After a good month of shirking all my house cleaning chores, I came from the honeymoon to realize that the house was in dire need for a good spring cleaning. Since I'm not going to wait for spring, I have made it my duty to introduce fall cleaning to the world.
At first, I wanted to get rid of everything! Throw away the nic nacs, cleanse the closets of all the duds, ditch the CDs, DVDs, donate the books from college. Now, what I wanted and what happened are two entirely separate things. I just don't have the heart to throw away the first teddy bear Rob won for me at the carnival, or fill a bag with clothes I haven't worn in years. Sure, I hate that green turtleneck now, but my likes and dislikes are a constant roller-coaster.
I was beating myself up one morning, when I came across a book. It wasn't the book itself, but the title that struck a chord - A Perfectly Kept House Is the Sign of a Misspent Life by Mary Randolph Carter. How very true - and fitting. "My new motto", I thought to myself. So, my house isn't the pristine, shiny, stark abode the magazines make me believe it should be. Life is messy, why can't my home? It's clean, it's cozy and lived-in.
Isn't that what makes a house a home?
{photo credit: emma's blog}
