by guest Kelsee Keitel

“I am really not looking forward to cooking dinner tonight. In fact, I’m kind of dreading it.” I had become an overwhelmed cook.

I never imagined those words would come out of my mouth … at least, not yet.

At 23, I expected cooking dinner for my new husband would be a breeze. After all, we’re young and energetic, and cooking is one of my favorite hobbies.

But night after night, I found myself overwhelmed at the thought of starting dinner.

Why?

Before I could even begin to make dinner, I had to conquer a messy (and often hectic) kitchen. That extra work felt so overwhelming.

Did I mention I can get a little hangry? When I want to eat, I want to eat … not clean the kitchen.

The more overwhelmed I became, the longer I procrastinated making dinner, and the more likely one or more of the following outcomes would happen:

• My husband and I would BOTH get hangry. Not fun.
• I’d eventually cook while feeling stressed and pressured. Also, not fun.
• I’d feel a little like a failure. Not fun either.
• We would opt for fast food instead. Not healthy.

One night, after snapping at the hubby while hangry and agitated, I decided to clean the kitchen before bed. It turned out to be a solid move because I wasn’t nearly as stressed when it came time to cook dinner the next night!

After that successful evening, I made it a goal to tidy up the kitchen every night before bed.

Now I’ll confess I can be a little of a perfectionist. I was tempted to do a floor-to-ceiling scrub at first. But then I decided to simply make the kitchen manageable for tomorrow night.

For me that meant wiping down the counters and reloading the dishwasher.

It might be something different for you. Think of this mini cleaning session as a part of your prep-work for the next night’s meal.

One Small Win: Commit to tidying up the kitchen each night, and you’ll relieve those “It’s too much! Where do I begin?” feelings before they ever hit.

Kelsee is a graduate student and blogger, living in Indianapolis, IN with her newly wed husband. She is passionate about cultivating sisterhood through vulnerability and introducing young women to the freedom and abundance of life in following Christ. When Kelsee is not snuggled up with a book and sipping tea, she can be found experimenting in the kitchen or chatting with her mom.

You can read more about how Kelsee experiences divine moments in the midst of ordinary life over at kelseekeitel.com or on Instagram and Facebook.