Keeping The Home

At the Well is a place where women gather to discuss and encourage one another on a particular topic each week. This week At the Well is being hosted by Chelsea at Joyfully Living For His Glory
The topic for today: Keeping the Home

Discussion Questions:

We are taking a look at the mandate in Titus 2 to be "a keeper at home". Only, this time, we are looking at the practical side of things - keeping a clean and tidy home.
Let' s get a little vulnerable hear ladies - do you keep a neat and tidy home? If so, what do you do to keep on top of this? Schedules? Routines?
If you have children at home, do they get involved?
If you are lacking in this area, why do you think that is?
Give any practical hints or advice that work well in your home and that might could bless someone else!

This is a subject I love reading about and one that is dear to my heart. For the most part, my home is neat and tidy, but that is mainly due to the fact that my husband and I are complete "neat freaks"! Our home could not function like this without the cooperation of a neat and tidy husband. He picks up his clothes, picks up after himself and is a joy to live with! But, the neatness and organization are vital to us to help maintain a peaceful environment. When things get cluttered and disorganized it directly relates to how we function - in peace or in chaos. Now there are times of chaos in our home, but things works better when things are functioning smoothly.

To help keep on top of this, we try not to let things get out of hand. We do dishes by hand (no dishwasher) but I wash them a few times a day so they don't stack up. While cooking, I keep a sink full of dishwater and wash as I go. The bathrooms are cleaned once a week, but get a wipe down (with a baby wipe soaked in alcohol) a few times a week to keep fresh. Laundry is done, at least a load every day to help keep this monster at bay. And (my quirk!), clothes must be put away as soon as they are out of the dryer, that way they don't pile up and get wrinkled. We try to make it a lifestyle where it is a habit to pick up, put away and take care of it right away! Although the house doesn't have to be showroom clean all the time, I like it to be tidy. Toys picked up off the floor and our entryway clear as that seems to be a gathering place. Each morning before leaving and each night before bed a quick pick up is done.

Our children do a good job keeping up their rooms. One son is a neat freak also(!), one son lets things go and then works hard to get it back under control and the youngest, we are still working on him, he is a total slob right now. They have to keep their room clean and we instill the clean up after yourselves rules to encourage order.

These are the practices that work best for us. When things pile up, I tend to get overwhelmed, so I try to stay on top of things. The most important thing for us is that there are times when a deep clean is needed and right after that, keep it up, pick up a little each day and it will always stay neat!

Looking forward to hearing and learning from others today.