Cleaning for Coming Celebrations

It’s time, it’s time! It’s time to think about fall cleaning and getting ready for the annual celebrations ahead (if you’re into that sort of thing). Isn’t it funny how the holidays come the same time every year and can still catch us by surprise? Even when we know they’re coming and look forward to them, we can get in a panic thinking about what we have to do to get things together.  Unfortunately, when unnecessary stress and frustrations come with the holiday events, it drains the fun right out of them. It doesn’t have to be that way. With a little planning, we can eliminate the struggles that stifle our holiday spirit.

Think About Who You’re Cleaning For

State the purpose. To get in the holiday spirit it helps to remember why you’re going to all the expense and trouble of cleaning, along with shopping, cooking, giving, and gathering. When you remember why you’re getting your house in order for the Thanksgiving and Christmas activities, it rejuvenates your purpose and reminds you about what’s important:

• Showing gratitude to God for the blessings of the year
• Celebrating God’s gift of Jesus as the Savior of our Life
• Creating memories with family and friends
• Sharing the reason you celebrate with your community

Thinking about whom we’re celebrating and who we’re celebrating with, and for, helps take the chore out of preparing for festivities.

Take the Stress Out of Cleaning

Start clean. Everything can’t be done at one time. If we get the cleaning out of the way, it makes everything else much easier—cooking, shopping, wrapping, decorating, entertaining, etc. When your space is decluttered, organized and freshly cleaned, that’s three less tasks to stress or hinder your celebrations.

Tackle the Cleaning Early

Start early. When we put off housework and procrastinate preparations, we’re setting ourselves up for frustration. Make things easy:

• Clear your space
• Clean all surfaces
• Clean systematically
• Create solace

Treasure What You Do

Simply enjoy. Sometimes, we stay so busy, we miss out on enjoying the comforts a clean home provides. There’s a sweet solace that comes with cleanliness and order. It’s relaxing for us and our guests. It’s hard to celebrate with gratitude, if we dread our work and don’t treasure our blessings.

Only living people can celebrate, and living is something worth celebrating. We should be grateful for breath and the physical and spiritual lives we are blessed with. The works and wonders of the Creator and Creation are beautiful gifts to enjoy.

A freshly cleaned house is a blessing too. Having a home to clean and things to celebrate are great gifts from God. Thanksgiving and Christmas are wonderful ways to show the world we are grateful for those blessings.  

I don’t see anything in the Bible that commands us to have a “Happy Thanksgiving” or a “Merry Christmas.” But, if we want to join in the celebratory experience of these events, it seems like a great idea to make them as joyous, peaceful and purposeful as possible.

Bring It Home?

Are you motivated to clean for a reason or just out of routine?

Praying for you as we grow together, Smiles, BRC