Maybe you’ve heard the story about the woman who cut off the end of her roast before putting it in her slow cooker.  On one occasion, her children asked her why.  Taken by surprise, she realized she didn’t know; she’d just always made the recipe the way her own mother made it.

So she called her mother.  Her mother said she wasn’t sure, either; she, too, was following the recipe as she’d seen her mother make it, so she, in turn, called her own mother.  Her mother said, “Oh, that!  I always cut off the end of my roast because it didn’t fit in my slow cooker whole.”

The younger ladies had no need to cut the roast, which fit just fine in their cookers.  But they didn’t know, because they’d never stopped to think about why their mothers did it that way.

The Cleaning Routine You’ve Always Known

If we’re not thoughtful, we can find ourselves doing the same thing with our cleaning routines: we do what we’ve always seen done, without any thought for why our mothers did it that way or if it’s the best option for our own homes.  For example…

Maybe your mother vacuumed the living room every day.  She had dogs that shed, and babies crawling around on that carpet.  You vacuum the living room every day because “that’s how it’s done.” But you have no indoor pets, and only older children who like to sit and read.  Perhaps you only need to vacuum the living room once a week, and can invest the rest of that time in something more beneficial for your particular household.

Maybe your mother hand-washed and dried all the dishes.  Washing them was cathartic for her, and she didn’t like having dishes out, so she dried them and put them away right away.  It never occurred to you to use the dishwasher for most of the dishes, or that you could leave the hand-washed dishes to air-dry.

Maybe your mother kept an immaculate house.  You and your siblings were gone at school for much of every day, and your mother used that time to keep everything in tip-top shape.  When you were home from school and finished with homework, you were usually out riding your bike.  You’re a homeschooling mom with five children at home getting things out all day every day, but you feel like your occupied house should stay as tidy as your mother’s almost-empty one.

Do As Much as You Need To

I’m not trying to discourage cleaning and tidying!  I’m just suggesting that we all ensure we’ve thoughtfully considered what is rational and realistic for our own homes and our current seasons of life.  We don’t need to do “what’s always been done,” “the way it’s always been done.” We need to do the right things, as often as necessary, for our own circumstances.

Sometimes, that might be more than what our parents did (like if you’re the one with a furry pet your parents never had).  But usually we’re pretty good about figuring out we need to do more to keep up — the dirt or clutter that accumulates is a pretty big clue.  We tend to be slower to realize when we’re over-cleaning.

So what about you?  Is there anything in your cleaning routine that’s inherited?  Maybe you need to back up and take inventory — create your own, just-for-you list that meets your current household needs.