Have you ever had the embarrassing experience of having unexpected company arrive when your house was a mess? Unfortunately, it is an ordeal most of us have been through. And most of us have vowed it will never happen again!
The following are a few methods that have proven helpful to my family and me as we have attempted to alleviate the clutter and disarray of everyday living:
Have a place for everything and keep everything in its place. It is so easy to come into the house and drop whatever you are carrying right at the door. Children are not the only ones guilty of this habit.
Making a game of household chores is a great way to get children involved with the cleanup of the home. Once the children get into the spirit of the game, parents had better watch out!
Our rules for the game went like this. Each member of the family was given $2 worth of dimes. Every time an article was found out of place, the owner had to pay ten cents. At the end of the week the person with the most money left got the kitty money that had been collected.
Everyone did rather poorly the first week, but as time went on, everyone's messy habits improved and the house looked much better. We found this a fun way to establish new habits and create a cleaner house. If your family has this p roblem, try our game and see what fun you can have.
The benefits of developing a routine of keeping things picked up not only result in a cleaner house, but it also helps to create a restful spirit. Husbands and wives alike prefer to come home to an orderly home rather than a chaotic one.
Keep the living room clean—then if guests suddenly drop in, you don't have to worry about what they see as soon as they enter the house.
Keep your home as uncluttered as possible. Your house may be spotless but if it is cluttered it has a messy appearance. When your guests arrive, don't fret about your house. This will only draw attention to the disarray. Instead, concentrate on making your company feel comfortable and welcomed. Remember, they camc to visit you, not inspect your home.
Not long after my family and I had begun playing our "pickup" game, I received a phone call from a conference president we had never met. He said he and his wife were in town and wanted to visit our family. Stunned, I hung up the phone. What could I do in five minutes? Not much—that's for sure. I was so glad the house was clean. I was able to use that five minutes to get myself ready. We had such an enjoyable visit they even stayed for supper—but that's another story.
By working together as a family to keep the house orderly and less cluttered, you won't be embarrassed when the doorbell rings and you have unexpected guests. You'll be prepared to enjoy your company.
