A Time to Be Home

I don’t know about you, but I do not often get to spend a lot of time at home. With the new year starting, along with having a break at dance, I deep cleaned the place I call home. Moving again has been on and off of my mind a lot over the last year, but I believe this is is a season of staying put. I am ready to have some routines, consistency, and time at home.

Everyone has different levels of clean. Some are clean freaks. Some clean just enough. Others clean when they can work up to doing so, and yet others need an intervention to help them clean. There are shows and experts on all of these levels. Over the dance class breaks, I like to do more deep cleaning because I do not have the time to deep clean during the dance seasons. That being said, I do go through my clothes and things that I do not use and donate or get rid of them. I do not have tips for cleaning for you in this post, but I have tried a couple of ways to trick myself into keeping things clean during the busy seasons. Making the choice to do one chore a day has made some chores seem less like a “have to” and more like a “its time to.” Lately I noticed that I typically do not need more than 20 minutes to get one or two rooms clean. Setting myself up to clean for 20 minutes and what I get done is enough has been working great. I do not set a timer, but if that would help motivate you, do it!

As an adult I learned that some people grew up in the same house for all of their years at home. I grew up between a couple of different houses, painted my room a few different colors, and decorated many different ways. I think this is why it didn’t phase me about moving a lot in college. I lived in 3 different dorm rooms my first two years, a house my third year, and an apartment my last year. After college I lived with my now sister-in-law after moving home, and then moved home again. Since moving out of my parents house for hopefully the last time in 2020, I have lived here longer than I have lived anywhere else since we moved houses when I was in high school. I like to move, but I am not used to staying in the same space for very long. Which is why staying here is new for me. Renting comes with challenges, and it is not perfect, but it allows me to travel and have different hobbies.

Staying can be just as scary as changing. I have just recently been putting effort into organizing my stuff along with upgrading from some things I have had since college. I have spent money on containers and things to organize and cleaned up, so now it is time to enjoy my space and my stuff. In order to enjoy it all I need to be home. I take my time to clean, and do what I need to do. I also make time, like today to be home and relax. I have found that I am happy in my space. How can you be more happy in your space? Is there something you need to change or upgrade? Do you need to plan some time to be home? How can you do more of what you enjoy in the space you call home? You do not have to change and replace everything between today and tomorrow. I wait and see if something I think of sticks with me for a month or more before I get around to saving the money and doing something about it – partly because I procrastinate, and partly to make sure it is worth spending the money and time on it. Do what you can with what you have now- if you want to change things, pick one thing to start with, fix it. Then pick another thing, and do that. Don’t forget to enjoy the process as you go.

I have listened to many podcasts and read books about having a morning and an evening routine. I have not gotten that far as to have a step by step routine for waking up or going to sleep for myself. I do try to read a devotion in the morning, make time for journaling and reading before I go to bed. If I do end up adding more or making routines for myself I will defiantly share what works and doesn’t as I think that is the most useful information we can share with our friends/ readers.

When you think about cleaning, moving, staying, or changing, give yourself permission to try something new. Be graceful with yourself when it does not go as well as you thought it would. When something does not work, do not be afraid to try again. Not everything is going to work out the way you think it will on the first try. Know that in different seasons of life, different routines are going to work or not work. Always be ready to adjust as needed and continue to seek out happiness.

It is easy to compare ourselves with the next person about where we live, what we live like, and how clean our space is. It is challenging to be content with what we have where we are. There are many different kinds of books, journals and guided journals that can help you see and process change. The key is to use the resources that you have rather than letting them get dusty on the shelf.

Key Take Aways:

– Set aside time to enjoy being at home.

– Make the time to clean your space.

– Pick one thing to change at a time.

– Use the resources you already have.

– Be home enough to keep your plants alive – This is new for me.

Happy New Year!

– Em