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Sometimes it seems that everything in the apartment gets dirty just quickly. Dust, dirty dishes and stale linen endlessly arise from somewhere … Is it possible to learn to treat household chores without the usual irritation?
1. Set a timer
Perhaps you, like many, hate to unload the dishwasher (you’re lucky if you have one). Try to note how long this process takes you – most likely, it turns out that it is about four minutes. Not so long, right?
This approach works in many cases. It turns out that something that seems global and completely unbearable takes up very little of our time.
Another advantage of the timer is that it turns household chores into a game, a competition. For example, last time it took you 17 minutes to clean the bathroom – can you beat your record this time? Conditional clock hands help us get together, concentrate on the task and not be distracted by anything else.
2. Do everything to the music
Remember the famous cleaning scene from Mrs. Doubtfire? This is the way to do household chores – energetically and to the music! Preferably for your favorite: for this, make yourself a playlist with hits that you will listen to only on cleaning days. A speaker or wireless headphones will help you (they are especially useful if you are going to vacuum).
And, by the way, while no one sees you, no one will stop you from fooling around properly: for example, singing into the handle of a mop, as in childhood. Even if it takes a little longer to clean up, it will fly by unnoticed for you. If music and dancing are not your story at all, you can listen to interesting podcasts, programs or audio books while cleaning.
3. Indulge in small pleasures
Almost all of us have our own “secret joys” – those for which, as it seems to us, others could condemn us. For example, watching TV is known to be chewing gum for the brain. So, while you are doing household chores, most likely no one is looking at you. So, you can give yourself free rein.
Allow yourself to turn on your favorite series or talk show while dusting a bookshelf or ironing clothes, washing floors to pop music on a music channel. Combine unpleasant with pleasant!
4. Use the power of fragrances
Many are quite sensitive to different smells – it is especially important for such people to choose household chemicals with pleasant natural aromas. For example, after ironing the laundry, you can sprinkle it with a lavender or mint spray, and after finishing cleaning, light a scented candle.
These simple steps can turn cleaning into an aromatherapy session. The main thing is to make the right choice. Lavender, for example, reduces anxiety. And if the room smells of citrus, people in it usually litter less and scatter things less often.
5. Document your efforts
This is where Instagram or YouTube comes in handy. You can shoot or photograph step by step, for example, the process of preparing a dish, and then share frames or videos with subscribers.
You can film the cleaning process at home, and then edit the video in accelerated mode. It will turn out especially funny if, for example, pets take part in the shooting. Or just fool around on camera with a duster and a mop.
6. Come up with a rite or ritual
According to Kasper ter Kuil, author of The Power of Ritual, three things define a ritual: intention, attention, and repetition. It takes intention and focus to turn a routine that you repeat so often into a ritual.
For example, you can decide for yourself that when you clean, you open a passage for positive energy in the house, and do household chores while holding this thought. Or light a candle at the end of cleaning, thereby emphasizing that the job is done.
7. Surround yourself with things you love
Agree, caring for what you love is much easier. So, to begin with, get rid of everything that you do not need or does not bring joy. When taking out each item, ask yourself the question: is this particular item worth washing, ironing, dry cleaning?
Without doing this, you are doomed to waste time and energy on useless activities. In addition, arrange your favorite things around the apartment so that you can admire them while doing household chores. For example, you can arrange houseplants so that your eyes fall on them while you wash the dishes.
8. Don’t strive for perfection
This is the case when it is definitely worth lowering the bar. General cleaning every week is an unbearable, and unnecessary task: one’s hands drop from the mere awareness of its scale. It’s much better to do things “good enough” and then switch to more enjoyable activities – dinner with family members or watching your favorite movie.
After all, the purpose of cleaning is to make our home such that it is pleasant to be in, live and work in. And just something.
9. Leave the Cleaning to the Professionals
If you are completely unbearable to mess with a vacuum cleaner, mop, rags and there is an opportunity to pay for the work of an employee, this is also an option. Perhaps for these two or three hours you can take a part-time job that will pay off the cost of cleaning. But at the same time, you will be doing the usual and favorite thing. Or just let yourself relax. Don’t you deserve it?