Scrubbing With A Smile?

It's no secret - I really don't like house cleaning.  I mean, I really dislike it.  I am sure to some degree it's a result of cleaning being used as punishment when I was a kid.  My sister and I spent our summers with our Dad and his wife. With my Dad at work all day, she used her own methods of discipline.  To give you some perspective of the extent of the absurdity of this form of discipline I will share that once his wife made my sister scrub the kitchen floor with a toothbrush.  To this day I would prefer to have a house that does not have baseboards.  I will dread cleaning the seemingly miles of little cracks and lines for the rest of my life.

But this post is not about her or child discipline techniques.  It's about cleaning and my battle with it.  This month marks one full year of me being a stay at home mom.  And after a whole year, I still get all bent out of shape when it's time to scrub a toilet or vacuum the stairs.  I mean, who wants a back ache for the rest of the week just to have fluffy stairs?  And considering what we put in a toilet, does it really need to sparkle?  Yeah, I know, cleanliness is next to Godliness.  So do I keep murmuring and complaining like a child or do I get over it and start cleaning with a smile?

I have decided to go with option "B."  A while ago a friend of mine told me that she always dreaded paying bills.  It would get her all wound up and cranky.  Then one day she just stopped and thanked God that she could pay her bills.  Not only did the act of paying her bills become much less painful but their finances began to improve and have continued to do so since then.  I put that practice into place for my bills and I can say, it really works!  It's amazing that just the act of being grateful can change and improve so much.  It had never really occurred to me to put this into practice into other areas of my life until now!

Starting this week I have decided to apply that to everything I complain and murmur about.  If the bathrooms are taunting me I am going to thank God for indoor plumbing!  I mean really, what would life be like without it?!   Vacuuming? Praise and thanks, Father for a home to vacuum and for a working vacuum!  Piles of laundry growing all over - I am so grateful to not have to scrub my hubby's britches down at the creek with some rocks!

Just writing this is making me feel better.  I think I might even vacuum the stairs this week. Oh, and clean the refrigerator that I am so thankful to have!  (To be honest, probably still not going to scrub the baseboards.) 

This may turn out to be a positive and productive week!  My patient husband may end up asking what I have done with his real wife.