What is Clean Enough? Deciding How Much Housework is Enough

I once read this quotation that said:

"A clean house is the sign of a boring person."

And I think that's true. For a home to be clean all the time requires two things: people who have few hobbies to mess it up, and someone else whose hobby is cleaning. Both of those things are signs that someone needs to get a life!

At the same time, a certain level of cleanliness is necessary in all homes. No one wants to fear catching a communicable disease upon entering a bathroom. When my oldest daughter was almost a year old, and teething, I found her in the bathroom. She had managed to lift up the lid, and was enthusiastically gumming the toilet rim.

Naturally, I freaked. And cleaned everything in sight.

But no one's toilet will ever be clean enough for a child to lick.

And that's the point. Nothing is ever truly clean enough when your kids are little. You just finish vacuuming and find out that a toddler has been following you while eating crackers. And is laundry ever all done? Nope.

Read rest of article