Clear your house to clear your mind

Do you ever wish you were more organised in your daily life? Sometimes I feel
there is just too much going on in my head that it overwhelms  me and
I cannot get things done.  A great way to shake this feeling is to clean
the house.

Cleaning the house and ridding it off old clothes, old toys, old books (personally
I can’t throw books away or give them away) and giving it a general spring
clean is like a shower for your mind.  It seems to clear the mind and
make way for important tasks to get done.  Why does cleaning the house
make us feel this way?

Cleaning the house frees up energy for you to concentrate on more important
things in your life.  When I see a pile of ironing that needs to be done
and I say ‘I’ll do it tomorrow, when I’ve got a bit time’ there
is an instant ‘post it’ note stuck in my brain saying ‘do
the ironing’.  That niggling feeling stays with me until the job
is done.  Of course my wife does this a lot of the time, which sometimes
makes me feel worse as I know I am not pulling my weight.  I have lots
of post it notes stuck in my brain and they all niggle at me until they are
completed.

Think about all the things that need done about the house, the garage needs
cleared, the loft needs cleared, the wardrobes need emptying, throw out old
clothes, throw out old toys, fix that leaking tap, do the garden, clear the
shed, paint the bathroom, sort out your paperwork there are lots of things
that need our attention.  Now is the time to do them. I know you might
not have time but make it.  3 hours of spring cleaning the house might
free up 10 hours in your daily life as your mind will be free to concentrate
and focus on other tasks, so it’s worth the effort.  If you don’t
believe this, try tidying and cleaning the untidiest room in the house and
pay attention to how you feels afterwards.  Often when I do this and have
motivation to carry on and clean the rest of the house.  One of the biggest
small tasks is cleaning out the bedroom and kitchen drawers.

Here are my 10 tips for clearing your mind by cleaning
the house

1. Schedule time at the weekend to start your clean, this way nothing else
   will get in the way.
2. Start with the undtidiest room in the house and don’t finish until
   its clean and tidy.
3. Reward yourself every 90 minutes (if it’s a big clean) every 30 minutes
   if it’s smaller clean.  I usually have a cup of tea and a biscuit.
4. Don’t turn on the TV for background noise as something will distract
   you and you might want to sit down and watch.  Instead turn on
   the radio for some noise, or turn on a program from Hayhouse
   radio
5. If you are starting the clean in the morning get up an hour early and you
   will be more focused.
6. If you haven’t worn it in 6 months chuck it.
7. Throw out old christmas, birthday, mothers day, fathers day, granny day,
   dog day, that time of the month day cards.  I only keep the cards my
   sons made me and wife gave me.
8. If you can’t manage the springclean in one day, concentrate on one
   task at a time or one room at a time and spread it over x number of days.  when
   your whole house has been done take another day to go round the whole house
   for a few hours and give a general clean.
9. Make a habit of cleaning a room every day.  Making a habit of
   cleaning a bit every day will free your mind for other important tasks.  When
   mess build up in the house so it builds up in your mind, if you clean a bit
   every day it keeps your mind free.
10. Delegate: this is a great way to keep the house tidy.  I don’t
    mean deleagte all the jobs but delegate smaller jobs to your kids.  My
    kids wash and dry the dishes, keep their own rooms tidy and take out the
    bins.  This has an added bonus of making them more indepenedent and
    teaching them skills for when they leave the nest (well, that’s how
    I make myself feel better).

Some other posts on clearing your mind

Clean
crazy by Crazy aunt Purl

Decluttering
challenge by Charlotte

Productivity
and organizing Myth #7

Spring
Cleaning  by Mom2Mom

Declutter
your desk, DIY style by Core77

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