Pay attention to the messages you are sending to your family. Don’t ever give them the impression that the house is more important than they are.
This is not, however, a license for sloppiness. Some people live in virtual squalor and justify it by saying they’ d rather spend time with their kids than dean house, This, too, has an adverse effect.
What we’ re looking for is a middle-of-the-road approach, and I can’t paint the lane lines for you. Only you can do (hat. Be honest with yourself and discover if you’ re guilty of tipping the scale one way or the other. If you’re too close to the situation, talk it over with your family or with a friend who has the courage to tell the truth. You cannot become a happily organized family unless you find that comfortable fine line between perfection and pigsty.