This year Advent is a short season, and it's speeding by. My home is decorated for the rest of winter, so I can nestle in and enjoy the cheerful colors and lights. My teenage daughter inherited the decorating knack from my mom, and she is a wonderful help with beautifying the house. I can now dream of the new interior colors and decor I'll start implementing come February, when the crocus flowers usually appear in my yard, the first sign of spring!
I'm feeling very drawn to a Mexican country palette and style. I already have some decorative items for this motif, so with a renewal of wall colors, my hacienda dreams will come to fruition. I began with my kitchen over the summer, painting my cabinets a vivid blue, but it didn't go so well. My back can't handle it, and the paint wouldn't stick because of the humidity and easily chipped. I'm going to hire a friend of my husband who loves to paint to take over the project! I will be the visionary artist...
To update on my housekeeping goals, I definitely like this plan of having specific days for certain chores. And you don't necessarily have to do the chore on its day if it doesn't need to be done. If there isn't visible dust on the shelf or dirt on the floor, skip it! Just check what you're supposed to do on that day, and do what you can or what most needs attention. Remember, housework must have boundaries. When you are finished with the day's assigned tasks, be done! Progress, not perfection.
I started going through my jewelry to pare down and give away, or throw away if necessary. That's another lesson I'm learning--that it's okay for some items to go in the trash. We recycle or give away everything possible at my house, so I feel guilty tossing things that will go into a landfill. But maybe that painful lesson has its place. Be very intentional about what you buy, and you won't have as much to put in the trash in the long run.
I hope you're all having a blessed and Spirit-filled Advent season! What are you dreaming for spring?
Happy Advent 2018! This season of the Church Year is a special time for spiritual preparation leading to Christmas, but I'm approaching it a bit differently this year. You may not think of housekeeping when you think of Advent, but I assure you that there's a connection. Stay with me a spell.
Typically, Lent is the season when I and many others focus on decluttering and deep cleaning, but I have decided that Advent is the perfect occasion for a mini version of this idea. Usually when I decorate for Christmas/winter, I put away some of my regular decorations; but in many cases I work the holiday items around them. This year I've taken down the vast majority of the regular decorations on the walls and surfaces and then dusted and cleaned those areas thoroughly.
Those items which I don't want to keep are being given away to thrift stores, and the rest are going into the boxes that the holiday decorations came out of. They'll stay in the attic until it's time for winter to wrap up. Last year that was Groundhog Day! February (and Lent) can then be spent with a deeper cleaning and painting of the walls, a big project of redecorating that I have planned, and the regular decorations can be put back in place. No doubt some items will go on to the thrift stores, and a few new things will be purchased.
This Advent I'm also establishing some basic housekeeping routines. Yes, I've changed my mind about implementing these! Someone finally provided me with a good reason to do so--Cheryl Mendelson, in her book, Home Comforts. Cheryl has a PhD in philosophy and approaches keeping house from a philosophical perspective, as an art and science well worth pursuing. What clicked for me was her argument that house work should have an end.
By this she does not mean that housework should be done once and for all and never tackled again. Rather, there should be an end to housekeeping for the day or the week, or for a particular task. For example, she advises choosing one or two days as laundry days. The laundry then has an end in sight and isn't something you have to do every single day. Each day of the week has its appointed chores, and that's that. My personal goal is to be done with housework for the day as soon as I've cleaned up after dinner. And over break, I'm going to start assigning the dinner dishes to my teenager!
So look here ladies, you don't need to wait until the New Year to establish better habits and routines. You can gradually build up to it during Advent, and by January you will have established a workable system. Advent is also a good time to clear out your possessions, because they might make great Christmas gifts for someone else to pick up at the thrift shop. You see, then, that your housekeeping efforts can be purposeful and will pay off in the peace you get from a well-ordered and lovely home. Subsequently, you can more easily schedule time to relax by yourself or with friends and family. The manic days of keeping house are over, my friends. This is a spiritual mission, and the Lord is our strength.
Do you have Advent plans that include housekeeping? If so, please share in the comments! I'll be posting regularly on my progress and giving specifics of my daily and weekly routines. I hope you will be inspired to find your own path to holiness through making your home a clean, clutter free, orderly and beautiful domestic church!
