By The place where we feel like ourselves and are free to be whatever we want is our home. Whether you live alone or share it with a significant other, roommate or your family, it will always provide a special place for you to gather yourself after hardship and tough times. And one of the things that make your home special to you is the state it’s in. Contrary to popular belief, the state of your home doesn’t directly reflect your state of mind but affect it. And here’s how that happens in a nutshell.
Clothes everywhere
It’s not unusual to have a few things here and there during the weekdays, after all if you have things to do outside the house from early morning to afternoon, like work or classes, you’ll certainly try to spend your free time on something fun. But when those clothes turn into a mess you keep tripping over, that’s an alarm telling you to clean up. Sooner or later the piles of dirty clothes will start suffocating you since they occupy every nook and cranny of your home, and instead of feeling relaxed you’ll feel trapped.
So, take that laundry basket and start putting your clothes inside and those ready for dry cleaning put in a bag beside the front door so you’ll remember to take them with you. Don’t let your clothes be the boss of you in your own home. Not only will clearing your space from clothes enable you to move freely but will give you back the sense of control and self-worth.
Shoes are made for walking, not sleeping
You come home, tired and exhausted and instead of taking your shoes off by the front door or placing them on the shoe rack, you walk around the house and finally take them off near the couch or bed. That’s a big no-no, not only for hygienic reasons but also for your state of mind. If you put away your shoes in their designated place, you’re telling yourself that you’ve come home where you’re safe and can rest.
Seeing your shoes everywhere will only remind you that you have to go out again, and that can be frustrating especially if you had a bad day or a frantic one. Buy yourself some funny and wacky slippers, and when you come home, put them on the minute you get in. That will not only make you feel protected from the bad day you had but also put a smile on your face and warm your heart every time you see them.
Too much furniture, not enough space
One would think that buying new furniture will get rid of the old. Sometimes that’s not the case and your home becomes like that movie scene where thieves have to slip between laser beams, only this time its furniture instead of lasers. So, to avoid those bruises from sharp edges or knocking down some decorations or chairs, consider putting that old and excess furniture in some of supercheap storage facilities. That way you won’t get upset and feel like a prisoner in your own home, and you can keep the furniture until you decide what to do with it.
The moment you get extra space in your home, you’ll feel lighter and in a better mood, like something pressing your chest has disappeared and you can take that deep breath again. That’s what regaining control in your life feels like, so out with the old and in with the new.
Dust and dirt are suffocating both literally and metaphorically
It’s pointless listing all the diseases you can get from dust and dirt because you knew that already. But what you perhaps didn’t know is that looking at that dusty cupboard or dirt in the corner of your bookshelf can make you feel bad about yourself on too many levels, that vacuuming and mop can never do. Take for instance your special place in your home, your cocoon where you feel the safest and relaxed. The book you’re reading is covered in dust, you put your feet on the floor and you step on some crumbs, the smell is off and not at all refreshing, and something sticky is all over the backrest. Not only will you waste your time on cleaning yourself, but that peace you expected has just turned into frustration. A great solution is to hire a cleaning service if you can afford it or feel comfortable with that, but if not – better to spend a few minutes cleaning up than to ruin your whole day by being mad at yourself that you didn’t.
Lastly
There’s not only wisdom but the truth in the saying – don’t leave for tomorrow what you can do today. It seems that whoever said that might have been talking about house cleaning since that perfectly applies to the mess and dirt that can pile up if not taken care of regularly. Not only will the aftermath of cleaning your home make you feel better, but the very process will help you lose the anger, discomfort or bad mood the day has loaded on your shoulders.
