A Clean Slate

Getting ready for this inspection for my home business pushed me to do a deep thorough clean of my kitchen.

It was hard.

My sister came over the day beforehand and spent time helping me cleanse the space of more clutter. Things I hadn't seen or thought of, she was able to visually address and then out it all went into boxes. Left behind was a minimalist and almost sterile looking kitchen.

She said "When I push myself to clean like this and purge my house of clutter, I can look at the new space it creates and it feels SO GOOD! It is worth the work it takes, because of how it makes me feel."

I thought in my head "I don't feel good".

I know that sounds awful, but I want this blog to be honest.

I looked at the bare walls. (My husband and I had taken down pictures and stuff off the walls to paint the kitchen this past weekend).

I looked at my clutter free hutch. My sis and I had just boxed about a dozen cookbooks and canning jars and even tall plastic jars full of colorful straws that my kids like.

Four perfect mugs sat in a perfect line on the shelf.

The cookbooks that remained were lined up perfectly even strategically placed with the baking manuals and cake books prominent.

It was too perfect.

Too little.

Too boring.

I called another girl friend for advice about what the inspector might ask or look for. She and her husband had owned a restaurant in the past and had been through this before.

She said "Empty your kitchen of any unnecessary items. It should hardly look like anyone lives there, or as if you just moved in."

and that was definitely the case.

Something about the empty counter tops made me want to fill them with vases of flowers, candles or whimsical tea pots.

Something about the naked walls made me want to run for my children's crayons and color all over them. ok, extreme I know.. but you get the point.

I realized through this process how much empty space BOTHERS me. I am NOT someone who likes simple clean lines. I want swirls.

I am NOT someone who likes bare clean surfaces. I want life and passion and warm color.

I am NOT someone who even likes order. Maybe creative order. Maybe order for traditions and order for my children's behaivor and order for programs and events, but for my home and my stuff, I want it to take on a life of it's own and just BE.

That being said, I don't want to be messy or dirty or live my life in a way that shows irresponsibility.

More importantly I want to be a good steward. I have been SO very blessed. God has given me so much. And I want to take care of what He has entrusted me with.
I want my children to learn from my example of how to rebound from failure, how to keep learning even in adulthood and how to manage the things God has provided for us.

He provided me with this business. He blessed me today and I passed my inspection. And He gave me more than that.
He gave me a clean slate.

I might add some lipstick and rouge to it, but I intend to (Lord willing) keep it clean. ;)