Keeping House

"I am looking for some old fashioned farm/ranch wife wisdom for housekeeping. It seems like there must be a different bag of tricks for those of us out with the cows and mud than for those of you with a lawn instead of barnyard. With children and husband outside all day in the mud as well. I go to older women's homes whom have always lived on a farm/ranch and their home is very clean and mine is grungy. We keep up with clutter and picking things up, but cleaning windows, mopping floors and keeping up on the dishes and laundry is difficult. Am I just lazy? Do I just prefer to clean the barn and do outside chores than the other women? HELP!"

That is a post I recently wrote in a Facebook group that I am a part of. The response was pretty amazing. Not in the "Wow! I learned so much" way. More in the " I am not alone" way. Since seeing how many other people felt like me and talking about it a lot with Timothy, I actually think I have gained some insight.

For those of you who have actually been to my house, notice I said insight, not that I have it all figured out. There are still messes and sometimes I stay in my pj's far longer than I mean to. But seriously, sometimes I get my best cleaning and organizing done in my pj's. Sorry FlyLady... wink.

Lesson 1. You are either a doer or a don't-er.

Those are the only options. I used to say to myself, "but I am trying! That is what counts!" In reality a try-er is really a don't-er. We just trick ourselves into thinking we are accomplishing something, our hearts might even totally be in the right place, but we aren't really getting anything done. We are so busy trying to get the dishes done, the floor vacuumed or the laundry done, that we actually never really do anything. Harsh? Yes. Honest? Yes.

Lesson 2. Are you focusing on the urgent or the important?

This gem came from Timothy. I asked him how he stays focused when he cleans the house in a quarter of the time that it takes me. And that was his answer. I focus on the urgent and pretty soon hours have passed and I am no more ready for my day than when I started. For me, dishes are important. Getting distracted with the 400 things that comes a mothers way, not so important... Sometimes.

Lesson 3. We already know what we need to do.

It's true. I had myself convinced that I just needed the right schedule. Or needed to find the right program to follow. Or get rid of more stuff. The truth was, I already knew. I just had to DO.

Lesson 4. Simplify.

What ever it is that you are doing. Try to make it simpler. Recipes, daily to do list, personal expectations? It doesn't matter what it is, try to make it simpler. Atleast in the beginning. We have a saying around here that 80% is good enough. As a perfectionist I have learned that it is better to actually do something at 80% than be debilitated by trying to do something at 100%. But in all honesty we do shoot for a good, solid 95%

So there you have it! From my brain to yours!

As we are gearing up for a very busy year I am reminding myself of these things daily and after 10 whole days of putting into practice I am already reaping the rewards. I might even make this into a habit. I certainly hope so!