Really, I want to know. I grew up doing chores around the house. I have three brothers. On Saturday, my chore was to clean the living room. That meant dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning the windows. I also had to clean the bathroom. Did I mention that I have three brothers? I still cleaned up the bathroom once weekly. It became a habit. Everyone did their part and our home looked decent. Our own rooms were another story. My parents didn't mind as much if our own rooms were a little unorganized/messy.
Why can't I get this through to my own family? I feel like we're not on the same page. Video gaming and YouTube watching takes a priority over keeping a decent looking house. I can say that it needs to be done. That's all that happens, though. I've said it.
I've tried a cleaning schedule, cleaning it all myself, giving them money, not feeding them until it's done, feeding them first, and not caring anymore.
Could a maid service help? I'm sure they could, but my hubby doesn't think that we need one. Still, that will not solve our issue of not being motivated to clean up after ourselves. As someone once said, I feel as if I have to clean up after a party that I haven't been invited to. Our home is the perfect floor plan for entertaining, but I won't allow visitors until it's cleaned up. I thought that would motivate us to clean. Have a get together and they'll clean up. Well, they didn't. So the get together was moved to someone else's house. Embarrassing!
Cleaning it all myself seems like the next best solution. Our teenager helps, but she's not motivated to make it a habit. When I get home from school, my workday isn't done. I've got to clean too. It makes me feel resentful that they're sitting around watching television or playing video games while I'm cleaning. Is cleaning supposed to create loving feelings? I do it out of love because I want them to live in a clean environment. I think that the resentment comes from not getting help. I shouldn't have to clean up after a house full of people by myself. We're not raising our kids that way, but that's how it's turning out. I'm ashamed.
I've been praying about it. Praying to be a more effective mother in this area. Praying to be able to get it all done, even if it means doing it alone. Praying to do it with love and not resentment. Praying to be okay with being way less than perfect. Praying that the people who love us won't judge us on the condition of our house. Then I saw this:
Any housekeeping services reading this, please comment. I might hire you.
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