A few weeks ago, I came home from a big day of helping a friend out with her house. I was tired and I wasn’t really feeling like coming back to do the dishes (or do anything else for that matter).
But while my husband was on a call with his sister, something in me went, “You know, after a long day of helping someone else out, that really did feel good. I want to bless my husband now and give him a clean home to live in.”
So I did the dishes, and then I took it a step further and straightened up the rest of our space.
I’ve never been very good about keeping the home consistently clean. I would do good for one or two days, but give it a couple more and suddenly it was a disaster again! 😂
But this one thought led to an entire mindset shift.
Suddenly, I didn’t just see the home as a place that was beyond frustrating to take care of. I saw it as a way to serve and love my husband and even myself. And what’s even cooler is that my husband has been getting into the cleaning as well, and we’ve been making it a team effort.
My change in mindset has effected the both of us.
Now when it comes to self-love, I feel like this is so important because in the end, you deserve to live in a nice place that makes you feel relaxed.
Also, I found myself getting excited to check things off the list for my daily home cleaning tasks. And now, I don’t even need the checklist, I just know what to do.
Oh, and one more mindset shift I noticed; it helped me to be more consistent with a lot of other things, and just show up when I didn’t feel like it.
Examples:
- Ok, I don’t feel like drinking 10 glasses of water a day (one of my daily goals)? Just do it anyway. Show up!
- I don’t feel like doing the dishes before I leave for an event where I know I’ll be too exhausted to do anything when I come home? Just do it anyway and show up.
It made me more disciplined without even realizing it.
And because I’ve been growing in self-discipline, it’s been making me feel so much better. Just doing things that I know I will appreciate later on, even if I don’t feel like it in the moment, makes a huge difference.
It’s been an interesting few weeks since I made this mindset shift, and I can’t wait to see the rest of the changes consistency makes in me.
Grace Moser is the author and founder of Chasing Foxes, where she writes articles to help women create a life they love in big and small ways. She's been a full-time traveler since 2016 and loves sharing her experiences and exploring the world with her husband, Silas. Her lifestyle and travel advice can also be seen on sites such as Business Insider, Glamour, Newsweek, Huffpost, & Apartment Therapy.
Strangely enough, I have always loved cleaning. I’m sure the end result has always been the prize. When I was just a tween, I kept my bedroom very clean and even painted my own bedroom. My Mother was a very poor housekeeper and I vowed that I would never have my children grow up in those circumstances. That has made me into a “clean freak”. I have always enjoyed a clean, organized home and always will. It’s really easy if you love it!
You are so right, Grace! Keeping our home clean and being self disciplined both help us to feel better about ourselves and affect the outlook of those we live with. Great lesson to learn! I’m happy for you!
Thank you so much!
Interesting and inspiring column…I’m going to ponder that and hopefully make some positive changes around my home. Thanks!
So glad to hear that it helped you out! 🙂