Very important reminder.

Amen!!! I’m with you, sister!!! I too am a Mom to many, and we have a house that looks very lived in….clean, and somewhat orderly, but, lived in. The souls of our children is and should be a top priority. Blessings to you all.

Just remember that most “house beautiful” magazines or TV shows are linked closely to marketing, and convincing you to buy *something*.  The companies that placed full page ads in that magazine didn’t do it just to fill space.

Our house is in need of much…shall we say, “fine-tuning”?  When I had more time on my hands, if I spent too much of that time watching HGTV-type shows, I found that my level of satisfaction with our little imperfect home would plummet.  Hence our nickname for that channel: the “Why Your House Isn’t Good Enough” channel!

Another example:  the IKEA catalogue arrived in the mail a few days ago.  Why I didn’t put it straight into the recycle bin, I don’t know…darn those Swedes and their siren song of simplicity and orderliness!  Anyway, now that that sleek little book is not taunting me from the top of the coffee table, I feel much more pleased with our own eclectic style of home decoration.

This is why I avoid home magazines.  They just make me jealous of people who have more things or have the perfect house.  I also try to remind myself that it’s not about having a beautiful house (and I try to remind myself that those people are probably in debt).  I try to keep my house tidy, neat and simple without always buying the newest nicest decorative thing that someone else has.

One thing to keep in mind when looking at those perfect houses, whether in a magazine or on TV, is they are “staged” to look that way for the photo shoot or episode they are being aired on.  So those perfect people may not be so perfect when they are not in the limelight.

One thing I always notice about those decorating magazines- the houses look empty. They may add a coffee cup or a burning fireplace to look inviting, but they’re often void of families and smiling kids. On one hand I’d love to live in a model home (oh so clean!!), but how sad would that be without my family’s love to fill it up.

August’s oppressive heat dictates taking time for perusing and planning, right? Not the exhausting overhaul of anything or even the sometimes taxing tidying of much.  I think looking for inspiration is great and then taking some time to translate inspiration into a step by step plan is another worthwhile venture, not requiring much sweat equity, a rare commodity when one is nursing a baby-
Then if the situation permits, you can do steps 1- whatever is workable, knowing what you want, how you are getting there and, of course, the most important part- the why! Even if we are a little slower getting to the beyond just mere upkeep in these dogdays of summer, cooler autumn is just around the corner- I HOPE!!

“Guiding these souls to heaven is the ultimate perfection I seek”..

I know this well, but can get side tracked too.. thank you for this

I will let you all in on a little magazine secret. My next door neighbor has been in a “home” magazine twice. He worked in a separate division the magazine’s publishing company. Just so you all know they, meaning the magazine, starting working on the space almost 6 months in advance!  They constructed and planted everything at no cost to the owners.  The morning of the shoot, which was at 6 am for the lighting, they brought in all sorts of bags from Target and TJ Maxx.  When they left they took everything with them too.  It was so staged.  Fast forward two years later they are now divorced due to an affair. 

Oh what an example the Holy Family gives us to follow.  I cannot even imaganie our Blessed Mother ever being envious.  No matter what her beloved Joseph provided was all she ever wanted or needed.  I am sure their home, as humble as it was, the most beautiful house in the world.  Love makes a home, not things.  Money cannot buy what makes a house a home.

My wise older friend always says, “Make your home a happy place where those you love can see God’s face.”
If she has a few dishes in her sink and I offer to do them, she says they are “still bathing” & prefers to do them herself in her time, while we “make memories” together sharing in short trips or visits.  Another friend comments that people do not “visit”, especially with older people, as we did with my mother when we were growing up.