What Is a Well-Kept Home?

Is a well-kept home one that looks as if it came straight from the pages of House Beautiful? Perhaps it is one that has gourmet meals at an elegantly set table each evening. It certainly wouldn't have dust bunnies under the bed! Or for that matter, a bed still not made in the middle of the afternoon. Surely a well-kept home would not have a mountain of dirty laundry hidden behind a closed door. After all, those numerous home magazines NEVER show clutter or dirty dishes or dirty laundry or smears on the bathroom mirror. They are the experts, right? Isn't it their obligation to show you your goal?

I used to believe that the above was all true. I spent many frustrated days trying to keep a perfect home. In my mind, the well-kept home was a perfect home just like the ones in the magazines. That perfect home was the reflection of me as a wife and mother......as a woman. But over time, I have grown. The Lord has spoken time and again.......that a well-kept home is MUCH more than a picture-perfect house. A well-kept home is one where your family feels nurtured and loved above all others. Yes, the dishes must be washed. The laundry must go through its numerous cycles so that your family has clean clothing. Floors must be swept. Beds must be made. The to-do list of taking care of a home often seems never-ending. But a well-kept home is so much more than a clean home.

In the days ahead I hope to share with you my new beliefs on what a well-kept home really is. I do this not as an expert homekeeper, but as a woman on a journey to learn what God's idea of a well-kept home is and to create that home.