My house is trashed at the moment. Well, at least my dining room and living room. Stuff is everywhere. Boxes, toys, clothes, bins... it's a mess. As a recovering perfectionist, that would normally drive me crazy.
But this is a good kind of mess. It's all in the name of progress.
Anyone with kids knows that they are constantly in a state of transition. Bassinet to crib, swing to jumper, infant carrier to carseat, 0-3 months clothes to 9-12 months... babies are constantly moving from one stage to the next! The challenge for us is to keep up with them!
That's what we've been trying to do, especially now that everyone is healthy once again. I moved all our valuables from the bookshelf to bins in the attic, making room for their toys and other things I don't mind them touching and possibly breaking! We took out their infant carriers and replaced them with bulkier, larger (and more inconvenient!) car seats. We said goodbye to their Bumbo seats and hello - again - to their high chairs. Not to mention the Christmas stuff that still needs to be put away! But we're making progress. Still, looking at the state of my house, you could easily get overwhelmed by everything. So. Much. Stuff. Everywhere!
Sometimes, we need to make things messy before they can be clean again.
Organizing is the obvious example. You have to take everything out of a drawer before you can clean the structure, come up with a new system that works for you and then only put back what you want there. It's messy, but worth it.
Forgiveness is much the same way. It's tough. It's messy. It doesn't always look good while you're in progress. But the finished product is something beautiful that everyone can enjoy.
Is there someone you need to offer an apology to? A friend? Your sister? Your husband? Believe me, saying you're sorry is a lot easier said than done. It's confrontational, it's uncomfortable... it's downright messy! But I've been on both sides of the issue. While it can be messy for a little bit, the freedom that comes from it is WELL worth the effort!
Start your new year off right. It's time to clean house, starting from the inside, out.
Great post Mindy. I can relate on SO many levels...i love how you call yourself a recovering perfectionist. I'm 2 1/2 years into this with Ava and I still beat myself up about the crazy mess around the house all of the time... sometimes I feel like one of those camera crews from a TLC messy house show is going to show up to show the whole world what a pigsty we live in!! Oh well...I keep trying to tell myself, like you said, it's not that important...and it's a work in progress!
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