Hello homemakers and happy APRIL! April is a busy month for us homemakers because it is usually when SPRING CLEANING begins!
If you live somewhere where the transitional seasons are quite short — be sure to take advantage of this lovely, crisp time of year!
Keep the windows open, even when it’s raining, to air out your home. Take your family outside as much as possible — whether it is going for a walk, gardening, or simply sitting outside on a blanket — the sunshine will do wonders for everyone’s health and well-being!
Spring cleaning season may cause you to feel stressed or anxious — but it doesn’t have to! Many women are excited when Spring comes because it is an opportunity to get their home affairs in order. If you are not one of these women, know that it is never too late to become one!
The desire and courage to change is the most important first step. Of course as a homemaker you do not have to enjoy every aspect of your life — but cleaning, decluttering, and organizing is such a big part of homemaking — you may as well learn to love it.
Remember that God looks at our hearts, our attitudes, just as much as our fruit! Our babies are also watching us, too! Would you rather they see a cheerful mother folding laundry, or a grouchy one?
Hopefully you see the value of learning to enjoy your work at home, not matter how seemingly mundane! Here are a few tips to bring joy to your Spring cleaning endeavors:
Have the Right Mindset
I have lived in many different houses, apartments, and duplexes as a young person. I’ve resided in cockroach infested apartments, somewhat dangerous places, places with terrible roommate situations, and tiny places!
Last year, amid the pandemic, Hunter and I were able to sell our home and buy our current house which is basically our dream home. It’s also over double the size of our old house (which was about 1000 sq feet!).
I say this not to brag…I say this because I often have to remind myself of the enormous blessing this home is. How I used to only dream of having a house this size. When I am overwhelmed by how much house I have to clean, I remind myself that for several years I would’ve given anything to have this big beautiful house to clean!
Stay grateful, homemakers. Even if you aren’t living in your ‘dream home’ … there’s so much more to be grateful for than not. Maybe you have a bed full of laundry to fold…remember years ago you would’ve given anything for the family you have laundry to fold for!
I think it’s also important to keep in mind that most of the work of a homemaker is truly never ending. There will always be laundry to do, dishes to clean, floors to mop, etc.
To me, it makes the most sense to choose joy. Yes, you have a choice ladies. You can grumble and mumble throughout your cleaning tasks, bringing down your family and possibly causing harm to your body with all the added stress … OR you can choose to throw on some music or a podcast and joyfully pursue the task presented to you. I love cleaning because it’s somewhat mindless, I can listen to podcasts or talk on the phone. It’s also a great workout!
Combat Overwhelm With Decluttering and Organization
The only reason cleaning ever feels ‘hard’ to me is when things don’t have a place. If everything has a place, cleaning takes very little time and mental energy to do. This is why decluttering and organization are so important.
Avoid feeling like this has to be a Pinterest-perfect process. It certainly can be if you have the desire & resources…but organizational items can be pricey and I encourage you to just use what you have.
For example, our kitchen table became a landing zone for purses, bags, keys, umbrellas, etc. It drove me completely insane but it wasn’t in our budget to redo our coat-closet the way I wanted. Instead of silently suffering, I used a few coat hangers to hang our bags/purses in the closet. Problem solved! It’s not exactly what I want, but now our bags have a home.
Life is simply better when things are consistently kept in the same place. You will save so much time and frustration! It’s a little bit of work upfront, but oh-so-worth it and keeps your house running like a well-oiled machine once implemented!
Here are some more tips to help you become efficient at home!
Use Good Products
I used to clean our entire house with vinegar because it was cheap and nontoxic. The problem is, vinegar smells like, well, vinegar. It’s also truly not effective. I found myself procrastinating on tasks like cleaning our glass shower door because I knew what a big job it would be.
I gave up on vinegar and started using actual cleaning products formulated for specific tasks and surfaces. What a joy!
My last tip is probably the most frivolous…but I recommend using pretty cleaning supplies! There is no shame in using pretty things! Mixing my cleaners in these amber bottles make me so happy. I’ve also been eyeing this beautiful horsehair broom and this lovely duster on Amazon!
That’s all for today, friends! I hope this helped spark some joy & motivation as you embark on your Spring cleaning adventures!