Do you ever find yourself discouraged or even overwhelmed by the state of your home? I know I have found myself in that place more than I would like to admit! The messy rooms, the imperfect decor, the never-ending dirty dishes, and the repairs I couldn’t seem to keep up with threatened my sanity at times.
My expectations for my home were often too high and my ability to maintain it all seemed to be lacking. I’d get one room pulled together and another area would fall apart. Can you relate?
Would I ever get it together? I often wished I could figure out how to arrive at the perfect house, so everything in my life and home would be just as I dreamed it should be. Looking back, I realize how silly and even destructive that was.
Isn’t that just how we feel sometimes? We want to wish away our reality and head off in search of something we think would be more perfect for us? But what if the home we already have is the home of our dreams? Isn’t what we really want a sanctuary, a home where we can nurture our family, welcome guests, and be creative in an environment that inspires us to serve the Lord well? That seems like a dream house to me!
The pursuit of perfection is futile, but our desire to create a home that is warm, welcoming, and comfortable isn’t necessarily a sign of discontentment. It can be a blessing to the people we love. In spite of the imperfections or limitations of our house, a love for our home is something we can nurture right where we are. The love we show our home should be a reflection of gratitude to God for what we have. Our home is a gift.
Here are five easy ways to show a little more love and gratitude for your home!
1) Start a Cleaning Frenzy
Cleaning frenzies are simple. Set a timer for 15 minutes, turn on some fun music, and just start putting things away! Before you know it, the house is cleaner than it was 15 minutes earlier. You can step back and smile at how much tidier the room looks. You’ll be amazed that it really wasn’t that difficult at all to clean it up and make it “better than it was!” You just had to get started! You might even be having so much fun with your progress that you’ll be inspired to continue the cleaning frenzy a bit longer!
2) Set a Pretty Table
Give yourself the gift of a pretty table! I believe a nicely set table shouldn’t be reserved for special occasions. Mix and match your dishes, use what you have for a tablecloth, or treat yourself to a fun new serving bowl. Add a simple centerpiece, whether it’s a bundle of cheery flowers in a vase or a few candles. Enjoy dinner at the table tonight!
3) Tidy Your Room
Making the bed is one of the simplest ways to show a little love to the home you have. It doesn’t cost a thing and doesn’t take more than a minute or two. When my bed is made, I feel more together and more prepared to tackle the day ahead because I’ve already accomplished one simple task! I feel more at peace and less frazzled when I don’t have to see a disheveled bedroom throughout the day.
4) Decorate Your Door
Add something welcoming to your door to inspire you every time you come home. What would you like to come home to? A pretty wreath? A simple ‘welcome’ sign? A cheery front door can remind you daily what a blessing it is to have a home to come return to.
5) Start a New Tradition
Family traditions give your home a sense of warmth, heart, and soul. They create positive memories associated with your home. Start a fun new tradition for the ones you share your home with. Maybe it’s special dinner music you play as you prepare a meal together, or maybe you begin a weekly game night, or start a tradition of reading to each other after dinner.
It’s the little things that make a home more beautiful!
For more ways to love the home you have, see my brand new book at Love The Home You Have.
Join others and get inspired with a 31-day love your home challenge on The Inspired Room!
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Bev @ Walking Well With God says
Melissa,
Your post this morning was reinforcement that I need an attitude adjustment. Instead of grumbling about cleaning my home (after 30+ years of cleaning my own home, I’m over it), I need to thank God for my home and that I am still, for the most part, physically able to clean it. I will have to try the 15 min. cleaning frenzy because I find myself like a deer caught in the headlights, not knowing where to begin. May my home and my heart be a reflection of God’s love for me.
Blessings,
Bev
melissa @ the inspired room says
Thank you Bev, I know what you mean about getting “over it” when it comes to cleaning! After awhile it can feel so tiring! Maybe a little music will help inspire you to keep on going! 🙂
Peggy Bond Kinney says
Yes Melissa,
I needed this post. I have 4 boys and have always thought oh well it is what it is.
Now I see how I can be actually make it a beautiful home to glorify God and a blessing to others. Joining the challenge to make my home a blessing.
melissa @ theinspired room says
YAY, I’m glad. It is worth it and I hope you feel inspired. 🙂 Thank you!!
Penny says
Hi Melissa,
Thank-you for sharing these helpful tips. I agree it brings some peace of mind and shows appreciation for the home that we are blessed with.
Molly says
“The love we show our home should be a reflection of gratitude to God for what we have. Our home is a gift.” What a powerful statement! I am blessed.
JeanneTakenaka says
Yep, I needed this post today. Sometimes I find it too easy to wish I had others’ homes or decorating styles. I used to do something similar to cleaning frenzies. I think it’s time to renew that habit. You’re right. I always feel better when my home looks neater.
Thanks for helping me shift my perspective, Melissa!
melissa @ the inspired room says
Sure, I am the same way. It’s easy to get out of the rut and just wish you had someone else’s house! It really changes my own perspective when I start showing a little more love for the home I have. 🙂 Thanks for your comment, Jeanne!
Pengie says
Great ideas! Any suggestions for a woman in a wheelchair with little energy and even less money? Step 1 A Cleaning Frenzy is not a possibility anymore. With less money, hiring help can’t happen either. My husband (of almost 30 yrs) works hard at his job, but has no sense of cleanliness and no idea how to clean a thing. I prefer not to give up, yet see no other option?
melissa @ the inspired room says
I think your attitude to not give up is wonderful! I think starting with what you can do is the best answer for any of us.
If you can clear off your nightstand, dust off an end table, or empty a drawer or print off a pretty picture you like from the internet and pin it to a wall, or make a list of everything you are grateful for and put it on a mirror or in a journal. Those are little steps that start to help us feel better and more inspired to show love for our home.
Maybe your little steps will inspire your husband to help you too! I know at our house when one of us starts tidying up, the other often jumps in and does a little something too just because it’s inspiring to see people taking care of a home.
Maybe you could start by asking your husband to bring home a bouquet of spring flowers for your newly dusted and cleared nightstand!
I hope you find a few ways to start the process of loving your home more in ways you can!
Pengie says
Thank you for your suggestions.
Yes, simple things like clearing my nightstand and listing in a journal are things I can do. In fact ,I already have kept many journals over 41 yrs, since I started walking with Jesus.
When I was younger and able to clean, I too, hoped it might inspire both my husband and daughter to join in.
Sadly, that was not to be.
Now that I have moved with my husband to a new home in a new State . . . my health has declined and my husband fails to remember simple requests, such as “Please take out the trash”.
So my point is: I am on my own in a home I did not choose, in a place I do not know,
Loving this house (which does not at all feel like a home) will not be easy.
Kara says
Love all these points! I got married about a year ago and moved into my husband’s home. It has taken time to begin to feel like it’s our home and it makes me especially love the points you made even more since I think it will help in loving it and feeling like home.
Casey lynn says
I feel like this almost everyday, I’m a stay at home mom of a two year old and I clean everyday (usually the same thing as the day before) and often feel like the whole house will never get done. I started working one room at a time and getting to the point I was happy with it, then the next day I would pick up anything my son drug out in the room I cleaned and start working on another room. Its so much easier to keep a house clean than it is to clean a dirty house. So I clean a room everyday and add a new room the next day and so on and eventually every room in the house will only need tidying up not actually cleaned.
Casey lynn says
I also like to make a list of everything I want to get done that day and as I get it done I mark it off. It helps keep me focused knowing what I have to get done that day and then when I mark something off it makes me feel accomplished and like Im getting closer to my goal for the day.
Beth Williams says
Melissa,
I know I am blessed to have the home I live in. Sure it needs repairs, but in time when the money is there we will complete them. I love the idea of a cleaning frenzy. I love listening to music and doing just about anything! Perhaps new traditions would be just the thing to spruce my spirits up as well as my house.
Blessings 🙂
Marty says
Thank you for these great ideas! Your words were a great encouragement to me today! 🙂
Eline says
To me it’s also like: why do I have to live this big? When sooo many people in the world don’t even have a home…
ELAINE says
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ENCOURAGING ME TODAY. IT IS JUST WHAT I NEEDED. GOD IS SO GOOD TO US. I AM VERY THANKFUL FOR MY HOME AND ALL HE HAS BLESSED US WITH. GOD BLESS YOU.
Joanne Hooper says
Now that my husband is dead I have to continue making a home even without him around. Sad and difficult
charity says
I often feel despair about the condition of my room. Thanks for the confidence boosting. Will certainly try these tips. Lord help me!
melissa @ the inspired room says
I’m sorry you are going through a rough time! I hope the tips (and my book if you get a chance to look for it!) might be of help and encouragement to you. Take care!
Da'Vean Nash says
Just wanted to let you know how well this blessed my soul. I tried so hard just the other day to explain to my husband how I felt about our home. How it seemed I could not seem to get our surroundings clean, warm, inviting and comfortable. Step 1. Is about to get extreme. The rest will fall into place. I’ve always known our home is a blessing from God, so there is no lacking there. Again thank you so much!
Melissa Michaels says
Thank you! I’m so glad. Thank you for the encouragement!
Joyce says
Amen to this!