House Cleaning or Home Organization

Defining terms is an important part of communication, clear thinking, and resolving disagreements, and has its place even in something as mundane as cleaning. Before we tackle the cleaning principles found in the cleansing Word of God, we need to define some terms.

Cleaning removes dirt, dust, unhealthy waste and garbage. Organization sets up systems, processes, procedures, for storage or operating in a home. Cleaning requires technical knowledge and practice with physical cleaning skills. Organization requires foresight, and the ability to visualize what physical arrangements or what order of doing tasks will yield the most effective use of space or time. Good organization often makes it easier to know what is in need of cleaning attention, but sometimes people despair of a “dirty” home, that is primarily (or at least, most noticeably), disorganized and cluttered. In such cases, soap and water scrubbing will not solve the long-term problem.

We stand amazed at professional cleaning crews “cleaning” an entire home in minutes, rather than hours, until we realize they did not reorganize, de-clutter, or deep clean anything. On the other hand, some people equate “tidied” with “clean” and miss fingerprints on phones, cabinetry, and light plates for years. Others are sure clean means every drawer, closet, under bed, and upper shelf needs weekly attention, every surface must be scoured, disinfected, and waxed daily, and nothing can be out of place for more than two minutes for a home to be “clean.” Such people have only two choices open to them. They can either clean continuously because they have so much to do or never actually start cleaning because they have made the task so big for themselves, they are paralyzed into inaction.

Homes, of course, need both cleaning and organization. Effective stewards know which is needed when and how to plan for both.

Think about the things that need done in your living areas to bring those areas to an acceptable standard—do you know what counts as an “acceptable standard” for you and your home? Are those tasks cleaning jobs (maintenance or deep) or organizational projects (time, system, or process) items? It might be time for another page in the notebook to start recording possible cleaning and organizational ideas.