Today I’m participating in the Ultimate Blog Swap. You’ll find me posting over at Your Thriving Family about How to Tackle that Cluttered Space You Pretend Doesn’t Exist , and I’m excited to welcome Patty from Homemakers Daily here at A Slob Comes Clean.
Comparing One Homemaker to Another is Like Comparing Apples to Oranges!
Don’t Do It!!!!!
A comparison of apples and oranges occurs when two items or groups of items are compared that cannot be validly compared.
Years ago my children were involved in our church’s Awana program – I mean a LONG time ago since both of them are now grown and married. Anyway, every year the Awana program hosted a Grand Prix where the children made pinewood derby cars and raced them. One year I was asked to be a judge – not for speed, that would have been easy – but for craftsmanship and appearance. I agreed thinking it would be fun. It wasn’t fun. Not one bit. Judging that competition was one of the most difficult things I have ever done! Imagine trying to choose between cars made by first graders and cars made by sixth graders; or cars made by a parent and cars made by kids; or cars that looked like cars and cars that looked like other things (like guitars and pencils!). Judging between those cars was like comparing apples to oranges, only worse!
And just like it was impossible to judge between those cars, we homemakers shouldn’t judge ourselves based on how we compare to other homemakers. Each of us deals with different situations that affect how we manage our homes. For example:
- Goals – Do you want your home to be perfect or are you satisfied with a home that’s clean enough to be healthy, but dirty enough to be happy?
- Abilities – Were you taught basic homemaking skills or did you have to learn everything the hard way?
- Energy Level – Are you one of those high energy people who works circles around everyone else or do you have a low energy level that takes everything you have just to get the basics done?
- Time Available – Do you have a lot of time to spend on household chores or do you spend most of your time homeschooling your kids or working full-time?
- Size of Family – Do you have one child or five? The number of family members in your house has a definite impact on the condition of the house and the time you have available!
- Money – Do you have a generous budget that allows you to keep your pantry stocked or hire help or have nice furnishings? Or is your budget so tight you have to be extremely creative with everything financial related?
- Years Experience – How long have you been homemaking? Are you just getting startedor have you been doing it a while?
My daughter in law compares herself to me all the time. I’ve told her repeatedly not to do that. I’ve been a homemaker for 30 years and she’s just getting started. When I first started out, I didn’t know what I was doing. I had to learn to cook and clean and manage my household, and believe me, I did everything the HARD way. But I’ve been doing it a few years now and it’s a lot easier now. My daughter-in-law should wait to compare herself to me until she’s been doing it as long as I have.
Comparing ourselves to others is dangerous and not usually productive. But if you must compare, compare yourself to yourself. How are you doing today compared to how you did before?
Patty Garder is a full-time homemaker, wife, mom, grandma, and pet owner who started Homemakersdaily about a year ago to share some of the things she’s learned during 30 years of homemaking. The daily articles are directed toward homemakers in all phases of life. What you’ll find at Homemakersdaily is practical, nitty gritty, to-the-point articles to help you in your everyday life as you try to stretch your budget and your time and make a home for your family!
Visit Life Your Way to see all of the Ultimate Blog Swap participants!