I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life
which are the real ones after all.
~Laura Ingalls Wilder~
Recently I decided that I would do a "series" on Simple Living and what it means to me in my life....I think I have been try to make this more difficult that it needs to be! I think I will tackle by sharing tidbits as they come up of a simple moment, a simple day, a simple home, a simple task you get the idea.
As you read this post try to remember that this is MY idea of a simple life, it is what works for me at this stage in my life, and it is evolving....
On Friday I decided that it was time to do a thorough cleaning in my bedroom, sure doesn't sound very simple! When I was first married 26 years ago I did like my mom and cleaned our entire home in the Spring and in the Fall....when I worked full time outside our home and had our first two children I slowly got out of that habit and just tried to keep things as clean as possible. Then when our third child was born I became a SAHM and was able to do a through clean at least once a year.....later I went back to working and of course the boys were older and sports kept us busy it just wasn't as important to stress about washing walls, floors and every little nook and cranny twice or even once a year! Fast forward to now, I am home all day....and while I do enjoy having a clean house I have learned that life is too short to stress if I don't get every room cleaned top to bottom. So what does this long paragraph have to do with living a simple life....I wanted to share with you how my life has changed and I have changed, before when I did a through cleaning I rushed to get it all done as fast as I could and hated every moment of it! I'm not saying that cleaning is my favorite thing in the whole world, but now I approach it differently....my room took me three afternoons to finish because I broke it into sections and completed one section at a time until it was finished, I still have some winter blankets to wash but they don't have to be done all on the same day! So for me making things simple can be as easy as letting go of HAVING to clean every room in a few days and the RUSH RUSH RUSH of the whole process.
Have a blessed day
I went through the same process over the years. When I was first married I used to think that if I didn't rearrange the furniture every time I vacuumed, no one would notice that I'd cleaned. I can't tell you how many really strange furniture arrangements I came up with. lol
ReplyDeleteI like your view on simple living. I may have a lot of dust bunnies on most days but I don't panic and rush now. Cleaning house has become a joy when you take it simply one thing at a time in your time frame.
ReplyDeleteI have the same attitude now. I am still working on moving things into my sewing room..I almost lost the room again in moving it back down to the basement...will have to post it in another post.. Anyways I have enjoyed moving things a little at time and going through things..And alot of it was mom's and it brings back the memories of her teaching me the art of sewing...I use to panic when someone comes over and my house wasn't spotless but that wasn't really the true me..My home is well lived in..full of dust bunnies in places that I haven't moved things...which is getting done slowly but enjoying it all at the same time..Have a great day..Lisa..
ReplyDeleteI must be on the right track because I don't really stress about a whole house cleaning ever! LOL I remember before the kids I would clean once a week or so, then once the kids came along it was a constant clean up, tidy up, pick up. I still have a tidy house...but there is dust on pretty much everything unless company is coming. And even then it depends on who it is whether I bother to do a really good cleaning or not! LOL
ReplyDeleteSometimes we are so busy "doing", we forget to just "be". I was brought up in a strict enviroment, my mother was almost obsessive about cleaning, and our house was cleaned top to bottom every day......it was not always a happy place to be. I think it's more enjoyable and constructive to do a task when you want to rather than when you have to. Yours is a good idea of breaking the work at hand into manageable chunks.
ReplyDeleteI think living a simple life is what works for you and your family!
ReplyDeleteI used to be a constant cleaner then one day I realized that I was the only one who really noticed if every little speck of dust was picked up. No one else noticed or for that mattered cared! I keep the hous Just clean enough! You are right life is too short to stress over such things!
Hugs))