Get Clean in 2013
By Melissa Ringstaff
I’ve spent most of the last month sick in bed. I’m starting to feel better. I managed to get up and do a little baking for Christmas. Which was good, because Christmas just isn’t Christmas to me if I don’t have some goodies to eat!
Anyway, it’s been a really rough month for me. I started feeling sick the week of Thanksgiving. And it just got worse and worse. I have an auto-immune disorder (chronic illness) and my immune system is weak. Plus, I can’t take antibiotics even as a last resort (if I wanted to, which I don’t) so I have to be really careful with my health!
The plumbing on my dishwasher went out oh six or eight months ago? It feels like a year. Can you hear my sigh? I’m tired.
The house never fairs well when I’m sick. Which is so sad, because just before I got sick, I was really excited because I had managed to get most things back under control after having an incredibly hectic CRAZY summer.
I’ve been on a mission for a few months now to purge my household of excess stuff. My husband, bless his heart, has a difficult time parting with things. At the same time he is OCD about having a clean, un-cluttered house. Those two traits clash terribly! I’m working on getting rid of the clutter and stuff that has collected in our home after 13 years of marriage. I’m hoping that by the time spring comes along, my spring cleaning will only be “cleaning” and not de-cluttering, too!
My husband is a perfectionist, OCD neat freak, and I’m a creative, artsy, laid back, naturally messy type. But I do try to keep things in order.
Being sick doesn’t help my predicament. We also have a large extended needy family which doesn’t help my predicament either.
What obstacles keep you from getting your house clean and keeping it that way? What do you think would help you overcome those obstacles this year?
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Kim
December 27, 2012 at 10:35 am (149 days ago)My husband and I are the same way! He works really hard being (active duty military) so the least I can do is keep things tidy for him!
feel better soon. I am praying for you.
Kim´s last [type] ..An American Tragedy
Anne
December 27, 2012 at 2:08 pm (149 days ago)Melissa, I hope you’re feeling better soon. My DH is similar to your husband expect mine is not a pack rat. I am. This is my biggest struggle – being a pack rat and wanting a clean and organized house. We have autoimmune issues in my family, too. My mother died of ALS and we have to stay gluten-free. Your website and materials are such an inspiration to me. Thank you for all that you’re doing over the Internet. May God bless with many blessings this year.
Melissa Ringstaff
December 27, 2012 at 6:12 pm (148 days ago)Kim, thank you so much for your prayers! I am looking forward to being well and physically able to get a lot accomplished, by God’s grace!
Melissa Ringstaff
December 27, 2012 at 6:16 pm (148 days ago)Anne, thank you for your kind words! It’s nice to know I’m not alone!
I have a daughter who needs to eat gluten free, too. I have to watch my sugar intake. We’re all vegetarian. Planning meals and cooking is not always easy when you have so many diets to try and accommodate. And we don’t buy processed foods, so cooking is always an issue. Needless to say, when I’m sick, we don’t fare so well, although the older the kids get the more they cook when I’m not able. Problem is, they aren’t always the best about cleaning up the mess. Especially since we haven’t had an automatic dishwasher for months now! They try and they are such a blessing to me. Things could be so much worse! Anyway, thanks again. Happy new year! Here’s to a new year and a clean house! 
Anne
January 13, 2013 at 12:18 pm (132 days ago)Melissa, you’re very welcome and I hope you are feeling a bit better. I know the worst feeling is having so much to do and feeling so tired that putting one foot in front of the other is a challenge. We, too, don’t buy processed food and I cook all of our meals. I make one pot meals in my dutch oven and we eat a lot of left overs. While we’re not vegetarians, we eat a lot of vegetables and not a lot of meat. We grow a lot of our own vegetables organically to avoid pesticides and GMOs. The children like eating what we’ve grown. My brother is a childhood diabetic and my mother tried to accommodate everyone’s wants for meals. I’ve taken the other approach and make one dinner that everyone will eat. This has made mealtime easier. I simply tell the children that “you get what you get and you don’t get upset”. My DH and I have explained to them that many children don’t have enough food and they should feel blessed that the Lord has given us enough so that they can go to bed with full bellies. Yes, I completely understand about the dishwasher. Ours works but because of my DH’s multiple surgeries over the past 2 years and other health issues in our family I’m using mine as a rack to air dry dishes to reduce our living costs. It’s not ideal but it’s helping to lower our bills. Happy New Year to you and your family. May the Lord shine his many blessings on you and your family.