There is something I’ve been thinking about today, and honestly, I think it is something a lot of us need to hear. Halfway done isn’t finished. If only I could get my family to understand about that it would be a true Godsend.

Which I know that sounds obvious, but sometimes we have to stop and really look at what we are calling “done.” For the last three or four days, David and I have been telling Charlie that the kitchen needs to be cleaned.

And every time I go downstairs, someone has made progress. Junior has done a load of dishes. Charlie has washed a few dishes. Things have been moved around. But there are still dishes throughout the kitchen.

There is still trash on the floor from the dogs. It has started making its way into the dining room and living room. There isn’t even one completely clean cabinet or a good open space for me to put the crock pot when I need it.

And that is when it hit me. Doing some of the work doesn’t mean the job is finished. I know because I have taught my family how I clean a kitchen. Which I learned from my parents and they way it’s happening here isn’t it.

When I clean, I don’t just wash a few dishes and walk away. I start with one cabinet. I take everything off, clean the cabinet, and put everything back where it belongs. Then I move to the stove.

I clean the next cabinet. Then I work my way around the kitchen, cleaning each area, cleaning the sinks, cleaning the cabinet where the microwave is, and putting things away as I go. By the time I am finished, the kitchen is actually finished.

The dishwasher is full and ready for the next load. The counters are usable. The cabinets are clean. The sink is clean. The things that belong somewhere else have been moved. The floors have been swept and moped.

I can walk out of the kitchen knowing I can come back later and actually cook dinner. That’s different from doing one or two things and saying, “I cleaned the kitchen.” Halfway done isn’t finished.

And this doesn’t just apply to the kitchen. It applies to every room in the house. It applies to the bathroom where you cleaned the sink but still have things sitting on the counter. It applies to the bedroom where you made the bed but still have clothes on the floor.

It applies to the living room where you picked up the toys but still have trash and things that belong somewhere else. It applies to closets, cabinets, drawers, laundry rooms, garages, porches and patios.

It applies to the yard. It applies to the car. It applies to those boxes and totes that have been sitting around because you know they still need to be gone through. The same thing with the blog half way isn’t done.

Sometimes we have to stop and ask ourselves, “Did I actually finish this, or did I just make progress?” Because progress is good. Progress matters. But progress and finished are not the same thing.

And I think that is something I am learning in another area of my life right now, too. I am rebuilding my blog. There are posts to write, posts to finish, printables to make, review items to go through, photographs to organize, Christmas ideas already starting to come our way, and more work waiting behind the work I am already doing.

Some days it feels like there is no possible way to finish everything that needs to be done. But maybe that’s not the point. Maybe rebuilding something means accepting that there will always be another thing that needs to be done.

That doesn’t mean I quit. It means I choose what I can finish today. I have been trying to clean out my drafts instead of continually adding more things to a pile that already needs my attention.

That means some ideas will become posts. Some will become printables. And some will simply need to be deleted because they aren’t worth carrying forward. That is part of finishing, too.

And then there are those totes. Totes and totes of review items that still need to be gone through. I know I need to get on the ball because Christmas is already beginning to show up in my inbox, and I know that is only going to increase as we get closer to the holidays.

So, once again, I have more work than I can possibly finish in one day. But I can finish something. I can finish one thing. And maybe that’s where our five-minute idea comes in. Or I hope it does.

You don’t have to clean the entire house in five minutes. You don’t have to organize the garage in five minutes. You don’t have to go through every tote in five minutes. You don’t have to rebuild an entire blog in five minutes.

But you can choose one unfinished thing and spend five minutes finishing it. Maybe it is putting away the dishes that are already clean. Maybe it is clearing one section of the counter. Maybe it is picking up the trash in one room.

Maybe it is putting away the things that have been sitting on the stairs. Maybe it is finally putting those five items where they belong. Maybe it is walking outside and picking up the things that have blown into the yard.

Or maybe, if you’re working on something like I am, it is opening that folder of unfinished work and completing one small piece. Five minutes won’t finish everything. But five minutes can change what you’re looking at.

And sometimes that little bit of finished work gives us the encouragement we need to keep going. Because I think we sometimes get discouraged when we look at everything that still needs to be done. I know I do.

I can look downstairs and see the kitchen. Then I can look into the dining room. Then the living room. Then I come upstairs and see all those totes. Then I think about the blog. Then I think about Christmas.

And suddenly my list feels bigger than I am. That’s when I have to remind myself: I don’t have to finish everything today. But whatever I choose to do, I want to actually finish it.

And yes, today I am wondering if I’m going to have to take off my blog hat stop what I’m doing and put on mom my hat and clean that kitchen because it isn’t going to clean its self and Charlie is never going to get it done.

Because David is going to work tomorrow, even though it is Wednesday. Charlie may be taking Gerald to Oklahoma. And I don’t want to walk downstairs tomorrow wondering what I am going to make for everyone and realize there isn’t even a clean space for the crock pot.

Sometimes life really does require us to stop and take care of something that should have already been finished. That’s okay. We finish it. Then we move forward. I often say, “Lord, don’t give us more than we can handle.” And today, I have to admit, I am wondering about that one.

Because sometimes it feels like God has given me a whole lot to handle. But perhaps the answer isn’t that we are supposed to finish everything at once. Perhaps we are supposed to learn how to take the next thing in front of us and faithfully finish it.

One cabinet. One counter. One room. One tote. One post. One five-minute task. One day at a time. Because halfway done isn’t finished. But halfway done is also proof that you have already started.

So finish what you can. Then tomorrow, finish something else. And keep moving forward. Just like the Little Engine Who Thought He Could and He Did I’m going to get the kitchen done even if I have to throw a wild eyed hissy fight because this time I’m not picking my battles its getting done.

Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates