Comparison. Cleaning House+Mind

Comparison. It’s something as women we do a lot of.
We see snapshots of people’s lives through social media and think.. wow….
her kitchen table has fresh flowers…
non stained CLOTH placemats and napkins in napkin rings…
gluten free sugar free made from scratch meal on the table
served on non plastic dishes for her family…
I on the other hand have a breakfast table where I forgot
to wipe down the kid splatters from dinner the night before because
it was a “get the kids in the bath, no skipping bath it’s bed time NOW” night…
plastic ikea plates..
paper towel napkins…
serving pop tarts with fresh fruit to even it out (right?)
and a holding on to dear life succulent.
My kids and I are snuggled up though. so that’s a shot worth taking and remembering!

My spice cabinet is like a booby trap.
You will most likely get knocked in the face with garlic powder if you open it.
And sneeze. because something spilled the other day
and I haven’t emptied and vacuumed it.

I couldn’t see my master closet floor. I’m not exaggerating.
That was the space I put boxes I didn’t fully unpack or
“stacked” kid clothes too small to sort and pack away.
My kids went and played in there so kid toys were mixed in.
It made me itch and want to curl in a ball every time I opened the door.

Big old pile of dirty laundry in front of washer dryer closet…
and a big pile of clean unfolded-already folded once- clothes on my floor.

I went deep deep into keep kids alive-keep family happy-run a business-mode
since we moved to charlotte.
I am guilty of throwing my hands in the air. shouting out, “how do I do it all????
How am I supposed to do this??” Then comparison sneaks in and bites me in the butt…
Looking at other people and wondering what is her secret??
Why can’t I just get it together??
But this week… I was in a moment of judging myself and my shortcomings.
Big ol pitty party natalie time.
And I realized I needed to listen to what I tell other moms all the time.
Something I know… but don’t always put into practice.
You. Are. Enough.

What does that mean? Well I’ll tell you what it DOESN’T mean..
It doesn’t mean you are capable of getting it ALL done.
It doesn’t mean you are capable of having the picture PERFECT life.

To me, It means you are capable of finding true joy by
being and accepting who God created you to be.
You are enough… with your weaknesses and with your strengths.
You are worthy of His love and the joy He wants you to have in life!
God looks at me plenty I’m sure and goes oh girl.. natalie is a hot mess.
I love her. but she is riding the natalie train right now.
So often our surroundings and hearts can get chaotic and burdened because we put on ourselves so many tasks and demands of what we think we are supposed to be achieving.
I have found myself putting tasks out of order in true priority.
I’m really excited. And kinda proud of myself… for this week.
I slowed down. took a step back.. looked around and decide what I wanted.
But more importantly, what I thought HE wanted for me.
Where should I put my efforts?
I consciously chose to work towards…
less mess in our house
a refocused/prioritized work schedule
more undistracted family time.
Less comparison
more peace with where we are at!
And I’m taking steps to make that happen.
I kind of feel like I’m cleaning house and mind!
I feel like they really go hand in hand sometimes.
Is that strange?

Call it spring cleaning coming early…but this house shook.
I was that crazy lady sorting and trashing and moving furniture and letting go.
I want to surround myself with as little stress as possible.
I can’t work or relax when I am surrounded by house chaos.
kid chaos..well…can’t really avoid that altogether. but I can take care of the house chaos.
I realized that meant NOT putting something aside to sort through later. Ohhh I’ll just put all these school papers and coloring pages here in this pile and sort through later. FAIL.
It’s been 3 months. sort trash move on! I’ll just put these size too small clothes on the dresser in their closest for later. FAIL. Micah just demolished your folded clothes.
So that’s what I’ve been doing. Following through with house
cleaning that I would much rather avoid by working.
I set limits on my daily work time and gave some time to things I had been pushing aside.
This is for me. This is for my family. I hit a point I was ready to get rid of all the things! haha. But Just STARTING and not pushing aside these little areas that build up in our house has helped a lot. I’m seeing changes and loving it. We have like 12 bags to goodwill.. someone else can enjoy that sweater I loved in between high school and college. It’s time ;)

Less mess. less stress.
less comparison. more peace.
Less judging your failures… and more joyful living.
You are enough.
Now go fold your laundry and watch parenthood.