I don’t know about you, but when I return from holiday, unpack my clothes, get the wash on and then put everything away, it feels good. I feel organised and in control – it’s satisfying.
A long time ago, I realised that cleaning, organising and decluttering is a form of self-care for me. It helps me feel settled, makes me feel like I’m taking care of my life.
Cleaning can be overwhelming.
Yes, cleaning and organising can be overwhelming, and is sometimes avoided (especially when it’s the last thing we fancy doing) but it doesn’t have to be. It’s all about managing the process – something I talk about in my decluttering workbook. You can start by taking a small corner to tidy and let yourself just enjoy the cleaning. Feel the niceness of making things nicer.
Bite size chunks.
Yes, there’s always more to do, but that’s a disempowering way to think about it. Just do a bite size chunk right now and enjoy it.
As you clean, things get cleaner. As you organise, you will feel less overwhelmed. As you declutter you will feel space around you and will feel lighter.
Self-care cleaning.
We can extend this self-care of cleaning and organisation into other parts of our lives –
- Organising and getting on top of finances.
- Fixing little things around the house.
- Deleting a bunch of apps on the phone and turning off notifications.
- Unsubscribing from newsletters or offers you’ve signed up to via email.
- Filing personal admin.
- Ordering birthday cards and pressies in advance and topping up the gift box.
Think of taking a task from your task list as a form of this self-care. One item at a time, taking care of your life.
It can be overwhelming and to be dreaded … or it can be nourishing and lovely.
It’s a choice – your choice.
Re-framing the concept of cleaning.
If we change the way we look at things, if we reframe certain activities to change our mindset, we can nourish our own mental health. We can find different ways of self-care which is something we so often struggle to prioritise. We can take care of our life.
