I am excited and privileged to share with you the first guest post on my blog. This post comes from author, Kathy Nickerson, who has an abundance of wisdom to share with us mamas, and I’m just so excited to share her post with you. To find out more about Kathy and the writings she has to offer, make sure to check out her bio at the end of this post. And now, without further ado, here are her five tips for a peaceful home.

How It All Began

In our first year of marriage, my young husband once asked why I never put the peanut butter and jelly away after making a sandwich. Instead of getting mad, I remember feeling genuinely surprised. Who had been putting the peanut butter away for me all my life?

Normally, I let dishes, laundry, and mail pile up on every flat surface until neither of us could find a clean glass or towel. Then the torturous Cleaning Day. This did not lend itself to having a peaceful home. So, my wise husband introduced the idea of Daily Maintenance. It was so simple, yet revolutionary: If you get it out, return it. If you dirty a dish, wash it. If you empty a carton, trash it.

We both agreed to try living by this method. Soon, I learned to apply Daily Maintenance to the bigger things. Like folding clean laundry and actually putting it away. Eventually, I even learned to apply it to things like attitudes and emotions, but that is a story for another day.

Five Tips for a Peaceful Home

I was not immediately successful, of course. Especially after babies started coming along. But I mostly learned to overcome and adapt in each season. We varied our standards and focused on different areas according to the stages of life.

Now, forty-five years into our life together, Daily Maintenance is still a standard for our mostly peaceful home. Here are four of the places it works well for us:

1. Make the bed each morning. Last one out gets this chore at our house. My husband has been known to pick me up and throw me back in, but it’s harder to do at this age. We actually make the bed together lots of days. We call it romance.
2. Drop dirty clothes into small hampers. We use a folding one in our closet. After morning showers, I empty it into baskets in the laundry room so the bedroom stays tidy and peaceful.
3. Wash dishes. After every meal and snack. Just do it. If you hate the loading and unloading like most of us (even though it really only takes a few minutes) keep your favorite dishwashing gadget nearby and swish for the small jobs. Buy a brush/soap combo that you love. Splurge a little and get a nice one. If you are fortunate enough to have a window above your sink, take a couple of minutes to breathe while you wash.
4. Put the house to bed each night. Give your house a bedtime ritual. Fluff the pillows. Stack the magazines or games. Drop the shoes into a designated tote. Clear counters.
5. Kiss goodnight/good morning. If you aren’t married, this might not work out so well. Maybe you can pat your dog or text your bestie instead. Just make contact with the people you love every day. Don’t skip. Our world is way too short on Hugs-per-Day. Nothing will make life more peaceful than investing Daily Maintenance in the ones we love.

And those are your five tips for a peaceful home. Enjoy!

Author Bio

Kathy Nickerson is an author, speaker, and eternal optimist. She writes from her home in rural Missouri where she lives with her country-doctor husband. They are the parents of four children, who grew up to become their best friends, and who have given them sixteen grandchildren so far. She has written several novels, magazine articles, and short-stories.

You can learn more or connect with Kathy at:
Website: www.kathynick.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kathynick
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kathynick_
Books Available on Amazon: amazon.com/author/kathynickerson

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Thank you for supporting me!

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