Don’t worry, Mom. We didn’t get another dog.
(Yet.)
Meet Cooper. A sweet-as-can-be Boxer whose home was severely damaged last week in a storm.
I met him when I visited his owners in their home. Their home (though in chaos) was neater than mine . . . but it was a no-brainer that we should invite them over for dinner on Saturday night. And offer to keep Cooper while they’re stuck in a motel.
Which gave me a reason to clean.
I shared last week that I’d been pretending there was no reason to clean since we hadn’t had anyone over in a while.
It was wrong. I know. And as noble as I could have been if I’d just cleaned because it was the right thing to do, I’m so happy I had a reason to clean.
Five short hours on Saturday and I was happy to invite them inside. The kids’ rooms were even clean! (I never bother with those for home groups since it’s all adults!)
Sometimes I think I need to be noble and wait to invite someone over until I’ve cleaned for the right reasons. (Just because.)
But that’s wrong. There’s nothing at all wrong with opening my mouth first and then letting that force me to clean so I can open my home.
It works.
And the bonus: When my kids asked if they could have friends over after church on Sunday and school on Monday . . . I immediately said yes.
Let’s live it up while the house is sparkly!!
I always seem to put off having company because I know I will be forced to spend a day cleaning, and then stressing to keep it clean until the guests have came and went. My house is a neverending disaster! I enjoy your posts very much, you give me hope that I may have a clean house one day!
Yep, ‘reason to clean’ is the key. Why is it I can’t seem to get my house clean for the most important people – us who live here? My 4-year-old even says “we’ve got to clean up this mess!” this is our constant refrain as we expend energy to complete the clean-up. Thank you for your blog; I do enjoy it. We watched some of your videos. 4-year-old enjoyed watching your boys assist in the organization of their book shelf. Sometimes I wish for a magic fairy to clear the clutter, but leave all the special items in a very organized & tastefully displayed method. Hmmm, guess its up to me to make that happen. Thanks for your realism, helps me to continue my efforts also.
I posted that as tip on my Facebook page a while back: If you need motivation to clean, invite someone over. It works everytime!
Very cute pup.
Here! Here!
to living it up while the house is sparkly!!!
Boxers make good pets…even if they are guests in the home.
I’ve never met a boxer I didn’t like. 🙂
(can you tell, we’re boxer peeps?)
Pat
yes, people on the cusp of arriving always force me into a cleaning spree- I just wish I could learn to ‘just do it’. But no.
Couldn’t agree more! Cleaned all day yesterday because people were coming over. My house never looks so good as the minutes before and never worse four hours later when everyone’s gone…oh well! My family was a witness that I CAN make it look good…:)
I know just what you mean. Both are good reasons to clean – just because it’s the right thing to do AND because you have reason to clean. I cleaned our house up a lot for a big visit from family in April and then I let it slump quite a bit since then…with only two of us living in it it can’t be that bad, right? Ugh. Now we’re having more family visit next weekend and I wish I’d kept on top of it!!! But, at least I have a good reason to get it back into shape now – rather than letting it go for a few more weeks. 😉 Ahem!
BTW – That is Such A Cute Dog! My family had the sweetest boxer once and now I’m very partial to them. 🙂