New Philosophy

I talked to a good friend today who mentioned that she was trying out a new philosophy on keeping a clean house.  She was trying focusing on the fact that if she let her friends see her house messy, they would feel better about their own houses.

We all know that despite our efforts to present a pristine home to guests, on a day-to-day basis, anyone with more than one child struggles to maintain a perfectly tidy abode.  I have been guilty of making excuses:  "Don't mind my house--I've had a really busy day,"  "My house isn't always this messy," or "I'm sorry, you can't come past the doorstep because you can't see my house today."

Why can't we all just be honest?  There really is only a small percentage of parents who really and truly have a beautiful house every day--maybe 30% or less.  And I believe that a third of those hire a house cleaner.  The other third are extremely strict or their kids watch a lot of t.v..  And the last third are truly inspiring and organized parents whose kids play with one item and return it smiling before getting out something new to play with.

The rest of us get a call from someone who is going to come over, after which we race around madly picking up, wiping up, and sweeping up.  And even then, when the guest arrives, we still make excuses:  "Don't mind my house."  I admit I do that too when someone whose house I've never seen messy comes to my house.

That said, I've always been very conscious of others' feelings.  If I've managed to truly clean up my house before another parent visits, I usually just explain that I spent the morning cleaning because I wanted to impress them.  I've always done that.  However, if my house is messy, maybe instead of being embarrassed, I just need to embrace the fact that I'm making someone else feel good about their own situation.

Thanks, Anna, for the idea.