought of running around with a dust rag and sweeper after breakfast isn’t something I can even pull off. Walking to the cellar to put a load of laundry in is hard then back up the steps. It’s hours before I can make it down to the dryer. And if they get brought back up to fold the same day , then it’s a good thing and at times I make it down to do three loads. But then the rest of the house didn’t get much done. The dog needs taken out, the mail needs gone through, garbages need taken out, recyclables need taken to the carport, or taken to the reclying center. Furniture needs vaccumed( white cats), I don’t know how to get it to where every thing unnecessary is out of here. I have been trying but just haven’t felt that great lately. I work part time and that is a tiring job. I just wish people would not judge. I am a good person. I look out for others welfare. I give my time and money to help others. I drive people that don’t have a car. I help the new people at work because they don’t have a clue what they’re doing. I help stray animals where I can. I donate food for them and at times I donated time, even in harsh winters. Its sad when people think my house is this way because I don’t care, or that I’m lazy. I decided that by spring I am going to have it done. I am donating all of my time to cleaning and getting rid of everything. I hate to throw it away, but Im doing the best I can to donate it
For those who have children is good to teach them to clean after themselves. Ihad 7 kids my first five were boys and they all learned to cook, clean, at an early age it very important and good to have a clean house there’s no excuse.
I leave my bed clothes
open it must be aired all day
Love this! I just thought I had a serious case of OCD. I am addiment about the bed made and speedy clean the house as a daily routine. I also have my kids pick up toys before they can get to eat or have a snack or play outside or before anything fun they are looking forward too, it’s just how we function. I’ve worked full time with a deployed spouse and maintained the home and same routine as well as been a stay-at-home mom and maintained this same lifestyle. It can be done. And I agree I feel much better and can relax better when things are in order. I have three children two of which are 15mths apart.
I’ve always been the same way now my kids are grown and they are clean and keep there house clean people would criticizee but now thry have there own and they take care of it and 4 of themn
are men lol. Nothing wrong with keeping a house clean.
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I actually don’t care whether or not my house is spotless. I love being able to let my kids be kids and mess up anything and everything without feeling like I have to have a “showroom”. I don’t care if 5 loads of laundry is on the couch. I want to spend all the time I can with my kids while they still want to spend time with me.