I recently received an email that went something like this:
I loved your recent decorating post. Your house looks beautiful and you make all this seem easy, but I feel frustrated because what you present on your blog seems so out of reach for me. I want to be a good wife and mom, find great deals, be creative and stay organized, but I can’t seem to make my food budget work, my house is a wreck and I am overwhelmed. Help!
My heart broke a little when I read this because my intention is never to make anyone feel badly. My goal is to encourage and empower you because if I can maintain a budget with my spend-a-holism and lack of financial savvy; decorate my home with my lack of talent and skill; and stay “sort of”organized with my distractability and lack of self discipline, ANYONE CAN.
Here are a couple of things you need to know:
What you see is a glimpse
Last week I showed you a couple of photos of the more beautiful areas of my house. Right next to the fireplace was this messy bookshelf that I did not show you:
And nearby sits this chair with leftovers from my daughter’s 16th birthday party three, yes three, weeks ago:
And in the room next to the office:
This incredible pile of mail that I need to sort through (that was actually a pile until I placed it in the basket for the photo)…
and a living room disaster.
I made decorating the kitchen shelves a priority because I am in the kitchen throughout the day and I need to look at something to keep me calm with everything else going on.
Oh, and I had leftover grocery money to spend on decorating because a stomach virus swept through the house the previous week and no one really ate anything.
Do you feel better now?
I am where I am today because of a process.
Everything you see on my blog has been a process. I am where I am now because I have developed habits and routines over the past few years. You can read about a few of the changes I made in my post 5 Small StepsThat Changed My Life.
I definitely have bad days and challenging seasons but I just keep going, kinda like the Energizer Bunny.
I have help.
We are all in different seasons of life. I have been in much busier seasons like when my children were all preschoolers. (Read How I Survived 4 Kids Ages 5 and Under for some insight into that!). Now I have four teenagers who do their own laundry and help with cleaning and cooking. Sometimes they have sandwiches for dinner because I am too tired to cook what was on the menu.
So if you ever feel discouraged by something you see here, remember that we are all in different places and there is probably a mess or a failure just around the corner from what I posted. I’m not perfect ya’ know. 🙂
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Kimberlee, Thank you for always being honest. And, don’t ever think that your posts make us feel “badly”!
I do know where the “frustrated” mom was coming from, but I think it’s more of a vent session than a complaint to you!! At least, that is my point of view! I read your posts every time and I get inspired and encouraged, then I get done with a long day at work and go home feeling tired and lazy. Instead of getting all those wonderful things done, I go home, make supper and hang out on the floor with my three year old – all the while, the dishes sit in the sink, the budget is only half done, toys are strewn all over the floor and that same load of laundry is still sitting there, just waiting!! There’s always good intentions involved, but when all is said and done, I think sitting on the floor with my kiddo is the best thing that I could do. So, maybe I will get to the rest of those things tomorrow. Or……..maybe I will not.
Never, ever feel bad for the great posts that you share!! You are awesome! Thank you.
Thanks so much Brooke! I definitely think you are doing the right thing by spending time with your child – you will never regret doing that!
Hi Kimberlee! I look forward to your posts and your blog is one of my favorites. It is full of encouragement and I love your calm, down to earth style. The ideas, testimonies, recipes have been helpful both in the natural and spiritual. So, thank you for your time and the energy it takes to keep a blog running, you’re doing such great work for stay at home moms. And the name of your blog is exactly that, peaceful. I physically feel a peace when I browse your page 🙂
Wow Tiffany – thank you so much for your kind words! Knowing that I am encouraging and helping someone else is what keeps me going. 🙂
~ I love this post, and your blog! Now I don’t feel so bad when my house is a complete mess! Thank You!!
Glad to help Teresa! 🙂
Thank you Kimberlee for illustrating that no one has a “Pinterest perfect” life, as I call it. You are so refreshingly real. Thanks for making me smile after a tough day. 🙂
I am so glad that I could make you smile. 🙂
I just read this with the BIGGEST, FATTEST smile on my face. NOT out of schadenfreude, but out of a deep – and humorous – knowing that the perfection NEEDS the imperfection to make it shine. LOVELY!
Thanks and love,
So glad that I could make you smile. 🙂
Thank you! I really needed to hear this today!
My pleasure Rhonda! I hope you have a peaceful week. 🙂
This was great kimberlee- thanks for sharing. I’m glad to hear some things get better as the children get older and less exausting (??????) 🙂
Yes, things get better Jerilyn, but then you look back on the years they were little and miss them. Just try to enjoy where you are. 🙂
Thank you for always being honest. That’s one of the reasons your blog is a favorite of mine. You give realistic views of common issues and doable solutions.
The ages of kids really makes a difference. My boys are now 15, 11 and 7. The toys are not spread from end to end. They help with so many more chores (they each have 7 sticks a week with them listed) now. They are also all in school for 9 months of the year which helps control the amount of clutter and dishes we use. They can occupy themselves fro longer spans of time so I can get things done. I can also leave the older two (or all three) home while I run errands and that makes them cheaper and faster!
I have had to accept that my dishes may not be done everyday and the laundry may live in piles until worn and that that is okay! My children and husband are loved, clothed, warm and fed. That for now is all we need! The other things will come in stages.
You are so wise Em – the important things are getting done. 🙂