Thursday, February 28, 2008

If Life Is Like Doing Laundry, I'm On Set On A Perpetual Spin Cycle

One of the things that I bought with my recent winnings was this book. It's by Dawna Walter, who was the host of a show on BBC America called The Life Laundry. Sadly, the show isn't on anymore. (Do you want to know how boring my husband and I are? Our favorite night of the week used to be Saturday night. Not because we did anything special or go out or anything, but because we would stay home and watch Life Laundry, House Doctor, and Location Location Location on BBC America. We looked forward to it all week. These shows aren't on anymore. I still miss them.)

Anyway, in this book there is a quiz called "The Life Laundry Survey" It's a series of 56 questions designed to help you figure out just how out of control your life is. I scored 354, which evidently means I'm a total slob. Here is what the book says:



251-400 points

Your life is in a downward spiral and you are unable to
concentrate on getting things done. You have difficulty in finding things
and have a bad time-management skills

You have a hard time letting go of the past and have periods
of depression. You may find that your physical health has started to
deteriorate. It is time to take action to get your life back on
track.

It fits me to a "T". My life is in a downward spiral, I do have the worst time-management skills, and I do have periods of depression!

Case in point: Yesterday I posted about my library book drawer. When you looked at the picture it seemed that I was a very organized and tidy person. Here is what my desk looked like when I took the picture yesterday:


Here's what it looks like now, and honestly, it usually looks a lot worse.


Here is my kitchen at the moment:


I haven't touched the breakfast dishes even though we ate breakfast over 3 hours ago.
What is the point of showing you all this? I just wanted to document how my life is now and how I want it to change. I want so badly to be a more disciplined homemaker, not for myself but for my family. They deserve to live in a warm, welcoming, and organized home. And I know that in living this way I am not being the wife and mother God wants me to be. (I have been so convicted lately with all the verses in Proverbs that speak about being a sluggard!)
I know that I can't make this change myself. I know that reading a book and taking a quiz won't make me change. I've read just about every book there is on cleaning and organizing and it hasn't changed a thing. I know that the only way for me to change is for the Lord to make a change in me. I need the Lord to continue His work in me, and I need to rely on Him to make these changes in me because in the end this will glorify Him!
So, time to stop blogging and tackle those dishes!




2 comments:

Karen said...

I love your honesty. And I wanted you to know that you are not alone! I won't post pictures of my kitchen at the moment because I need to head back to work, but just know that there are muddy paw prints all over it (didn't I just mop last night and isn't it supposed to rain this afternoon? sigh), dishes in the sink, on the table, and the computer desk is covered. We'll make it though.

Jess said...

I hear you loud and clear. Discipline in the homemaking dept. is something I'm always striving for. And you're right...only God can truly change this area. :)