Grace by Grace — Room by Room

There are some days when I look around my home and think, Where do I even begin? Maybe you know that feeling. I let August go by without finishing anything I started. I could yell, at myself but instead I’m going to take notice of what needs done and begin to work on it a little at a time.

Because I know there is a room that needs attention. A drawer that has gotten out of control. A pile that keeps getting moved from one place to another. Something that needs to be cleaned, organized, donated, repaired, or simply put back where it belongs.

And sometimes the biggest problem isn’t the mess. It’s the feeling that if we can’t do everything, there is no point in doing anything. That’s where I’m learning to give myself a little grace.

Instead of looking at the whole house and becoming overwhelmed, I’m going room by room. One room. One corner. One drawer. One little victory at a time. That’s where Grace by Grace comes in.

This isn’t a series about having a perfect house that looks like something you would see on Pinterest. It isn’t about making our homes look like something out of a magazine. And it certainly isn’t about spending a fortune on containers and organizing products.

It’s about making our homes work better for the people who actually live in them. Sometimes that means cleaning. Sometimes it means organizing. Sometimes it means getting rid of things we don’t need anymore.

Sometimes it means finally fixing something we’ve been ignoring. And sometimes it simply means putting things back where they belong. Sometimes it means taking a break and resting before we get overwhelmed.

But we’re going to do it with grace. Because life happens. People live here. Dogs live here. Kids grow up here. Companies happen here. Families eat here, laugh here, argue here, celebrate here, and sometimes leave things exactly where they shouldn’t be. That’s real life.

Our homes don’t have to be perfect to be filled with love. So instead of saying, I have to clean the entire house today, I’m going to ask myself: What is one room or one space I can work on today?

And if a whole room feels like too much, I’ll make it smaller. What is one corner? If that’s too much: What is one drawer? And if even that feels like too much: What is one thing I can put away? One thing is still progress.

That’s something I’ve had to remind myself of more than once. We can get so focused on what isn’t finished that we completely overlook what we accomplished. But if I clean one drawer today, that drawer is cleaner than it was yesterday.

If I clear one corner, that corner is no longer cluttered. If I fill one donation bag, that’s one bag of things that no longer needs to take up space in my home. That’s progress. And progress counts.

So September is going to be another opportunity to work on our homes grace by grace, room by room. We’re going to look at the spaces that need attention and figure out what they need—not what Pinterest says they need, not what somebody else’s house looks like, but what our families need.

Maybe the kitchen needs a better system. Maybe the bedroom needs to feel calmer. Maybe the bathroom needs a good cleaning. Maybe the closet needs a serious decluttering session.

Maybe there’s a drawer that has become the place where everything goes when we don’t know where else to put it. Yes. We’re going to tackle those, too. And we’re not going to beat ourselves up when we don’t finish everything.

Because tomorrow is another day. We can come back to it. That’s the beauty of doing things room by room. We don’t have to finish the whole house today. We just have to keep moving.

A little cleaning. A little organizing. A little letting go. A little rearranging. A little progress. And a whole lot of grace. Because our homes are not supposed to be museums and they don’t need to look like a home you might find on Pinterest. Buttercup…

They’re supposed to be lived in. They’re supposed to tell our stories. They’re supposed to hold our memories. And when we’re finished at the end of the day, I’d rather have a home that feels loved than a home that looks perfect.

So pull up a chair, take a look around, and pick a place to begin. One room. One project. One little victory. And if today all you can manage is one drawer? That’s okay. Tomorrow, we’ll find another.

Grace by grace. Room by room. One day at a time.

Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates