Blinders
I may have mentioned this before, but I have a bad habit of putting on blinders when it comes to certain aspects of my life. If I ignore it, it doesn't exist and I don't have to deal with it. Right? That really only works for so long.
Sometimes taking baby steps makes the blinders come off... even if just for a little while.
My children are responsible for certain tasks around the house, but one of the things I lack is keeping them accountable on a regular basis. "It's downstairs, I really don't feel like going downstairs right now." or "I really don't feel like explaining each step and supervising right now." Then, when I remind myself that it will take "five" minutes and it's necessary I realize that my blinders have been on too long.
I will preface that I am no "Martha Stuart". My home is not perfect and likely never will be. I'm also a far cry from the exact opposite "Hoarders" home. But there are times that I'll look around and cringe. I would be embarrassed to have anyone see areas of my house because , lets face it, people are crazy judgmental even if they don't intend to be.
"You should see so-and-so's house. How could you let it get that bad? It's gross!" Whether it's a pile of trash and dirty dishes your kid has left all over their headboard or desk or a clump of pet hair gathered in a corner, comments and judgement will be made. And really they wouldn't be wrong, but at the same time I refuse to spend my entire waking life chasing perfection just so people won't judge me.
Granted, not everyone is going to be judgmental and I've met more people that struggle with the same things I do than I have expected and some of them seem so put together and motivated that it's refreshing to know that even they don't have the picture perfect homes.
So really, I guess we really put the expectation on ourselves and just expect others to hold us to the standard that we wish we could obtain. That is unrealistic though. Unless you're a minimalist with little to no hobbies aside from being a clean freak, you probably won't ever reach that idealistic home.
The last person I expected to hear that a messy home is a happy home because it means you're living life instead of just cleaning all the time was my mother, but she made the comment to me last year and it's stuck with me ever since. Even at 40 you still need wisdom from Mom.
With that being said, I don't know how many times I've cleaned the basement to near perfection and then wonder how in the world it got filthy again when basically no one even goes down there. Kids, cats and clutter set aside to be sorted through later is about the only explanation that makes sense.
The perfectionist in me wants to stay up until three rectifying each area of my home as soon as the blinders come off. The procrastinator yells for the blinders to go back on and wait for enough time to tackle it all at once without cutting into whatever plans I already had for the day. So... solution?
Tell the kid to do it! Just kidding. While holding her accountable is part of the solution, there are also things that only I can take care of, or that could use some extra adult attention to detail. So I think we'll try a different approach. A little at a time, but not so little that by the time it's done it has to start all over again.
I think I'm also going to have to start doing at least a weekly inspection. I haven't incorporated any new goals lately so I think it will be a good one to start. And with that I'll have to remind myself that it doesn't have to be perfect, that the person being the most judgmental of me is myself and that spending time with my family is more important than a pet-hair free corner just so long as it isn't the size of an actual pet lol.
Sometimes taking baby steps makes the blinders come off... even if just for a little while.
My children are responsible for certain tasks around the house, but one of the things I lack is keeping them accountable on a regular basis. "It's downstairs, I really don't feel like going downstairs right now." or "I really don't feel like explaining each step and supervising right now." Then, when I remind myself that it will take "five" minutes and it's necessary I realize that my blinders have been on too long.
I will preface that I am no "Martha Stuart". My home is not perfect and likely never will be. I'm also a far cry from the exact opposite "Hoarders" home. But there are times that I'll look around and cringe. I would be embarrassed to have anyone see areas of my house because , lets face it, people are crazy judgmental even if they don't intend to be.
"You should see so-and-so's house. How could you let it get that bad? It's gross!" Whether it's a pile of trash and dirty dishes your kid has left all over their headboard or desk or a clump of pet hair gathered in a corner, comments and judgement will be made. And really they wouldn't be wrong, but at the same time I refuse to spend my entire waking life chasing perfection just so people won't judge me.
Granted, not everyone is going to be judgmental and I've met more people that struggle with the same things I do than I have expected and some of them seem so put together and motivated that it's refreshing to know that even they don't have the picture perfect homes.
So really, I guess we really put the expectation on ourselves and just expect others to hold us to the standard that we wish we could obtain. That is unrealistic though. Unless you're a minimalist with little to no hobbies aside from being a clean freak, you probably won't ever reach that idealistic home.
The last person I expected to hear that a messy home is a happy home because it means you're living life instead of just cleaning all the time was my mother, but she made the comment to me last year and it's stuck with me ever since. Even at 40 you still need wisdom from Mom.
With that being said, I don't know how many times I've cleaned the basement to near perfection and then wonder how in the world it got filthy again when basically no one even goes down there. Kids, cats and clutter set aside to be sorted through later is about the only explanation that makes sense.
The perfectionist in me wants to stay up until three rectifying each area of my home as soon as the blinders come off. The procrastinator yells for the blinders to go back on and wait for enough time to tackle it all at once without cutting into whatever plans I already had for the day. So... solution?
Tell the kid to do it! Just kidding. While holding her accountable is part of the solution, there are also things that only I can take care of, or that could use some extra adult attention to detail. So I think we'll try a different approach. A little at a time, but not so little that by the time it's done it has to start all over again.
I think I'm also going to have to start doing at least a weekly inspection. I haven't incorporated any new goals lately so I think it will be a good one to start. And with that I'll have to remind myself that it doesn't have to be perfect, that the person being the most judgmental of me is myself and that spending time with my family is more important than a pet-hair free corner just so long as it isn't the size of an actual pet lol.
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