From, Casey at Home

There is a certain type of never-ending-ness that seems to follow homemakers around.

The laundry pile grows taller. The bathroom mirror collects splatters of toothpaste and fingerprints. The floors need sweeping again. We look around our homes and wonder why we can never seem to “catch up”.

For a long time, I approached cleaning as a reaction to chaos. I cleaned when things felt out of control, when company was coming, or when I couldn’t stand looking at the mess any longer. Through my frustration of feeling like I was never “catching up”, a cleaning routine was built. From there, what I eventually realized is having a cleaning routine is not primarily about cleanliness. It’s a sign of faithful home stewardship.

When we open the first pages of Scripture, we encounter a God who creates order. The earth was without form and void, then God intentionally shaped, separated, named, and arranged His Creation. We plainly see Creation reveals something about the Creator: He delights in order, purpose, and beauty.

Disorder and dissarray only came after the fall. After the curse.

The fact God delights in order, purpose, and beauty doesn’t mean our homes should always look like magazine spreads, or be so neat and tidy at all times as if no one lived in them — what a burden! But is does mean doing our best to cultivate order in the spaces entrusted to us can reflect something true about God’s character.

A cleaning routine is not an attempt to achieve perfection. It is a small way of participating in the ordering work that God has given us each day, week, month, or year.

The first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks us, “What is the chief end of man?”, to which we answer that man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

Our homes, our furniture, our dishes, our schedules—even our children—are gifts entrusted to us by God. We glorify Him in how we take care of them.

Stewardship asks a distinctly different question than ownership. Ownership says, “This is mine and I can do whatever I want with it.” Stewardship says, “This belongs to God. How can I care for it well?”

A cleaning routine is simply a system that helps us steward what God has entrusted to us. Therefore, it should play an important role in our lives. Sure, it’s going to look different for everyone. But the humble acts of service we provide to ourselves and others by creating a routine for caring for our home and sticking with it is important.

Ordinary acts of service are not insignificant simply because they are repetitive.

Many people think routines are too repetitive and restrictive. I want to push pack on that by saying good routines create freedom and margin.

When I know that bathrooms are cleaned on a certain day and laundry is done on another, I spend less mental energy deciding what needs attention. It frees my mind to focus on my family, my work, my church, or the people around me. By knowing things are set to be done at specific times allows me to never have to think about it until I have to think about it. Then poof, it’s quickly done and once again I don’t have to think about it.

A cleaning routine is not a spiritual discipline in the same way prayer or Bible reading is, but it can support a life that is less distracted and more available to the things God may have called us to.

And yes, there will be seasons when the routine falls apart. New babies arrive, illness spreads through the house, work becomes overwhelming, life gets heavy, etc. During these times, it is important to remember that we should not hold routines in such high esteem that they overshadow other works the Lord has called us to do.

Also, we shouldn’t let it become so big that our attitudes are highly influenced by our ability to mark off each task. The purpose of a cleaning routine is not to earn worth or let it be burdensome on our consciences. It is simply a practical expression of stewardship and service to be done unto the Lord.

So if you’re creating a cleaning routine, don’t think of it as merely a productivity hack. Think of it as a way of stewardship. A way to bring a little order to the place God has entrusted to you. And way to love the people He has placed within your walls.