A fresh week

Mondays are always filled with promise, I think.

The kids are at school, DH is at work. It's just me and the dog and the eleventy billion things that I Have to do, Should do, and Want to do. And the stuff on the Want list usually isn't on the other two.

Last night, I started reading a book called "HOME COMFORTS: The Art and Science of Keeping House." The author is a bit didactic, but I'm trying to look past that. I'm just trying to find a way to make this work.

Reading the intro, it's less about this chore or that chore, but about the evolution of making a home a sanctuary, and how housekeeping has become a list of things we check off our list to clean the house, but we never seem to be able to find that spirit of comfort and love within our homes.

I think she's got a point, there. I can clean and clean, but I *do* feel like something is missing. The cleaning is only part of it, so this journey is part of Being Merry. I want to Be Merry in my home. Feel as though this is somewhere I want to be with my family, where we can invite people over to share what we have.

Anyway, her first chapter is about setting up a manageable schedule. And what do you know? That's today's Small Thing! I think the universe is maybe trying to tell me something, you know?

So I made my list of Must Dos for home maintenance and I discovered that my absolute most hated tasks were the things I now get to schedule at least once a month for the housekeeper. Honestly, these were the things that I hated to do so badly, I never seemed to get around to them, and they caused me massive stress because I always felt guilty. Now at least they're getting done once a month, where before they would pile up for months and months on end.

I admit. I do feel bad that I have to hire someone to do these tasks. I feel selfish and lazy, but on the other hand, if having someone do these few things means that I can worry less about my floors, and be more gracious about having friends drop in, then I'm going to learn to get over it.

Also, having someone clean my house gives me a day to do nothing but write without distractions. Woohoo!

Minimum Maintenance:
Dining Room - check
Living Room - check
Bedroom - check
Master bath - check
Laundry room - check
Hall bath - check
Dishes - check
Counters - check
Tables - nope
Desk - nope