I believe that our environment is a direct reflection of what we are feeling within ourselves. For example, to give you an idea of how my husband has been feeling, I will talk about our yard. Our poor yard has been neglected for years. Granted, we live on 2 acres and we are surrounded by a forest, but that does not matter. Thank God no one in the neighborhood can see our home from the street because if they could, they would think that we are rednecks. The lawn is ignored, the paint is cracking on the porch, the trees are overgrown, and the lawnmower has been broken for a year and a half.
I can't just put the condition of our home off on my husband either, my laundry room is a direct mirror to my soul. Unwashed clothes and insanity live in front of my washing machine at all times. The clothes live in various piles in states of dirty, clean, and clothing purgatory.
Don't judge me.
Inside, my thoughts have been piling up just like my dirty dish towels on the floor. My husband's spirit has been overgrowing like the weeds at the end of our driveway that are now small trees. We trudge on...walking through the fallen leaves and sifting through the laundry baskets for a matching pair of socks. Sometimes, we even settle for a mismatched pair.
Well, over the weekend something amazing happened...we rolled up our sleeves and took care of our home. We had an appraisal scheduled for this morning so there is nothing like an appraiser roaming through your home to get you motivated. It was cleaning insanity! Roger and my dad mowed the lawn, cut down trees, blew leaves off of the driveway, and even fixed a broken railing on the porch. I set myself to the task of defeating the laundry room. I separated, washed, folded, and put away all of the insane clothes. Overcoming my stage 4 hoarder ways, I cleaned out closets and donated bags of treasures to Goodwill. I dusted and mopped and put a little elbow grease into cleaning my bathtubs. If my life were a movie, the weekend would have been a montage of us cleaning to that Karate Kid song about being a hero. You know the one that I'm talking about? This one...
Check out my mad cleaning skills!
As the layers were unearthed in my yard and laundry room, I could feel a fog lifting from around us. Every single action that we took to take care of our home settled someplace deep within. We tended to the house but really, we were taking care of ourselves. It felt so good to take pride in our little home that is full of love and a light layer of dust. Nothing like a little dusting of the soul to make your entire life feel renewed.
As the layers were unearthed in my yard and laundry room, I could feel a fog lifting from around us. Every single action that we took to take care of our home settled someplace deep within. We tended to the house but really, we were taking care of ourselves. It felt so good to take pride in our little home that is full of love and a light layer of dust. Nothing like a little dusting of the soul to make your entire life feel renewed.
21 comments:
Your yard and home sound very much like ours! I'm impressed by laundry room transformation! Care to come to my house and work your magic?
What a difference! :)
LEIGH! YOU GO, GIRL!!!!
I totally agree with you about all of this stuff. I can't wait to feel better and then I can get my house under control. Maybe. Or perhaps you can just come over and take care of it for me since you're so good at it!?
Wow!! Great job! We have one room that we have let go awry in our house, and this was kind of inspiring!!!
Wow!! Great job! We have one room that we have let go awry in our house, and this was kind of inspiring!!!
I loved this post! It truly is amazing what a little work around inside and outside a house can do for the spirit...I've got a craft room that needs to be cleaned out...thanks for the inspiration!
Leigh, that is fantastic, I am impressed and inspired. I too am going to take a leaf from your yard and do the same!
You are my favorite!
Seriously, when I'm in a bad mood sometimes cleaning (even though I don't like to) makes me feel better. Having a clean house makes me feel better when everything else is a little nutty. However, my plants are all dead outside and that doesn't bode well for a former Horticulture student!
Your laundry room looks great. Wish we had that kind of space. I'd probably make a "Mom cave" in there.
xo to you and yours. I'm now inspired to clean house! :)
You have no idea how much it amuses me that the cleaning montage was set to "You're the Best Around." Great post!
incredibly badass, lady.
Fantastic! I really need to do that soon. I have the in-laws coming to town for Thanksgiving and not only am I hosting dinner but they will also be staying with us. You have inspired me!
Ah! I totally agree! I cleaned out some closets and our crazy, messy pantry this weekend and it felt SO good!
Good for you all for getting some "stuff" out of the way too. Your pics definitely tell the tale. :)
I can absolutely relate to this. Our home has suffered similarly lately. My husband's work has been stressful and demanding, so he expends his remaining energy interacting with his family when he gets home. This pregnancy has made me not want to do anything, so the house is a pig sty. Every time we tackle even a bit of it, I feel such relief! You guys did an amazing job - it must feel incredible!
It looks amazing! I think of it as "mental weight". As in, the two loads in the washer and dryer are mental weight. I must attend to them immediately henceforth.
This is SO true. There's something about getting the house organized that organizes my spirit, too.
I never want to do it, but afterwards I'm glad I did!
=)
PS. It looks terrific!!!
It always feels so good when you finally get the clutter removed from your life. Right now, our office looks probably worse than your laundry room (the before picture). We just keep piling things in there and shutting the door, promising ourselves we'll take care of it...sometime.
And thanks by the way. I'm going to have that song stuck in my head for the rest of the day.
This is soooo true; your laundry room looked so familiar to many spaces in this 3-kid, 2-adult house...the laundry gets so out of hand we just end up digging through it, sniffing things to see if they're clean. Gross. I've been working myself up to get going on it...so overwhelming. I can imagine how freeing it must have been for you to get those jobs done! Hooray!
OK I have a clothes rack on my laundry room that always seems overflowing with clothes.. Drives me batty. Today I got to add a new blue pair of washer and dryer front load.. cause mine bit the dust.. I know some kids who better be putting away their clothes or be walking naked... lol Cause I want my new toys to feel loved not smothered with clean clothes and unuseful lol
Thank you for posting that picture. I feel normal now and inspired to clean up my mess. No more living out of piles of clothes. We have closets and dressers, it's time I use them! Great Job!
Oh my gosh, truer words have never been spoken! I try to deny that my inner spirt/thoughts and the outward appearance of my home mirror each other, but they are in constant sync! When the house is clean and clutter-free, I feel so happy and carefree but when there's work to be done (piles of mail, yard sale piles, 6 mo. clothing for a girl who's 15 mos. on the stairs...I mean, really, who wouldn't be insane?!) my mind is a jumble. I am kind of jealous of your entire laundry room. My washer and dryer are in my kitchen. But that's song for another day. ;)
Very well said!!!! I am constantly behind on housework or photo work. It goes back and forth. I always feel so much better and more productive when the house is clean though.
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