Treat your home better

 I was on TikTok this morning while having coffee and my FYP decided to change, a lot!  My typical following is my common interests and those I follow.  Social media moms are not on this list and they were flooding the feed.  The first couple of videos I briefly scrolled through, then more came.  

They had one thing in common.  Disgust.

Let me start off with, I am not perfect but I do everything at home to keep it healthy.  I grew up being a lazy little girl, but unbeknownst to me I was being groomed for when I got older.  I know that sounds odd but let me explain.  

I grew up on a farm, and I mean farm.  Chickens, cows, ducks, the works and with that came responsibility.  I was weeding the flower bed early in the morning, gathering dead fruits from the ground and feeding them to the cows, bailing hay with my family, mowing acres of yard, etc.  I started doing all this when I was about my daughters age at least that I can remember.  My brother was the one who told me it was a grooming process for our adult years because if you do the job right the first time you won't have to go back and do it again.  He wasn't wrong.  

Back to the videos. 

You'd think some of these are click bate, or rage bait but clearly, they are not.  The moms would have videos of their kitchen tops covered in dirt, grease, bugs, nasty diapers, dishes unwashed and more as if they were there for a week.  Then, they'd do the deep cleaning.  

The comments were unruly, and I wasn't far from the same mind set at the comments.  The video moms would excuse themselves that 2 kids were exhausting and they worked a lot but come to find out it's not that.  I understand how social media works, and some of it is for clout but this was definitely not that.  It was a family who are not putting in the effort to keep a clean home or teach their children to clean up after themselves.  

Hold on.  Let me put in here, I was a disgusting person during times of my life too.  I used to hide dishes and cups in my room when I was younger, and they would mold over.  Gross right?  It took discipline to get it into my head these things are unhealthy and attract unhealthy things.  I did the same sometimes in my teenage years and if you were to ask my mother when I lived in her home it wasn't far off the mark.  

However, to have your own home look and smell like something someone just uses as their own personal trash can is just gross.   I have had to tell myself, even when I'm exhausted to get the dishes done because it's one less chore and I'm an adult.  One woman even showed a video of a used pad on her countertop next to the stove.  I just don't understand how people can live in those conditions, and with children.  Children will mimic for the most part, but I was one of those kids who went a total 180 as I got older.  I am the worst when it comes to cleaning because it's practically an obsession of mine. 

My kids clean up their rooms nightly before bed, no food is allowed in their rooms, water in a cup is the exception to the rules since we have tile floors.  Make no mistake though, my kids have been known to eat gummies in there and a week later I've found them stashed behind the bed with sticky stuff on the floors.  Kids will be kids, but I'm here to teach them so they learn good habits.  

Something I learned when I first lived on my own is, a clean home is a clean mind.  The same goes for a vehicle.  My former truck was not filthy, but I will admit I wasn't the best with how I am now.  I didn't mind if the kids ate or drank in it.  With my new truck, R gave me an ultimatum that if I didn't keep it clean, he'd take the keys.  Some might say that's control, but I agreed with him.  I like a challenge, but also, I need to remind myself I'm an adult and it's my responsibility to take care of my belongings. 

My brother also reminded me of something when it came down to vehicles.  He told me when his company would hire a new hand, he would peak into their vehicle windows.  I didn't understand until he said, 'you learn a lot about a person just by what the inside of the vehicle looks like. If it's trashed or disgusting, you learn how they could be as an employee.'  He wasn't wrong.  

I'm not here to trash talk anyone's home, but if you have enough time to scroll on any social media, or time to watch a movie you have the time to clean up.  Better yet, here's what I learned to do to make things easier and not seem like a chore.

Clean as you cook.  Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.  Never let your sink sit over night with dirty dishes.  Always put away clean dishes before bed, so you wake up not stressed by what you have to finish.  Put away laundry as soon as the dryer is finished.  Never leave the room empty handed, always take something with you.  If you open it close it, if you turned it on turn it off.  Turn off lights as you leave the room.  Your home is you and always treat it as if you'll have unexpected company.  

I promise you if you do these things on a daily, it'll be your new easier routine, and you'll feel more mentally at ease.