Hello, friends! And a happy Friday to you all! I hope that it is beautiful and sunny wherever you may be. The weather has been so lovely the past couple of days, which is a wonderful change from how rainy it has been. I love myself a cozy, rainy day as much, if not more than the next person, but my goodness, after awhile… I’ve been soaking up all the sunshine I possibly can. That being said… it is certainly a rainy day today. Oh, well. I’ve been watching some really nice history documentaries the past couple of days, which is especially nice on a rainy day. In-between the unpacking, of course.
I had hoped that I would have the entire apartment all spick and span by the time Friday’s blog had come around, but alas, no such look. That being said, Bobby and I have made SO MUCH progress. I’ve been doing laundry like nobody’s business. We made the decision to do ALL the laundry, because the old apartment complex was so dang stinky. The hallway REEKED of cigarette smoke and it seeped into the apartment. And there weren’t enough windows to ever air it out!
I’m eager to show you the apartment once we’ve completely unpacked, but for now, I thought I’d write about overcoming perfectionism: in the home.
I absolutely adore organization and organizing a cabinet full of tupperware is my idea of a relaxing afternoon. However… I do have a tendency to organize myself silly. I want everything to be PERFECT. And when it isn’t, I just want to quit. Unpacking has been sort of a struggle for me, because nothing has a spot that’s 100% its own yet. I have to keep reminding myself that I just need to get everything put away first, and focus on the final organization later.
I know that I’m not the only one who feels this way. Perfectionism can be all too relevant in every single aspect of our lives, but perfectionism in the home is its own breed. An example I can use is my bed. It’s comfortable, the sheets are clean, and its even made! And yet, I still don’t feel great about it. For whatever reason, the comforter is still wrinkly, the sheets don’t match, and I haven’t cleaned the pillow cases yet! Not to mention that the comforter itself is more a winter comforter…
Yikes! All of that stuff is so shallow, why does it vex me so? It’d be so easy to blame social media for our need to have a perfect home, but these feelings go back much farther. They can go back to television, and magazines, and even just going to other people’s homes. Even if we don’t want it to be so, our brain naturally wants to compare things. It makes us realize who has a bigger tv, more expensive furniture, and who has more square feet in their home. And it’s so easy to get wrapped up in that. Frivolity isn’t ALWAYS a good thing…
Another example I have would be my seasonal dish cloths. I went through a phase thinking I needed one for every holiday and season. Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Fall, you name it, I probably have it. And the idea of displaying them in the wrong season? No way! Or how about displaying one with coffee stains on it? Certainly not!
I wish I could say I’m immune to such bouts of shallowness, but I’m not. I’m much better with it now, though. Stained Christmas dish clothes can wipe up spills just as good as an unblemished, seasonably appropriate one can, even if you are using it in June…
With this new apartment, I’m learning more and more to be grateful for what I do have. And becoming conscious of what I should be focusing on. I am so thankful to have sheets that are clean, counters I can clean up, and even more so, a roof over my head.
It’s so easy to fixate on how things look, instead of their function. The function is what is the most important. We must make do with what we have, and try to remain grateful for it all.
My bed may not be outfitted with the most expensive comforter, my pillows may be mismatched, and it may not have the most ornate headboard, but it is a clean and safe place for me to rest my head at night.
And I think we can still decorate our home and delight in the act of it, without needing it to be PERFECT. We don’t need to spend heaps and heaps of money on trendy pieces for our home to feel cozy. Heck, most of my favorites pieces that I have were either hand-me-downs from friends or family, found on the side of the road, or from Goodwill.
Decorating our home is a wonderful way to express ourselves, but it is not the only way, nor is it the most important thing to focus on when creating our home. I’m sure I sound like a broken record, but truly, all we can do is our best. Our home doesn’t need to be straight off an HGTV makeover show for it to be a cute and cozy home, more than worthy of having friends and family over. The home itself matters little, it’s those inside of it that are the most important.
Thank you so much for reading!
XOXO,
Mattie Mae
Midwest mattie 