That One Thing

I have a lot of good qualities.  Asking for help is not one of them.  I sometimes take on too much, but I always make it work.  Lately though, my life has been more chaotic.  Soon after returning to work from maternity leave I took on a different, more challenging and demanding position.  Two of my co-workers, whom I considered close friends, left before I returned, and it was harder than I imagined (to be fair, I had tried to not imagine it).  I had a new baby and everything that goes with that.  I was still trying to cook most nights, and between pumping, cloth diaper laundry, and attempting to get 6 hours of sleep a night, but realistically being up every 3, something had to give.   I cleaned what I could, because a messy house stresses me out, but it was a losing battle.

I really don’t know the last time my floor was cleaned.  My wonderful mother came over one day and cleaned the shower and floors.  It was amazing.  But I honestly don’t know the last time I cleaned the floors myself.  I’m thinking that happened in October.  October of 2016.  I told you it was bad.  So, I’m not good at asking for help AND I hate paying people to do something I could do myself.  After months of debating, I finally took the plunge and scheduled a time for someone to clean our house.  I had a referral from someone I trusted and I negotiated the price a bit, but still….it was a lot to me for something I could do myself.

Today the cleaning crew came.  I returned home to the cleanest version of my house that I’ve seen in quite awhile.  The bed was made!  I have no idea when I last made our bed and if I did make it, I certainly didn’t put those cute throw pillows back on.  The couch and chairs had vacuum stripes!  This is exciting stuff people.  Not to mention, knowing someone was coming to clean forced us to pick up and get that new office in order.  It was like when someone tells you they’ll be at your front door in 10 minutes and you quickly try to make the house look presentable.  It was just like that actually, but much more efficient.

I’m not sure how long this clean will last, but I can attest that it is so worth it.  I also am focusing on the concept of spending money so I can spend more time with my daughter, rather than my cleaning supplies.  As much as I love a clean house, I love my daughter so much more.

I’m still working on asking for help but I’ve decided that this is my one thing.  The thing I’m going to keep doing for my sanity.  The thing that lets me spend more time doing what’s important.  If you don’t have one of these things, you should find one that's important to you; it’s so worth it!