It's not a magazine

I love magazines. Home magazines with beautiful colours, layouts, ideas and interior eye candy to inspire! I love food magazines, full of fresh flavours, original combinations, sweet decadence or healthy living... I love it all, and flipping the pages of a magazine is one of my little delights in life. However, I do think there are some dangers inherent with it that need to be avoided or kept in mind whilst perusing the pages of a glossy.

When you open a magazine you enter a world where someone else sets the standard, the status quo, someone else begins feeding into your mind the things that are important, desirable, needed, someone else telling you how to set your priorities, your 'must haves'. When you spend a lot of time with your mind focused on these things of beauty, these showcase homes it really can become nearly impossible to remain contented and grateful for the home that you have. The home that is cluttered with items, the home that has the cereal bowls still unwashed in the sink, the home with the mile-high pile of laundry, the home that doesn't quite have a place for everything and everything in its place - a home that has a few junk baskets stashed here and there for that never ending queue of items that seem to defy categorisation. Those odd socks that seem to keep piling up, that you don't want to throw away because you KNOW the other sock will then make itself known. A home where YOU are in charge, and many days struggle to get food on the table let alone create a fantastic 'mood' board...

Having recently moved back into the home I grew up in, the home I now share with my parents, that contains years of clutter that is slowly being sifted through. I had to make a decision before coming here, a decision to enjoy the journey of making this space feel like our home. To be content with a non-magazine home, a real home. I am ok with a little bit of clutter on the journey to being an organisational queen, I think we will get there, eventually. I am ok with old furniture, with walls that need a fresh coat of paint. I am happy to work with what we have as I dream of all it could be. Anticipation is half the fun! I feel really excited when a small space or a little area of the house looks beautiful and functions effectively, even if the ENTIRE house doesn't quite yet. To create a beautiful and functional home that is welcoming to those who live there and those who visit, that is a delightful thing to do and its a process (though at any stage of the journey it can ALWAYS be a welcoming place). I think that is a good goal to have, as long as we continue to keep people first and things second. It sounds easy and obvious but they can very quickly slide out of order. This home we are now living in has a lot of history and though its never been known for being a magazine-worthy place to look at, I do believe people have felt at ease, at home and welcome within its walls. I would always pick inner beauty over outward beauty (though I do desire both!) Yes I do think we should take pride and enjoyment in beautifying and organising our homes, its a good thing to do! It's just very important to not allow our desire for all those 'must haves' to eclipse our gratefulness for what we do have, or even worse to detract from enjoying the people whose care we have been entrusted with.

Some time ago a friend of mine and I agreed to NEVER apologise for the state of our home. Is it just me or is the people whose homes are the MOST tidy and organised and beautiful who seem positively aghast when you visit- 'sorry about the mess' they apologise profusely. 'Um, what mess?!' I usually wonder in bewilderment. Does a newspaper on the kitchen table and shoes slightly akimbo by the front door qualify as MESS?! If so, my home would surely be a great candidate for the next episode of hoarders! Wow, come on people, apologising for your homes 'messiness' even if it truly is messy, only serves to make the visitor feel uncomfortable or worse, guilty for how bad their home must be. This is me, I never thought to apologise for my mess until I visited friends who were wildly better house keepers than I was. I thought if they need to apologise what do I need to do? I started apologising too. But not anymore! I made a pact to no longer do this. Making people feel welcome and at home is important, no apologies necessary! Lets lighten each others loads, encouraging each other onwards without feeling guilty about our imperfections along the way.

Our real homes will always be in a state of flux and transition, endlessly used and endlessly in need of cleaning and decluttering. I think the sooner we come to terms with that reality and choose to enjoy the journey, the in-between days, the more we will truly find satisfaction when we finally do complete those long awaited renos, or painting or de-cluttering or whatever. A beautiful home is not necessarily a happy one but a happy home will always be beautiful and welcoming- whether it is tidy, organised and artistic or not. Hey, thats what magazines are for ;)