Remember the words of Mary Poppins, “Enough is as good as a feast”?
I didn’t really understand that as a child. Even as an adult it’s easy to overlook that principle with the belief that if you’re going to do something, you should do it well, every time!
That creates a lot of pressure doesn’t it.
With that belief firmly entrenched in my mind, imagine my relief as a young mother to hear Don Aslett, a successful businessman and author of cleaning services and techniques declare that deep cleaning is not necessary every time you clean.
What?!
He explains. You don’t need to move the furniture to vacuum underneath every week. It is OK to vacuum only the busy walk-ways if that’s all that is needed. There are times for deep cleaning such as in the Spring and Fall. And there are times for monthly or weekly cleaning that then allows for easy daily maintenance.
In other words, there are times when enough is enough. In fact, enough is often the perfect amount. But sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking if you’re going to do it, do it completely.
I had avoided Spring cleaning the mudroom because the accumulated debris of winter clothing and dirt seemed overwhelming.
But it was time and once I started, I experienced two things.
- And I don’t know why I’m surprised every time this happens, but it turned out not to take me as long as I had expected.
- Because I had limited time and energy, I was not able to dig into the corners or clean behind the freezer, but that was OK.
The mudroom became presentable and I chose to be satisfied.
Enough is often good enough!
Our challenge is to determine when good enough is the perfect amount.
Think of all that you can actually accomplish by giving yourself permission to do just enough.
Can you then spend more time doing something you love? Will you be more available for your family? What are all the benefits of not insisting on completely every time?
Let’s choose wisely how to spend our time and energy, and truly enjoy the newness of Spring by recognizing when enough is good enough.
With love,
Oh, I really enjoyed this. I now know that I can give myself permission to do just enough without having to do a complete overhaul each time. I need more time to get to those other things that have been just enough for too long.
Fantastic, Hillary! Isn’t it amazing how often we fill our lives with the “shoulds” and then never seem to have time for the things that bring us joy and would help us be so much more effective!