Cleaning Makes Me Happy! ... But Why?

Cleaning my house taught me a lot about how I think. I found myself doing dishes, and taking out the trash at home. But why stop there? Before I knew it I was vacuuming, sorting, organizing, and throwing out things I didn't need and was wiping counters. I felt so much more in control of my life, and every worry seemed to melt away. Is this coincidence?

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Backburner Space

And I'm not talking about the stove. Everyday from when I wake up, until I fall asleep, every little issue in my day doesn't go away until I do something about it. Every task adds up, until the thought of completing any one thing becomes unbearable. In my head, each nuisance takes up a bit of my subconscious, anything from picking up a new soap, to replying to an email.

As I began to clean up more around the house I noticed that the things that were bothering me, or I felt anxious about begin to melt away. For a week, when I found myself in the shower, I would have a second long freak out about forgetting to pick up more liquid body wash. Eventually I learned that the shampoo I was using made a better soap with more lather, so that was a plus.

Since the things on my back burner don't go away unless I am re prioritizing my goals, at the very least- by doing something now, I free up a little room for other thoughts, making my head feel a little less cramped.

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F%*# Doing the Hardest Thing First

This is such a trap, I used to do the most mentally draining tasks first, until it dawned on me that I didn't have the energy to do the brainlessly easy things after. I was tiring myself out too fast by aiming high and working backwards. I'm not a gym junkie, but I know there are two ways to exercise. The first way is to start at your maximum weight and do x number of reps, then make the weights lighter for each set.

Cleaning made me realize that I actually do things the other way; starting with the lightest weight, and working my way up to a maximum! I spent so many days trying my hardest, but only getting very little done, because everywhere I read said to start with the hardest thing first. We all learn differently.

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Easy Tasks to Build Self Esteem

When I finished the dishes and trash, I felt so good about myself. These are things that I needed to get done, but didn't need to think about. I could space out, without harming the quality of what I was doing. This put me in a trance, and suddenly my day got a lot more productive. By getting some things done, I could use my thinking on the bigger things after, still having some energy left.

I began to feel more confident as I started to sort out my desk, and throw away things from a drawer I didn't need. In my mind, the infinite task list was getting shorter. The way I perceive tasks is not by difficulty, but by how many there are total. If there are only a few things to do- but may be harder I am more at ease, than looking at 100 easy things to do.

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An Organized Room is Visually Pleasing

And makes everything at least "look like" it's under control, which is actually a big deal. All of those future problems that I was so anxious about, didn't seem as pressing as before, because my immediate surroundings were so organized.

I think back to working in a restaurant, when reservations were stacked, long waiting lists, and people running around panicking everywhere. Being in an environment like that made me panic and worry, because there seemed to be no order, although the system allowed for things to work properly, it didn't remove the feeling.

By cleaning and organizing, I was able to re frame some of the other things that I needed to do, and to my surprise, many of them weren't all that important as I once thought. I felt more free with my time, and what I could work on because my clean room lead me to believe that everything was in fact okay.

I recommend taking a day, and going full-frontal on cleaning. It might take a lot of time from your day, but is more than worth it. I learned that I prioritize differently, and to differentiate what is, and is not important, felt productive and better about myself. Now, everything seems manageable. "Clean space, clean mind" is a lot more than I first thought it was.

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