Christa, Day 5: The Good and the Bad of Keeping House Simply

Is it weird that I feel like I have today's simplification exercise pretty much mostly nailed? With the exception of cooking and dishes, that is, because it happens to be my least favorite chore set.

Simplify home tasks. In that vein, think about all the stuff you do at home. Sometimes our home task list is just as long as our work list. And we’ll never get that done either. So focus on the most important, and try to find ways to eliminate the other tasks (automate, eliminate, delegate, or hire help).

Of course, the reason why I have this one (mostly) nailed is that I am a sucker for keeping up appearances. In this case the appearance of being a close-to-perfect homemaker, even though I've also worked at home with a child and now work outside of the home. The thought of someone dropping by and seeing dust and counter stains and a toilet that isn't quite as white as it could be stresses me out.

Do I always win the war on dirt and disorder? Nope, but I am pleased to say that after a few weeks of work, I feel like I worked through the chaos and my home is now as clean as it ever was while I was actually there during the day. As for maintenance tasks, we are always quick when it comes to DIY repairs and calling for repairs. Tasks like putting the molding in the mudroom happen more slowly, but I'm okay with that.

Things operating in my favor when it comes to simplifying homemaking chores:

1. A small house. I live in a post-war Cape Cod revival, which means that all told we're operating on about 1,100 square feet. Which may include the finished part of the basement - space that, strictly speaking, shouldn't be counted. Living in a smaller than average house (avg. for the US is about 2100 sq. ft.) means needing less stuff. I have THE best excuse for getting rid of things ever. Less area that needs cleaning. And since visitors usually stay on the ground floor, I can concentrate the most homemaking efforts on the kitchen, living room, bedroom, playroom, and bathroom - and I'm a 'clean as you go' kind of lady. Our bedroom just stays neat because it's a bedroom, and the basement does what it does. We're working on it, but when time permits.

2. A preference for neatness. I inherited this from my dad, who puts his house in order every evening before bed, and I do love waking up to a house that is mainly clean and tidy. I am prone to a wee bit of depression and anxiety, and being in an orderly environment greatly decreases the amount of both I feel on any given day. A messy kitchen or very icky bathroom will eventually have me crying about how my life is out of control and I'm terrible, etc. I suppose it's not that unusual, though I take it to a level most people don't. My home, in my brain, is a reflection of who I am. A dirty, messy, or cluttered home, again in my brain, is a signal to the world that I am incapable of handling life in general. Uncool. Hence why I prefer things neat.

3. A willing partner in choredom. Thankfully, I have a life partner who is willing to live up to my ridiculous standards of neatness even though his standards are different. It was a source of strife once upon a time, but darling that he is, my husband has adapted and has grown to appreciate the streamlining benefits that a clean house offers.

4. Less stuff. I am one of those people who has a tendency to downsize rather than to acquire. Not that I don't like having new or new-to-me things, but I just prefer good quality things and can't afford to buy a whole lot of good quality things so I just don't buy things. And I hate the idea of replacing anything that's perfectly fine, so I now use the same handbag every day and typically don't buy something new unless it's something we don't have and need or I need to replace something that's no longer usable. Lately, I've been decluttering via donations, and that means less in my cabinets, less to clean, etc.

Things NOT operating in my favor when it comes to simplifying homemaking chores:

1. An emotionally-based preference for neatness. As mentioned above, at least some degree of my self-esteem is tied into what my house looks like, so letting just about anything go is practically painful for me. That makes simplifying difficult, to say the least. Let the dusting go? *gasp* Laundry in a pile? *dies* Right now, things that are driving me crazy around my house include big dishes that need washing, laundry waiting to be folded (in the living room, no less!), and especially the general weirdness in the basement.

2. My dislike of cooking. When I imagine it, the idea of weekly batch cooking and filling the deep freeze with homemade ready meals sounds awesome. In practice, the idea of spending a weekend day or even half a weekend day cooking and then cleaning up sounds like h-e-doublehockeysticks. I know that my dread of having to coordinate dinnertime because I am home earlier than my husband is just making the whole cooking-eating-cleaning up process harder, but cooking just isn't something I find enjoyable. When I imagine how nice it would be to have mountains of money, never having to cook again is what I see as the number one benefit!

3. A tendency to let certain bigger projects sit. As in, until they weigh so heavily on my mind that I totally freak out and start painting at 11 p.m. Or I just get depressed. For example, there are little pending painting projects in our bedroom (doors, touch ups) that I just try not to think about. Because having perfect walls or cool looking doors should NOT be a priority since it has about zero actual impact on my life AND who other than us is ever in our bedroom?

So, What's the Takeaway?

My home to-do list is just a part of my the weekly to-do list in the notebook where I log all pending tasks, and it's been suggested that things like 'pay the gas bill' and 'fold the laundry' shouldn't be on there. Except, sad as it sounds, I tend to totally forget to actually do any of the things that don't make it onto my list, and that gets problematic, not simple, when it comes to things like paying the bills. I think overall, what I should be concentrating on when it comes to home-based voluntary simplicity is not so much eliminating tasks or things as it is eliminating the emotional overlap between me and homemaking. Dinner? Has to get made, so get over it. Less than tidy house? Not hurting anyone, so get over it. And so on.

But in the interest of having an actionable item for the day, I am going to sit down sometime tonight and making a meal plan for next week. Then I will attempt to stick to it. Wish me luck!

P.S. - Check out Julia's Day 5 and the Attorney At Large's Day 5 over at their blogs!