Getting "Clean and Tidy"

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

My husband thinks I'm filthy. Not just messy. Not just untidy. He thinks I'm filthy.

I admit, I don't vacuum daily sometimes. I admit, I don't mop daily. I admit that I only clean the bathroom every other day....and the inbetween day will invariently leave some of my hair on the floor after I've brushed it out.

But I feel like my family and my happiness is more important that a house that is hygienically clean. And anyway, I don't want to live in a sterile environment...it's not healthy. Literally.

I think my husband gets it from his mother. She's the kind of person that washes the walls with soapy water and a huge brush about once a month. She squeegies her floors and vacuums daily. The countertops in the kitchen are cleaned many many times a day and the beds are ALWAYS made even after midday naps.

Now, I love my mother-in-law. She's a wonderful person and the clean stuff comes naturally to her. But it's kind of annoying. If I put anything down for two minutes, it might just be missing ("put away") by the time I come back for it. And I wouldn't dare leave anything sitting on top of a dresser or table...I'd never find it again after it had been "put away".

That's not exactly the kind of environment I want my kids to live in either. My husband grew up without toys. I'm not sure whether that was a result of my father-in-law thinking toys were kind of useless (I'm not sure if he thinks that way) or whether it was a result of my mother-in-law not wanting to deal with the mess. When I'm in Syria with my kids, they have toys...but a very select few that get stuffed into a bag and put back into a closet as soon as the kids are done playing.

In my home, there are *usually* toys on the floor. Our phones are usually lying around on a table. My daughters' bedroom is always in disarray and my own bedroom looks kind of undone by the middle of the afternoon after naptime. My books and my husband's books look fine in the bookcase, but I don't mind if my daughters just throw their own books onto the shelves in whatever order they please. I go through the bookcare about once every two weeks and organize it for them, but the rest of the time don't care.

But then, I don't think that I'm dirty or filthy. The dishes get done, the kitchen gets wiped, the stove and fridge get cleaned and the table gets cleared and wiped. The toys do get picked up at least once a day. There are clean clothes in the drawers and closets and there are dirty clothes in baskets. I vacuum under cushions and I dust tables and lamps. The toilet and tub get cleaned and the sink/vanity is almost always orderly.

Anyway, that's my little rant for the day.

Toodaloo.

Fi aman Allah.