Developing a Heart for Housework – With 31 Days to Clean by Sarah Mae
{A Giveaway and Review}
Be honest. How many of you like housework. I mean,.. really LIKE it. I have things I don’t mind so much, but I admit.. housework can get me down so easily. Housework never ends, it undoes as fast as you do it, it’s repetitive, I often work hard with very little to show for it. (Or maybe I work hard and it DOES show but it’s undone so easily and quickly that it’s disheartening.) In short: I am not a fan, but I do love a clean house. Therein lies the problem.
![Dining Room](https://classichousewife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Dining-Room-450x337.png)
My husband is quite fond of a clean home as well, as I’ve mentioned, and my kids deserve a clean home to grow up in. But it’s not all about “clean” is it? What about functional, warm, loving, creative, happy? And yet cleanliness is a building block for all of those things. With our move into this new home, I’ve been determined to put some better habits in place, and strive for a cleaner, happier, home life here. We have really been doing quite well. But housework can still be somewhat depressing sometimes. Sometimes it just feels so pointless.
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for man.
Colossians 3:23
I’ve used the above verse for motivation with housework for quite some time. WhatEVER I’m doing, do it for God. Sweeping, mopping, sacking up the trash..when I don’t feel like doing it, do it for HIM. I already had that one building block in place, but I felt like I could use some inspiration in this area. So I requested a copy of Sarah Mae’s 31 Days to Clean: Having A Martha House the Mary Way – I had heard good things about it! I downloaded it and hoped I’d find inspiration somewhere in it’s pages.
![Kitchen](https://classichousewife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Kitchen-450x337.png)
Right off the bat, Sarah started getting at the heart of my issue – my heart. Beginning on Day 1 with “Why Clean?,” she challenged me to come up with MY “why,” why do *I* clean? It wasn’t too hard to come up with my answer, but then on Days 2 and 3, I needed to come up with ways that I can and do give life to my home. What? I actually sat on that for a couple of days. I soon discovered that I had all these ideas in my head but I hadn’t spent too much time digging in my heart.
In an easy to read little ebook, Sarah Mae presents 31 short devotions followed by a Martha challenge and a Mary challenge to help you get started. Much more than a list of To-Do’s, 31 Days to Clean seeks to help you develop a *heart* for your home and all the housework that goes with it. To be transparent, I have to admit that I’m not all the way through it yet, and that since we just moved into a new home many of the Martha challenges didn’t apply to me. But even so, I’ve already noticed a change in my “big picture” approach toward my daily chores. I picture the mundane tasks as working toward my bigger goal. I visualize and think through how I want our home to be and I work toward that. I think about how God wants me to use my home and I strive to meet that end. Finally: my heart is in it.
![school](https://classichousewife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/school-450x337.jpg)
I’m not saying that 31 Days to Clean is a magic pill of some sort. God put this prompting on my heart, He planted that seed, He used this ebook to water it for sure! You gotta desire that kind of change for your heart and your home, too. Seeking His will, this ebook might be able to water your little seeds of hope for your housework, too.
Life is REAL here in our house. We live, we make messes. But we’re learning to have fun and make that mess and then clean it up. We make mistakes and sometimes we fall behind, but we’re learning to jump on that and clean it up before it gets worse. We’re keeping our eyes on the bigger picture, bigger than that pile of laundry or dirty dishes. We have to work at it, every day, but I’m pleased with the changes we’ve made and I pray they stick!
TWO sweet ladies will be blessed with their own copy of 31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way. Simply use the Rafflecopter App below:
The giveaway will go live shortly before the Mommy Time party begins. 8pm in all time zones, beginning at 8pm Eastern at Blessed Beyond a Doubt and ending at 8pm Pacific on my Facebook page.
You can find 31 Days to Clean at their site and also on Amazon.
Throughout the post, I shared some pictures from recent cleaning and organizing days. You can tell that we’re still settling in, we have more organizing and more remodeling and redecorating to do. This presents a challenge in and of itself! Once we have all our remodeling and redecorating done, once we have all the organizational needs in place, staying on top of our chores should be even easier! I am truly thankful for this home God has provided, and I look forward to using it to Glorify and serve Him more! Taking care of our home is not only one way that I can show love to my husband, but my children, and others as well because we can open our home to friends and family members and more easily practice the art of hospitality.
** A special thanks to Sarah Mae for providing a copy of 31 Days to Clean for me to review!
I struggle big time! My two biggest hurdles are that I have young children constantly making messes and I highly dislike doing the dishes
I love the fact that the three phase learning system has music my kids LOvE any thing set o music
My biggest hurdle is my husband who doesnt like to throw ANYTHING EVER away. Not sure how to accomidate him and have a clean organized home.
I’ve been getting better keeping up with housework but there are certain tasks I really don’t like and I tend to put those off too long.
My biggest problem area is clean floors.
keeping up with it all is my biggest hurdle right now. I’m still adjusting to having 2 kids, and how it’s affected my scheduling etc…
daughters bedroom
I have troubles with keeping the bathrooms clean.
right now…. everything. I am 30 weeks along and what gets done gets done and other family help or doesnt get done.. I try not to stress 🙂
I have always struggled to keep my home clean. My kids are older now, and do most of the work, so it is cleaner than it used to be when they were little.
My biggest cleaning problem is moping the floor….. The kids love to chase the steam, which means the floor is slippery and they fall. 🙁 I know it will be short term though.
Yes! My husband doesn’t mind a messy house and I have yet to teach my girls 2,4,6 sucessfully to put things away. Clutter drives me crazy, but they do deserve to live and make memories.
I struggle to keep up on mopping the floors which in Florida can be a challenge with all the sand and my biggest hurdle is the children’s rooms. Every time that I think I have it cleaned and “under control” it looks like a whirlwind moved through again……I would love to have a system to follow!
Just doing the daily thing consistently! Finding the time and energy to do it!
Keeping up and motivating myself to do it rather than do something else.
I do. My struggle feels like it’s never done. I feel like I clean and turn @ & it needs done again. Time….remembering what is most important which I have done a lot better at.
My biggest hurdle right now is Mother Nature. We live where it’s windy and every time a door is opened dirt/dust/grass/and everything in between I’m coming in the doors. I literally spent 2 days sweeping and mopping and nothing to show for it 5 minutes after its done. My kids ages 3 and 1 1/2 are starting to learn more about helping and wanting to help so that’s helps my heart be happy but my eyes still just see dirt :/
Washing my floor–I have to wait until the kids are asleep, and then I’m too tired!
I am always struggling with a clean home, yes!
I struggle ALL the time with housework! The biggest problem is trying to get everyone to help out so I don’t have to do everything!!
Oh boy do I EVER struggle! I have 3 young kids and I homeschool! I do the best I can though…and I make everyone help with SOMETHING no matter how young! My biggest hurdle is keeping up on laundry!
I would love to win as I struggle with getting my heart in check when it comes to cleaning. I’d like to do it with a happy heart rather than a bitter one!
YES! I struggle with housework! The hardest part is clutter- piles of paper, random toy/ game pieces, etc.
I struggle so much with housework. I came from a home where my mom was very OCD and I think it has affected me to the point where I do not know what is normal. I really need some HELP with keeping up. I feel bad for my poor husband and kids living in a mess all the time.
Dusting 🙁
Okay, so I do admit that housework is NOT my favorite. There, I said it. I have to agree with Taryn R. as I do also struggle with the clutter. My sweet husband just keeps his lips sealed, but I know it bothers him. It bothers our children, too. Please help! Thanks for sharing this giveaway!
I could really use this guidance for my home!
Clutter is my nemesis! I need the help to control the monster.
My biggest hurdle is making it a routine part of my day and seeking God to keep me desiring to work for Him through these acts for my family.
biggest struggle…. when I should be doing it and I just want to sit down! LOL
OH I STRUGGLE BIG!!!!
This is one of MY Biggest obsticles as a wife/mom… I am THE WORST at House work. I wish I lived back in the 50’s so I could have been taught how to do it right… but I wasn’t. It can become SO overwhelming. Especially with a kiddo in the house.
I’d love some tips, advice… Help!
Ugh! I truly struggle with housework. I would so much rather sew, quilt, knit, or read a book. And my husband and children don’t seem to want to clean the house, either. LOL The biggest struggle for me is the dishes. They so quickly pile up and it takes a good hour for me to get them all washed, dried and put away. I know it’s a heart attitude and the way I’m viewing the work that needs to be done. The book sounds like it would be a perfect thing to help my proper focus and work ethic.
Oh how I struggle with housework… Not so much the bigger stuff but the dusting, mopping, windows, etc… but I do struggle with laundry! My sofa gets mounded with clean laundry and it drives my sweet hubby up the wall!
Boy do I ever struggle! Laundry is my biggest pitfall
My biggest hurdle is getting up the motivation to do the housework. Sometimes I feel like the proverbial gerbil in the cage, running to keep up but never actually getting anywhere! And dishes and laundry are the bane of my homemaking existence…as are mopping the floors and scrubbing the tub!
I am married to a very sweet and patient man who enjoys order and cleanliness and he, I am sad to say, married a woman who doesn’t always notice when chaos and clutter are reigning. Sigh.
I would like to use this to help train myself and my children how to be better keepers of our home. Thank you for the opportunity, and God Bless!
My biggest struggle is that it never ends. Just when I think I have all the dishes, laundry, cleaning done there is more to do. Cleaning one room, then the family dirties the other.
I hate cleaning bathrooms. I will avoid it at all cost.
Keeping every part clean…with a good attitude! is really a struggle…but the hardest is probably laundry!
I struggle every day with doing housework. It can be hard to get motivated and stay there.
[…] 31 Days to Clean eBook by Sarah Mae […]
I struggle with ALL areas of housework!
I struggle with consistency & keeping my hardwood floors looking nice! I’d love to win this.
I struggle with laundry! Big time.
I struggle in every area! Daily housework is really a mystery to me. I can do big days of cleanup for company or something, but the everyday stuff escapes me.
For the most part I like housework but I can get off-track easily. I get distracted by more creative projects that I want to do first.
I am always struggling to get my house clean! With 3 boys it seems to be a never ending task!
Ugh, definitely! Clutter and paperwork is my biggest hurdle. I despise the piles and it really overwhelms me.
I struggle with clutter every day. With 7 people living in less than 1000 square feet, and all the homeschooling things, and just the everyday clutter, sometimes it is just overwhelming.
I think this would be a very interesting book!