"I Do It MySELF!"

"I do it Myself!" This is something my just turned two year old proudly declares when (she thinks) she has done something all by herself.  She is so excited and proud of her newfound ability to accomplish things.  Somewhere along the line, most of us lose that and would rather have someone else do things for us.  We as a culture have lost the work ethic and ingenuity that made our country great.  Well, I for one, am working on getting mine back.

It's not that I've ever been a slacker, but I have been so caught up in being busy, that I haven't had time to enjoy and take pride in my work.  Even in the mundane like laundry, you can look at the piles of clean and neatly folded clothes and towels and take a moment to feel that sense of accomplishment that you did a good job.  It doesn't matter that half of them will be dirty again the next day.  It matters that you did your job well today.

I have realized that there are many "chores" that I actually enjoy if I am not doing a slip-shod rush job to get on to the next thing.  There is something about knowing that I helped make my part of the world a nicer, more beautiful place that makes me happy.  By the same token, when I am doing a slip-shod rush job, I get no enjoyment from it all; partly because I am not giving myself time to enjoy it and partly because I know I am not doing as good of a job as I can do or should be doing.

I also had another realization: my kids are learning their work ethic or lack there of from me. If I want them to feel like doing something for yourself can be rewarding, I have to show that in my attitude and how I approach chores and projects. I also have to get them (at least the six year old) involved and not do everything for them. That second part we've already been working on and I think it will be easier if he sees a positive attitude from me about my own work.

On a side note, I have been becoming more and more aware of a few things regarding some of the cleaning chores which are really starting to bother me.
1. Have you noticed that almost EVERY disease and "disability" is on the rise in our country? Particularly cancer, autism, gastro-intestinal issues and immune system issues (allergies).
2. Have you noticed that almost EVERY food, drink and cleaner marketed for Americans to put in and around our bodies are chock full of chemicals or are "genetically modified"?
3. Have you noticed how ridiculous the prices are for the chemicals to "clean" your house so you won't get sick?
4. Have you noticed how widely prescribed and expensive the medicines are to treat the issues from #1 are?
5. Have you noticed there's not a whole lot of publicity about all of this?
So I'm thinking that #1 & #2 are CLEARLY related. And I'm thinking that all the big political supporters are making so much money off of #3 & #4 that they don't want anything changed, hence #5.

I'm not expecting any politicians or companies to do anything about this anytime soon. However, I can take steps to change that in my own house.

Instead of buying the expensive chemicals that someone else made, I am going to be trying some good old DIY (thank you Pinterest) Non-toxic cleaners which, by the way, cost a fraction of the brand name cleaning chemicals.  We (got to have helpers for this one) are also going to plant our own garden so that we know what has and has not been put on the plants. I am going to use as many heirloom plants as I can since I know that they have not been genetically modified.

I've already gotten started, and I will let you know how my experiments turn out!