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Let me introduce myself. My name is Lindsey Montejo. I’m a wife and mom and let me not forget to tell you… I love Jesus. I also love all things cleaning and organizing. That includes cleaning the toilet…Crazy huh?

I’ve come to desire to inspire and motivate others to clean, organize and revamp spaces in their homes.

I say “I’ve come to desire” because before desiring what the Lord has placed in me to use for good, I held on to using this gift as a way to glorify myself instead of him.

I wanted everything around my home to be perfect. I wanted my house to be one of those Pinterest-inspired homes. A home that when you walked into people would go “Wow, this is so clean and organized.”

But I wanted that at a cost.

The cost was stress and anxiety as I began an obsessing over having everything perfect. Anything out of place and I was yelling at my husband and kids. “Pick that up, I just organized!” OR  “Seriously I just did the laundry!” OR “Ugh! Why do I have to do everything around here?”

Wait…

Did I just say why do I… I, myself… have to do everything?

Reality check! Who told me I had to do everything? Who told me I need to have a perfect home?

Resentment crept in. It became a Me, Myself, and I party. What I enjoyed about cleaning and organizing had turned into doing what I loved for the wrong reasons.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Philippians 2:3-4 NIV

I had selfish motivation in me to WANT those around me to recognize all that I do for them instead of doing what I love for the LORD. I was given a desire to clean and organize to help my family and those around me NOT given the desire to expect anything in return.

So here I am today, after getting over myself and realizing that my love for cleaning and organizing is to be used to help others. It is not meant to give me stress or resentful feelings.

I’ve come to find joy in using my gift to help those I love dearly and others in this world, because it is after all God who created me to be me. Not me, myself, and I.

The glory should be given not to me, but to the creator himself. God.

So here are 5 things I do to keep myself in check while cleaning and organizing for my family so I can be sure to give credit where it’s due…

  1. Pray. You will go into cleaning with a more joyful heart. Trust me!
  2. Put on your favorite Christian music!
  3. Ask for help if you need it. You do not have to go it alone. Kids especially love to be helpers.
  4. Start small and remember it does not need to get done all at once
  5. When you are finished do a happy dance and thank God for all you got done!

Lindsey Montejo

Lindsey Montejo
Lindsey resides in York, PA along with her husband and three daughters. She has a heart for Jesus and a desire to share her growing relationship with others so they may know that His love is unconditional.

Lindsey also happens to love everything about cleaning and organizing! You can find Lindsey at https://www.facebook.com/ATCbyLindsey/ where she hopes to use the gift the Lord has given her to bring some fun, motivation, and inspiration to tackle spaces in your home as she does spaces in hers.

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