{A House of Order...}

D&C 132: 8 Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion.

“You can do a great deal to create in your home an atmosphere of peace and homeyness and reverence and tranquility and security. You can do this without much to live on.
“Or you can create something angular and cold … and artificial. In a thousand different ways your youngsters will be influenced by the choice you make. You can set the tone. It can be quiet and peaceful where quiet and powerful strength can grow, or it can be bold and loud and turn the mainspring of tension a bit tighter in the little children as they are growing up, until at last, that mainspring breaks” Elder Boyd. K. Packer

For our family, we find peace and tranquility when our home is clean. We have been urged to take care of our yards and beautify our homes. This can be done on little money. It just takes some hard work and planning. I find myself feeling overwhelmed at times with all the housework that needs to be done. I use a little routine in my life that has always helped me stay on top of the housework. I wanted to share a few helpful hints that I have learned. Maybe this will help you with some of the overwhelming feelings that you may have.

1. Pick one day, and get it all done. Set aside 2-3 hours one day a week, and do all the big chores. Then you don't have to think about it for one more week.

2. Don't get pretty. Stay in grubbies, and you will work harder, quicker, and be more efficient. Plus you won't ruin your pretty self.

3. On the days that you are not doing your housework, just keep it picked up. Everything in a place.

4. Enlist your kids to help you clean up at night before you go to bed.

5. Never go to bed with stuff all over the house, and never ever go to bed with dishes in the sink.

6. Don't do laundry on your cleaning day. That is just to much.

7. During the week, if you see something small that is not part of your regular cleaning tasks, just take 15 minutes to do it. Just 15 that is all you should give yourself. (I can clean out my fridge in just 15 minutes)

8. If you feel like you are coming apart at the seams, take a weekend with your family, and organize closets. Get rid of toys, clothing, and anything else that is swallowing you whole. When it is time to get back to your normal cleaning, this will make a huge difference.

9. Listen to Music. Never ever clean without something cheerful to listen too.

10. On your big cleaning day, add one of the big jobs. Do that job once a month and rotate. For eg: I dust the baseboards, move the furniture and vacuum, and mop under it. I also vacuum out my furniture, and then wipe down my kitchen cabinets, put all the rugs in the laundry. I only do these once a month, and rotate between them.

I hope these few ideas, inspire you to have a better time getting the work done. I have recently discovered that I enjoy cleaning so much more when I do it at night. I don't have to stop and help anyone. I can be in my groove, and just keep going. I also get to enjoy it clean for a few hours when I am done. The only downfall, is I have to vacuum and dust the kids room the next day. Oh well, it is worth it.

Just a reminder: It is a total workout, and I am positive you burn 1000 calories on housework day. I tell myself that, and it makes my job so much better.

I have a strong testimony, about keeping a house of order. I know that it is part of my responsibility as a mother. To keep my house feeling peaceful, and to teach my children the importance of work.

I hope this inspires you to possibly add one thing to your routine that might make it easier on you. I am always up for new suggestions myself, so pass them my way.

Here is a list of what I do on my cleaning day, just for an example:
wipe of all the kitchen counters
clean all the bathrooms top to bottom
wash all the windows
dust
vacuum
mop

The day after I clean, is the day that I wash sheets. It is a good reminder for me. I can remember that I clean on Tuesday, so Wednesday is wash sheets day. If I don't have it set in stone, weeks could go by.

Happy Cleaning!!!