“The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel happiness living within that environment.”
– Marie Kondo
Sure, we all know that a clean home is important for our health, productivity, happiness, and spirituality, but do you take joy in the practice of cleaning? Many of us do it begrudgingly, or half-heartedly, or try to push the responsibility onto someone else. This means we are wasting a lot of life unhappily doing a chore we don’t enjoy, or we avoid it and live in a musty, dusty house as a result.
But what if you could reframe the way you looked at cleaning? To us, cleaning isn’t something we need to do, it’s something we get to do. Below are some of our favorite reasons for loving the act of cleaning and tidying, and why you could too.
Clean spaces keep us healthier
We spend nearly 90 percent of our time indoors, and almost 70% of which is at home. That it’s good for us to keep it clean and inviting is a no-brainer. Dust, dirt, bacteria, and grime can kick up allergies and sickness, and clutter can increase stress and anxiety. Cleaning and tidying is doing a service of love for ourselves.
It sets the scene for the next day, and the next you
How do you want future-you to find the space you just left behind? Doing craftsy projects in the living room or a giant cookup is a great way to stay creative and well-fed, but if you leave the crafts or pots out for future you (or a housemate or partner) to find, it might come with a sour taste.
Keeping your spaces tidy and clean from one activity to the next, and from one day to the next helps prepare your living spaces for the future you. Tidying up honors them, and sets them up for a productive, calm, and creative day too.
Be kind to yourself
Sure, keeping clean and tidy is good for us, but don’t let cleaning be another stick to beat yourself with. Life is busier now than ever before, and sometimes clean and tidy enough is good enough, seriously.
Building a habit over time
That said, if you hate cleaning, or just forget to do it as often as you should, try to make tidying and cleaning an enjoyable task over time by rewarding yourself with a small treat of your choice for a job well done – it helps! After a while, a clean home is reward enough.
Use your senses! We’re a big fan of adding essential oils to our home-made cleaning products to add our favourite scents to our cleaning practice. Not only will your living spaces look clean and inviting, but they’ll smell divine, too.
Have you found helpful ways to reframe cleaning, or does it perhaps come naturally to you? Let us know!
