Johann Georg Meyer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
- My eldest moved out after her graduation in May.
- My 3rd child is traveling with a missionary group until December.
- My 5th and 6th children are on a missions trip with our church this week.
Do you have ANY idea how much easier it is to keep a tidy house when there are ONLY FOUR children at home!?!
Now I’m used to clutter. When you have 10 people in your home and 9 of them are pack rats, you get used to boxes and piles of “treasures” around. And having 3 or more children sharing rooms over the years with no closets and 1 dresser per room makes organizing a challenge, assuming I wasn’t organizationally challenged to begin with. Add to that being a homeschooling family where everyone (except Dad) has generally been home all day, and children who have lots of projects going on…well you get the picture.
Laundry has always been such a struggle over the years. But as the children have gotten older, more and more of them take care of their own laundry needs so they all do their own now. STILL my bathroom hamper and laundry room hamper have always been filled to overflowing.
So WHY have I been able to keep the laundry done, folded and put away all week long?
Dishes – UGH! Without a dishwasher (well, a mechanical one, anyway) we have always had a never-ending pile of dishes in the kitchen (and sometimes in the den or living room). But with just a few children gone, the kitchen is in a relatively tidy state all this week.
The living room and den (they are 2 rooms combined with a double open doorway) are where we LIVE. This is where everyone is all day and all evening (when not away from home) and they get TRASHED. Clutter, and books, and papers, and games, and un-put-away-clothes, and cups are strewn all over. But not this week! Oh no…it has taken me just under 5 minutes to tidy the den (Elizabeth’s job normally) and vacuum each evening.
So WHAT IS THE DEAL??
Why is it that only having 4 children at home makes it so much easier to keep things tidy? I have no idea. But I’ll tell you this. I wouldn’t trade the joy of all 8 of my children for the cleanest house around!
Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. Prov 14:4
I pray that the “oxen” the Lord has blessed me with with yield an abundant crop with their lives and a harvest of plenty for the Lord. Sure, my home would be much cleaner without them. But the joy and the delight and blessing my children are to me (and actually, to other people as well) is WELL WORTH THE WORK!!!
The time will come soon enough when they are all gone for good. In the meantime, I’ll be glad to have my mess-makers back home this week-end!
Blogs I may be linking to:
Marital Oneness, The Better Mom, Multitudes on Monday, Hear it On Sunday, Sharing His Bounty, What Joy Is Mine, Domestically Divine Tuesdays, Time Warp Wife, Encourage One Another, Living Well Wednesdays, Raising Homemakers, Thought Provoking Thursday, Hearts 4 Home, Big Family Fridays, Faith Filled Fridays, Home Focused Friday, Homemaking Link-up Week-end, Legacy Leaver Thursday
Kate, I love reading about your life. I “only” had four children and now that they are grown my house stays neat and relatively clean, at least until the grandchildren stop by to remind me of my past life. Enjoy the disorderly order. You are a great encouragement to others.
Bonnie, you are so sweet, thank you! You know, I really cannot imagine what it will be like when they are all grown and gone and I sure am trying to enjoy this time they are home. Blessings to you sister!
Ha! I imagine it’s the way I feel about grocery shopping with 1 child instead of 4. It’s like being alone!
LOL! You are so right!!
“The time will come soon enough when they are all gone for good.”
This truth has sort of lazed about our home for years making an appearance here and there as one son went off to attend the local high school 3 years ago…then my daughter went away to college…now my 2 younger boys are very involved in Scouts and our community through volunteer work and stuff. There are days when I am home alone. We have even had 2 weekends where it was just the hubby and I…can we say WEIRD!!! Just the other day I was faced with the reality that as long as God wills it I will be home alone for 9 weeks next summer! My 2 college kids plan on staying in the city…the other 2 working at summer camp. WHAT will i do with no messes to clean up and complain about???no laundry??? Only needing half a gallon of milk instead of three???
Even though I have what some call a “tidy” house—my husband is OCD and I am a slob that had to convert! Not having the smell of the guys Axe deodorant or my daughters ebay purchased Chanel perfume sample will be tough. Guess I will pour myself into my website so I don’t go totally crazy!!!
Enjoy the tidy times…and the untidy ones even more!!!
Oh Donnao, I appreciate what you shared, and I think I would pour myself into some sort of ministry as well! Thanks so much for sharing — and I pray for God’s grace and blessing next summer for you, dear!
Family and our faith in GOd ares the most important things in our lives. IT seems that you have both. Blessings:)
Thanks Joy…God is amazing in His bounty to me indeed!! Thanks for coming by!
What a beautiful tribute to your children.
I have to confess, when I first read the title of this post, I thought it was going to be about “having less possessions”! “A house is indeed tidier with less possessions and clutter” and this would be something I adhere to. I am a less is best person when it comes to tidying the home. The less clutter, the less hassle cleaning under and around it!
Thanks Wendy…I would LOVE to be able to get rid of most of our clutter! But instead of sending my family into a PANIC, I’ll wait and just tidy up what clutter we have!
Thanks for coming by.
I loved your post. I think of your words so often. Sometimes, it’s harder and takes more work when all the children are still at home, but oh how I love to have them home! Thank you for linking up at Legacy Leaver Thuesdays. I hope to see you again next week.
Blessings~
Shari
Shari, I’m blessed by your comment here. I’m looking forward to jumping in weekly on your link-up!!
Thank you for the wonderful reminder! Such true words and something I struggle with as a “neat freak”… Thank you for taking the time to share this experience with us (I should read this post once a week!!) ~ JES
HA! JES, I’m glad it was an encouragement to you and thanks for coming by.