31 Days to a Clean Home- Day 1

One of my goals for 2013 is to simplify.   That is one of the reasons I merged by personal blog with my business blog.  I am also trying to rid our home of unnecessary items.  I am not really sure how we got so much junk n the house but we have a ton of it!

To top it off, I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed by our home lately.  I was sick most of December and half of January and when I wasn’t sick it was the holidays.  I feel like our home has fallen into a bit of discorder.  I am a huge Fly Lady Fan and have been following her methods (although lately more in theory than in action).

But I needed a new start to get me motivated to put order back in our home.  I stumbled across this book 31 Days to Clean:  Having a Martha House the Mary Way.

I loved the concept that it was about the home not about being perfect.  She says that “The heart of our homes is not the ability to keep it perfect at all costs; the heart of a home is love.  We live in a thing, a non-eternal structure that needs to be maintained.  The thing is worthless without the life we bring to it and through it.  The book is about bring life to the mundane in order to love well.”  How beautiful is that statement!  I am already inspired.

I downloaded it and thought I would post a little about my journey through the book. Plus if I post about it, it will keep me in check and make me stay on task the next 31 days.

Day 1: Write a mission statement on why you want a clean home.

Hummmm…never thought about it.  Why do I want a clean home?

For me I think it is about creating a place of peace,  a place where we can relax, and a place that we feel like we don’t always have to be working or cleaning.  Odd, since I work from home which means that it is hard sometimes to have that peaceful environment when I am busy and stressed about work.  But ideally I want it to be a place where we are comfortable   Clutter and disorganization are not comfortable but neither is a house that is too clean because then you feel like everything you do you will mess it up.  Finger prints everywhere doesn’t bother me as much as too many things everywhere.   And clutter means there is more to clean– and I want to clean as little as possible.

Let’s see if I can write this better:

“My mission for a clean home would be to create a peaceful and relaxing place that has limited clutter so that what is in the home is what is valued and respected.”

Have you read Sarah’s Book? If so how was ti for you? Did it help? What other tricks have you used to stay motivated on keeping the house in order?