I have a confession to make: I am a terrible
housekeeper. I always have been, I
think. I used to love dusting and vacuuming
our living room growing up, but I think that was because it was the only neat
room in our house. Hmmm….
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| Photo credit |
If you were thinking that this was going to be a steamy,
murderous, or duplicitous revelation I apologize. There isn’t much about my life that resembles
the television show except that I happen to live in a house on a cul de sac.
I am currently living in a house that we rent with waaaay
too much space for us and it is OVERWHELMING! (We are currently working on a
way to change that.)
A couple weeks ago I saw someone mention Holley Gerth’s e-book , The “Do What You Can” Plan.
Holley opens by having you set a goal – then cut that goal in half. I took
a hatchet to my goal of having a clean home and hacked it down to just keeping
up with the dishes.
This is Day 10 and I have to say that I have kept
up. I have left a few dishes out
overnight a couple times, but got them cleaned up first thing in the
morning. It’s not such a hard thing if
the dishwasher is ready for them or the sink is empty for hand washing.
The liberty I’m experiencing is completely different this
time. I’m actually getting other things
done incidentally and I have confidence that I can succeed because I kept my goal concrete and manageable. When I reach the end of this 21 day plan my
hopes are that this will be a firmly established habit and I can tack on a new
one – still keeping it less than daunting.
Over time these smaller goals will add up to my larger goal. It will take several repetitions of the
process, but doesn’t everything?
Holley uses the analogy of starting out fast and strong
on a bike ride only to crack/bonk/struggle when a hill comes. It’s all about starting out with a pace that
is sustainable and building up endurance.
I can completely relate. I’ve had
my home spic and span, top to bottom, only to have it be wrecked again in 3
days. Discouragement is the name of that game. I don’t want to play it anymore.
My eyes are open
wide to the distance I have to go, but I know my training regimen. Like any future marathoner, I know that it
takes lots of short runs to prepare for the big one. I’m excited and for the first time I think
this may actually work out.
So, I want to be a Desperate Mom No More and create a
home filled with grace and peace, as Sally Clarkson encourages and just be able
to breathe.
How
are you tackling the big goals and dreams in your life? Have anything particularly encouraging that
you’d like to share?
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.
Great stuff, Amy! Love that idea of making your goals manageable! Thanks for sharing and inspiring ME.
ReplyDeleteYou inspire and encourage me daily, friend!
DeleteI love how you related running into this;) ~ short runs to prepare for the big one! You can do it !! And Amen!!
ReplyDeleteAll you runners absolutely amaze me! Excluding any specific physical limitations I guess you could actually train for almost anything. Thank you for your encouragement!
DeleteI think this is great! I, too, am the world's worst housekeeper. I've done all the "programs" out there to try to get myself better organized, but I seem to always fail. What has been working for me is my own creation but sounds very similar to this idea you've written about. When things start to get out of focus for me, I'll ask myself to commit to cleaning the kitchen for a few days. Just the kitchen. And then, I'll add the family room. A few days of cleaning the kitchen and the family room. And that's it. And slowly add one room at a time... it's amazing how much quicker it is to do when you're keeping up with it every day, it just takes me a while to get there. But that's okay. Baby steps. :)
ReplyDeleteYes! Anything is better than nothing. Nothing is so easy to default to when everything is so overwhelming. You really have to figure out what will work for you. I'm hoping this is it for me. It feels like it may be. I'm glad you found yours.
DeleteI'm reading Holley's 21 days too, Amy! Good stuff, if I'd be more disciplined about it. I'm having a hard time staying focused on my writing. Hoping I'll get a combo of God lighting a fire under me PLUS a wave of inspiration.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week, Amy!
Discipline is my Achilles heel! I really want to just do my own thing and then consider it a bonus when something is accomplished. It isn't very productive though. Praying you'll find your focus and inspiration.
DeleteI have Holley's book, but haven't been able to read it yet. I can't keep my house clean to save my life! Perhaps I should begin reading!
ReplyDeleteI hear ya! I am really enjoying the ebook. There is a little question or statement at the end of each chapter that I an simply completing as a list on Evernote right on my phone. I have it all in one place. It is really making a difference for me.
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