Cleaning the attic not only declutters your space but can also bring a sense of peace and reflection. Discover how cleaning your physical environment can have a positive impact on your emotional well-being and create a loving and welcoming home. Explore the calling of a homemaker and find inspiration to nurture and cherish your living space.
Let's Clean the Attic!
One of the selling features of our two-story home was an awesome attic hidden away on the third floor. This wide-open space revealed so much potential! The natural lighting and high ceilings caused my artsy side to soar with possibilities and ideas!
We realized the attic needed improvement to function as we hoped, and we dreamt about tearing down the middle wall, adding more lights, and laying down carpet. In the meantime, I organized all our belongings according to holidays, toys, suitcases, clothes, keepsakes, etc. and completely mapped out everything in my mind so I knew where every little thing was located.
A year later, when my daughter married and moved out of her bedroom, my husband helped me transform her bedroom into my office space, and I love it! BUT my beautiful office came at a cost. The attic floor had to be torn open to fix the electrical wiring in my office ceiling --which made a huge mess, and most of my organized storage had to be shoved to one side to make room for the work to be done.
This proved to be a major issue for me because I love organization but now, I no longer knew where everything was located in the attic. My mind was turned upside down during this time and I complained about it a lot. The inner drive in me must have papers, clothes, socks, games, etc. filed away in its proper place or else, I don't know, I can't function, I guess.
After a three-year hiatus of working on the attic, my husband found time to get back up there this past week, and now it is better than before! He not only fixed the floor, but tore out the middle wall, hung up new lights, and took out all the debris. Now, it's a clean, wide-open space, free for me to organize to my heart's desire! And the possibilities of what to do in the space are endless!
My husband is also refreshed from the whole experience, and now he is talking about adding a bathroom, drywall, and carpet to the attic space --and hey, I'm not going to stop him! If he cleans up after himself and doesn't touch my stuff again!
I recognized something neat starting to stir within my spirit as my husband was working away in the attic and I wanted to share it with my readers as a source of encouragement and faith.
The Transformation in My Heart Was Noticeable
The more the attic was put back together, the calmer and more settled I became. A new peace was forming within me, and it was as if the attic was an extension of me as a person and my life was becoming more well-rounded and complete with every action that was being taken in the attic.
This transformation in my spirit was so apparent and beautiful, I wondered at the source of it. Then, the portion from Proverbs came to me:
“The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.” (Proverbs 14:1.) It may not seem like we are doing much each day as homemakers, but we are building our homes. When we look after the "ways of our house" we are causing a blessing to happen in our lives and in our homes. This Bible verse encourages me to make intentional choices that will build my family up and manage my home well. I haven't been able to attend to the attic space in a long time and I guess it was taking a toll on me.
The Calling of a Homemaker
Women are called to be homemakers, that is our portion in life, and it isn't to be looked down upon, but esteemed. It is an honor to any woman who can keep a clean, tidy, well-ordered home. I'm always in awe when I walk into someone's house and the feeling is peace and orderliness. And, what goes through my mind? But esteem and high regard for the woman of the house.
All of us have been in homes where chaos greets you at the door, and our first thought is towards the woman of the house. We wonder at the lack of ability or understanding of such matters, don't we? It is just a fact.
We recently had an overnight guest stay in our guest room, and before he left, he turned to me and told me how the bathmat became wet during his shower and he apologized for not moving the shower curtain to prevent this from happening. He went on to say he knew I would be in the bathroom cleaning and wanted to explain himself.
Why did he turn to me? And not my husband? Because I am the woman of the house and he assumed I functioned as the homemaker, as this is my calling as a woman. This doesn't mean I'm not called to be anything else in life, but homemaking needs to come first.
Appreciating a Tidy Home
The settled feeling of having the attic put back in order has brought such peace and contentment to my heart and to our home. I'm looking forward to re-organizing and purging the belongings stored up there, but in the meantime, I'm going to make a note to myself to keep things tidy all over the house. Not only for the benefit of visitors to my home, but for my overall well-being and that of my husband's. It is apparent to me these things are linked together: tidy + clean = peace in my heart and home
When we live busy lives, it is hard to keep the rooms of our house tidy, but if we guide our time with habits and good practices we can keep a well-manicured home. Then the spirit of the Lord will visit us with peace of mind, peace of heart, and a settled home atmosphere where His presence can abide.
This Bible verse comes to mind from Psalm 101:2, "I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart."
None of us are perfect, but the Psalmist alludes to the thought the Lord visits us when we can walk within our house "in a perfect way" and "behave wisely". This heart attitude that showcases wisdom must be appealing to the Lord, because the Psalmist says, they will make sure to, "walk within their house with a perfect heart."
Reflecting on My Homemaking Skills
My attic is far from perfect right now, but there is progress being made, and with every action taken, I sense a rightful course about me, of tidiness and cleanliness, and I like it.
Since our overnight guest left, there has been a new awareness of my calling as a homemaker. There was something about the way our guest looked at me which made me realize the state of our house is a reflection on my homemaking ways, not my husband's. Do I want this reflection to be one of bringing glory to God? Or shame?
Another Bible verse comes to mind, "Train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled." (Titus 2:4-5.)
I am a very busy person with a lot of responsibilities, and little extra down time. But my home is to be my first ministry. This is where I must be perfect: in ministering to my family's needs. Nothing else matters before this is taken care of. So, I need to ask the Lord for help and wisdom in this matter of being a better homemaker, so I can maintain a sense of peace and rest within our home, blessing not only my husband and family, but our house guests as well, and ultimately, bringing glory to the Lord.
Would you like to pray along with me? Asking the Lord to give you help and wisdom in maintaining your home?
Father in Heaven,
How precious is Your Spirit that resides within us, teaching us, guiding us, and leading us into all truth. Thank you for enlightening us on this most-holy calling of being a homemaker and tending to our family's needs before our own. May we reach out to You for grace and wisdom in developing a perfect heart within our home so we may be blessed by Your presence.
Help us to excel in knowledge and skill as we seek to clean and tidy our homes. Give us understanding of how to organize our belongings in a way that is most efficient for our lifestyle.
Most of all, help us to build up our homes by way of walking in righteousness, displaying love, and offering forgiveness.
Be glorified in all we say and do as homemakers.
In Your Precious Name,
Amen.
Blessings,
Angie
The Founder
of My Sun & Shade Ministries
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