I’m on day 12 of my 30 day ‘letting go of clutter’ cleanse, and I’m
loving it! I thought it might be hard to let go of something everyday, but I’m
finding such joy and freedom in letting go of my stuff. Each day I can’t wait
to find a new drawer, shelf, or corner in my house that I can purge the
numerous things I have collected over the years. It’s as though because I’ve
declared it an ‘official cleanse’, I now have permission to be ruthless in
letting go of what I once thought I was attached to. Clutter be gone!
To keep the inspiration going, below is another great article on creating
and maintaining a beautiful and peaceful home. Leo Babauta, author of the popular Zen Habits
blog shares the habits that support him in keeping a stress free home.
Keeping a
stress-free, clean house
by Leo Babauta
Yesterday
I cleaned my house a little, tidying up, cleaning the bathroom a little,
cleaning the kitchen, and generally making the place look nice.
It is
simply beautiful. There is a tremendous pleasure I get in being able to relax
in a clean house.
Of course,
with six kids, it never lasts long, but there are things I can do to keep it
generally clean and tidy.
Here are
the habits I will try to maintain to keep a stress-free house:
1. Never leave dishes in the
sink. Or counter. Clean up any messes in the kitchen after I’m done. Wipe
the counters, keep the sink clean.
2. Tidy the bathroom as I go.
After I use the bathroom, clean the sink, the toilet, spray down the shower,
real quick. It only takes a couple of minutes, and the joy of a clean bathroom
is unmatched.
3. Pick up as I go.
There are little things the kids leave around the house. I’ll just pick them up
throughout the day, or keep a basket for their stuff and just dump them in
there, for them to put away later.
4. Never leave clothes out.
I have a tendency not to hang my once-used but still clean clothes in my bedroom,
leaving them out to clutter the place up. No more. They either go in the dirty
clothes, or they get hung in the closet.
5. Take the trash out every
day. It’s cleaner, and even if the trash isn’t quite full, this is a good
habit.
6. Tidy up before I leave
the house. It’s wonderful to come home to a clean house. Just pick up a
little before I leave.
7. Make my bed in the
morning. I’ll do this either before or after I shower. I love a made bed.
8. Tidy up before I go to
bed. Waking up to a dirty house is stressful. Waking up to a clean house is
an incredible way to start the day.
9. Don’t let clutter pile up.
There’s a place in the kitchen where we pile books and papers. That needs to
go. Piles are stressful. I will clear this counter daily, along with the inbox
we have for all incoming papers.
10. Get rid of the papers on
the fridge. I can pretty much put all of that info on our calendar. They
leave a very cluttered appearance.
11. Teach the kids to put
their stuff away. By far the greatest source of stress and messiness. This
will also be the most difficult task, and I don’t know if it can ever be
accomplished. But it’s worth a try.
Photo: Laurey W. Glenn, Robbie Caponetto
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