How to Mindfully Clean your House

A messy house can feel paralyzing. It drains your energy. Every time you look at a pile of stuff sitting in the corner, you feel discouraged. Looking around at clutter causes you to feel overwhelmed. 

Before you clean anything, be aware of how you feel about your space. Deal with disorganization by seeing how the stuff you hold onto holds you back. 

Why don't you throw or give stuff away? Because you may need it again? Those hot pants might fit again this year or come back into style. 

Do you hold onto your stuff because you're saving it for your children or grandchildren? They won't want it.

Do you hold onto memories because they remind you of good times? Sometimes people hold onto things because of guilt. 

I have a friend who still has a blanket on her couch from her ex-boyfriend. He cheated on her a year ago, and they broke up.  Every time she looks at the blanket, she feels bad. Why would you hold onto that? She says the blanket is comfortable. Pillows are comfortable; your couch is comfortable. Things that remind you of someone who did you wrong are not. Give it to a second-hand store and buy another one. 

Most of the time we hold onto stuff because we are holding onto the past.  Unless you use it, there is no reason to keep it except for the memories it provides.

I did another purge this year, threw some things away. I gave some to the poor but realized they have enough problems.

With 2021 waiting in the wings its time to get rid of your stuff that has a bad vibe. Make it a new years resolution to clean up. Stop Hoarding Your Past.

You hold onto the past because you're focused on the way things were- not the way they are. It's tough to climb outside doubt or worry when you hold onto things in your environment that remind you to worry.

Reframe your mind about cleaning and organizing your space.

Logically, you would want to hold onto things you have invested in and created hobbies from. There is nothing wrong with gathering things that interest you.

You can find a way to store things and catalogue and find it when you need it. You don't have to do it all at once. In time you'll know what to do with the stuff. In the same way, you enjoyed buying things you enjoyed organizing them. 

Your goal though is to lift the feeling of being overwhelmed by the clutter. Welcome organization. Imagine your life being well organized. Imagine feeling calmer and centred in your home. 

Start with one room and organize it the best you can. First, make a pile of anything you haven't used or worn in over a year. Now just put it all aside until later.

Now organize all that is left over. If you need to give stuff away, imagine someone else using it and enjoying it. When I clean my closet, I imagine a friend receiving my clothing, wearing them and enjoying them. I know a shirt leaves my closet where it sat for over a year, and I see it being worn and enjoyed continually. I imagine it fitting her perfectly. 

Now, what if you give your stuff to someone who doesn't want it? It's okay. Could you give it to someone else? Don't keep putting obstacles or barriers into your path. Your biggest barrier is your thoughts.

Clear your closet by clearing your mind. 

When you go through your stuff, you may feel fear, anger or resentment. That's because everything has energy. That energy impacts you every time you walk by it.

A set of dumbbells you bought to get in shape but never use gives you guilt every time you look at them. They are bringing you down. 

You can do one of two things. Keep them or get rid of them, before doing anything, notice how those weights make you feel. Don't analyze or justify your feelings. 

Just know that physical stuff in your environment has an energy that is impacting you. Now decide if you want to keep it or store it somewhere else.

As a keynote speaker, I often ask audience members if they are a hoarder. Inevitably hands go up. The discussion always reveals that people hold onto their things because they can't let go of their past. Most of that stuff somehow makes them feel bad.

If something makes you feel bad, I suggest you don't keep it. Or you may decide to change your thoughts and energy around those things. A set of exercise dumbbells could give you a sense of hope.

It could spark enthusiasm for feeling more health and vitality. If dumbbells could be looked at as a  fun way to get in shape, they could make you feel good about yourself. 

If you resolve inside yourself to feel good about them (and yourself) than find a spot for them. 

Everything in your environment should make you feel good. If it doesn't get rid of it, change your thoughts or organize them differently. 

If anything you own causes you to think unkind thoughts about yourself or others get rid of it or change how it makes you feel. Something you hold onto that brings you down has no value, and it holds you back. 

Create a ZEN Cleaning Routine:

Turn a monster into a friend.  How to turn anything you dread doing into something you enjoy.

I hate dirt.

I used to dread going home because in every corner of the house lingered grime and dust. Cleaning my house was a total hassle. I told myself how much I resented it. Stress complied by dosing my body with hardening chemicals like cortisol. I pounced around my house with my vacuum and devoured dust. My body hardened with stress bickering at me to get this done. 

House Cleaning used to make me exhausted. Not anymore. 

By climbing outside myself, I have trained my body to feel calm when I scrub hard surfaces. With every circular motion, the sponge mops up dirt, I take a deep breath and unravel inside. Sterilizing counters isn’t a battle against bacteria but a relaxing retreat. I don’t wind up; I wind down. House cleaning isn’t a problem to solve but an evolution of inner harmony. I look forward to dirty rags and dirty floors. They help me find my calm. 

House Cleaning used to hinge on stress to motivate me to action. Now it invites me to relax.

The journey to relaxation counted on changing my thoughts. Telling myself how much I loathed housework joined allies with stress and made cleaning miserable. It was also boring and mindless so that I would transport my brain into some other stressful predicament.  

Inviting calm invites stress to take a much-needed sabbatical. Inside me are boundless amounts of calm, I need to ask it to join me. 

All positive emotions respond to invitations, not commands. Through repetition of warm thoughts and feelings, you provide a home for calm inside you. Nobody but stress wants to stick around when you're demanding or critical. 

Anything at all you hate doing, know that you are the commander of your misery. It’s you making it hard. How would you rather feel doing the thing you dread? 

Replace aggressive, heavy, resistant thoughts about the thing you hate with buoyant light positive ones. Change the narrative in your head and feel the lighter inviting feeling take over your body. Train your system to wind down, instead of winding up.

When things you hate are disguised as things you enjoy, the time will zip by. 

You can climb outside of stressful housework and into a zen cleaning ritual. You climb outside of the stress and into your life.

Remember, house cleaning blesses you and your family. It also brings you calm.