My House Is Clean… Please Don’t Look Too Closely

 

Can we just stop for a minute?

Stop trying to make our houses look like something out of a magazine. Stop feeling embarrassed because our countertops aren’t perfectly styled, our laundry isn’t folded and put away, or our living rooms actually look like people live in them.

Because here’s the truth:

I don’t live in a million-dollar house.

And I’m okay with that.

Actually, I’m more than okay with it.

I live in a house that will be paid off in less than a year. And honestly? That feels a whole lot better to me than living in a brand-new, picture-perfect, modern house that we owe a fortune on.

Somewhere along the way, we became so consumed with being perfect and looking perfect that I think we’ve forgotten the whole point.

Family.

Friends.

Experiences.

Memories.

Living.

When I was younger, I used to get so upset when my children would dump flour all over my kitchen floor. And I mean ALL over it. They would run through it, leaving little footprints everywhere, acting like we had just experienced a full-blown snowstorm right there in our kitchen.

At the time?

I wasn’t laughing. I was thinking about how long it was going to take me to clean that mess up.

But now that I’m older, I look back and I don’t remember the flour. I remember the little footprints. I remember the laughter. I remember my children being little and finding joy in something as simple as making a mess in the kitchen.

And those are the things that stayed with me.

Not the clean floor.

The memories.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I still get frustrated. Especially when Miss Sophia decides finger painting with her ketchup sounds like a perfectly reasonable breakfast activity. Or when she decides her breakfast would work much better on the floor.

I don’t always handle those moments with the patience of a saint. Sometimes I just stand there and think, Why? Why did you do this?

But then I remember she’s learning. She’s discovering. She’s figuring out this big, crazy world one messy experiment at a time.

And sometimes that means ketchup on her fingers.

And sometimes it means breakfast on the floor.

My house might not be magazine-worthy.

But you know what?

It’s worthy of my family.

It’s worthy of the laughter, the messes, the quiet mornings, the bedtime stories, the birthday celebrations, the hard days, the good days, and all the little moments in between.

And if you don’t like something in your home?

Change it.

Paint can go a long way.

Move some furniture around. Change the curtains. Hang something you love on the wall. You don’t have to have a million dollars to make your home feel like home.

Let’s stop being embarrassed by the homes we have and start appreciating the spaces we’ve been given.

If you have a roof over your head, you are blessed.

If there are dishes in your sink, that’s okay. If your laundry has piled up, that’s okay too.

And before somebody thinks I’m telling you to stop cleaning your house…

I’m absolutely not.

Please clean your house. I encourage it. I enjoy a clean house just as much as the next person.

But let’s find a healthy balance between working and living.

Put the sponge down sometimes. Pick up your child’s favorite book. Sit on the floor and play. Go outside. Call a friend. Make the cookies. Take the picture. Sit down and finally enjoy that cup of coffee you’ve reheated five times.

Because the dishes will still be there. The laundry will still be there. The dust will still be there.

But your children won’t always be little. Your friends won’t always be a phone call away. And we don’t get every moment back.

So let’s stop trying so hard to be perfect. Let’s stop comparing our homes to pictures on the internet. Let’s stop thinking a beautiful home has to be expensive.

And let’s start making our homes beautiful in a different way.

Fill them with laughter. Fill them with people. Fill them with memories. Fill them with love.

Because at the end of the day, that’s what makes a house a home.

And if I haven’t said it already…

That’s the point. 

If this reminded you of your own home, your own kids, or maybe a mess you can laugh about now, I’d love to hear about it. Leave me a comment and tell me about one of those little moments you’ll never forget.

And if you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Home with Heather Co. so you can join me for more real-life homemaking, family, motherhood, memories, and all the beautiful messes that come with them.