This week, I talk about why you should NEGLECT THE HOUSEWORK. I am not suggesting you let your house look like it was hit by a tornado, but I do think it is important to let yourself take time to answer your divine call and do whatever creative work fires you up, even if that means there is a little dust on the picture frames.

I talk about one of my favorite books, If You Want To Write: A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit, by Brenda Ueland, especially the chapter with the fantastic name “Why Women Who Do Too Much Housework Should Neglect It For Their Writing.” Amen!

If writing is not your jam, you might still enjoy Why You Should Write. Just substitute your creative passion as you read along. I have read this book twice now, and I think I am due for a rereading. As I flipped through the book looking for the chapter I wanted, I kept seeing passages I had highlighted that resonated deeply with me.

I still remember this commercial I saw as a kid. There was a mom stressing about the cleanliness of her floor before having her mom friends visit. She frantically cleaned the floors with the product being touted by the commercial. At the commercial’s end, she talked about how proud she was when the other moms let their baby crawl around her floor. That commercial left a deep impression on me. I often catch myself criticizing the cleanliness of my home and then feeling like I am somehow inadequate because my floors are not as immaculate as the ones in commercials and magazines.

UGH.

I want to follow Ueland’s advice and neglect the damn housework. I want to free up time to express my creative self.

Now, I’m not saying I want my house to look like it was hit by a tornado. That’s not good for my mental health either. But if I keep aiming for perfection in my housework, I’ll never have time to do the things I feel called to do.

It feels like housework is something meant to oppress women, keep us in the kitchen, too busy scrubbing floors to worry about bigger ideas.

On my deathbed, I don’t think I’ll regret that there were dirty dishes in the sink. But I will regret if I was so busy dusting, that I missed out on writing or painting or gardening.

Now, with the pandemic, my family is spending more time than ever at home. There are more messes and the dishes are reproducing and having dirty dish babies. I could spend every day cleaning and never have an immaculate home. It takes a real effort on my part to rise about the messes and sit down and write.

But it’s worth it.

I’m a woman with a fierce soul and I want to write and tell stories. I can’t keep delaying that part of myself.