On my way home tonight I was listening to the radio and heard about a recent survey. Apparently mothers both working and stay at home, list how clean their homes are as one of their top 3 stresses. Of all the zillions of reasons to be stressed, how clean our home is should not be one of them.
Maybe we could be concerned about how healthy our home is or even how well maintained our home is but to worry about what our home looks like is not worth your energy. Cleaning should be what we do to make our homes healthy, to increase the life of our surfaces, to keep our homes happy. A spotless home will not get you into heaven and a messy one will not keep you out. Cleaning is just an ongoing act to support a happy and healthy family.
The National Center for Healthy Homes gives 7 essentials to a healthy home. I have added one: Keep your home stress free. Let's not judge ourselves in what our home looks like. Maybe if we stop judging ourselves we will no longer feel judged by others.
Our homes should be where we go to rest and love our families. Clouding our lives with judgement, stress and worry will benefit no one. As a professional cleaner for the past 20 years, here is the absolute truth: There is no such thing as a perfect home. There are happy homes, homes in transition, busy homes, stressed homes, funny homes, serious homes, etc... but I have never met a perfect home or family. It is has been my pleasure to meet incredible families in beautiful homes but thankfully we are all human!
Please keep this in mind, when you feel the need to criticize yourself, On any given day company will stop by. That very day will usually be the day you have dishes in the sink, dust bunnies roaming the floors and dog slobber on your slider door. On the flip side, when your home is sparkling clean, no one will stop by. It is a natural law.
If you find company stopping by when life is happening around you, remember this: If you welcome your guests with a open and joyful heart, they will not care about your smears and smudges. Give yourself break and enjoy your family and company.
Besides, where we get our cleaning knowledge usually comes from companies selling cleaners. Our stress is a tremendous benefit to their sales plan. Commercials and advertisements are not based in reality but on increasing your use of their products. (A thought to ponder)
As always, wishing you a healthy, happy and stress free home
Denise
Blue Sky Services
Healthy Home Specialist
