My messy house...now THAT'S a journey...

I feel overwhelmed probably 80% of the time. Housekeeping is really not my forte. Funny thing is I actually own and operate a residential/commercial cleaning business. I KNOW how to clean, but upkeep is my worse enemy. I love big projects and taking on new things. I love a super messy room transformed in a few hours. I love seeing a big difference. I seem to let things go until I have a big job to do. This is something I really need to work on, especially with the new baby due in only 39 days. It seems to me, like it does to so many other moms, that as soon as I clean someone walks behind me and spills things over, takes out stuff I've just put away... oh wait a minute, that's because THERE IS someone walking right behind me, making a mess all over. That would be an 18 month old little boy who gets bored when there are certain tasks he can't help me with. (Now my husband won't fully admit this, but he IS messier than when we dated and I know this for a fact since he hired me to be his house cleaner before we were married... and he use to put things away after using them.)

I have been trying hard to involve our lil boy in the house cleaning. Yesterday he helped with cleaning the fronts of all the kitchen cupboards and dust the living room...He actually does really well.

My husband can't stand mess (other people's mess), which is a good thing, cause I personally couldn't care less if I lived by myself. He keeps me in line. I don't care if there are dishes on the counter, I'm still gonna watch TV, or sew, or paint... But for me to be a good wife I've had to work on my mindset. First of all to please my husband's demands but most importantly, even if I wasn't married, I should be a clean organized person if I am going to claim to serve God.

Here are pics of my home a couple of days ago. I hate that feeling of not knowing where to start when EVERY room seems messy or disorganized. We live on the top floor of a house with tenants downstairs. We have 3 bedrooms, one bathroom and very small closets. It is about 950 square feet. In a messy home, all it takes is one thing on the floor or on the counter to make that whole room look messy. Arrrgghhhh.... that drives me nuts.

Now I remember many moms mentioning that 'getting a bigger home or more closets won't necessarily change the messiness or cleanliness of your home. And really why would God give you a nicer and bigger home if you can't even take proper care of that one he's given you already.' That really made a mark on me.

The pictures above showmy bedroom and my office/sewing room/study room...The walls use to be a dark taupe on the top and a very very dark purple brown on the bottom... it was sooo dark in there. My husband and I painted it together and I got some second hand shelving units that I painted and sewed curtains for. I also refurbished an Ikea dresser. This room can look great when it's all in order... I just can't seem to keep it that way.

The room above is my little boy's. We are trying to switch him over to a toddler bed, hence why the room is crowded right now.

Now when it comes to schedules... I know how to make those. In fact I've made my home binder after reading Candy Brauer's website and ebooks. I really like it and followed it for a while. I'm still not that far off from my schedule everyday... I am waaaay better than I was. I remember the week following my reading Candy's books, my husband commented on my improvements on the way to our meeting/church. He was wondering what had brought a change in me in the previous week. He said it was like night and day, my attitude was different altogether. I told him I had been praying for a long time and had finally found some good resources from other mom's. They were basically just repeating what they had read in the Bible and "translated" it in practical modern day to day formats. I know that if did my Bible study regularly I would get the same benefits.

My problem is CONSISTENCY !!!

And really if I was consistent in my Bible reading and study I think my consistency in all other areas of my life would improve.

I'd like to know if there are any other things that have encouraged mom's out there. Anything that could help me out with my housekeeping and Bible reading. (Now there are days when I'm just plain old tired due to the pregnancy, and any tricks on surmounting that would be very helpful as well).

I really need to try getting up earlier. That is actually one of my next goals. The problem right now if to find a way to do so without robbing my husband of any sleep. We live in an old house with really squeaky floors... It is hard to be quiet.

I look forward to any ideas or encouragement.

Part 2