Diamonds Are A Woman’s Best Friend, But I Prefer a Hoover
Why I must keep my physical, mental, and emotional space clean
Why a hoover, you ask?
I have different cleaning gear at home. I have a hand-held Hoover, a Roomba that functions like a robot, other cleaning devices, and mops of various sorts. I don’t hesitate to invest in good ones because it’s my favorite arsenal. I’m not a cleaning professional, nor do I own a cleaning agency.
But why do I love cleaning?
I love cleaning for many reasons- 1) It is cathartic. 2) It’s a lost art that needs recognition. 3) It helps me become more organized, and 4) It gives me more clarity.
‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’ was a saying in the old days, but not many people take that seriously today.
I’m a clean-ish freak, and I’m proud of it. Instead, I’ve been labeled OCD (which I know I’m not) or a killjoy (because I insist on keeping things in place as neatly as possible).
But who cares?
I used to, but not anymore. I’m pretty okay being a killjoy or OCD if that’s what people think of me. I know I’m not.
Cleaning our spaces -physical, mental, and emotional spaces is essential for our overall health.
Imagine waking up each day to a clean house, with things kept in place, neatly and organized. It’s the perfect way to start the day. It puts you in the driver’s seat and makes you all set and ready to go.
I’m not naive to know that perfection is an illusion. I’m talking about doing it as best as you can as often as you can without beating yourself for it. But cleaning your spaces is an essential life skill when you clean, tidy up, or organize your life with that mantra.
It makes things easier to operate and efficiently uses your resources, energy, and effort. It is also so pleasing to the senses. The eyes have a special treat when they walk into a clean home, and so does the nose — imagine the sweet smell of lavender on your linen as you hit the pillow.
Cleaning has had various benefits for me.
When my husband was abroad, and he’d visit and leave, I’d spend the first few hours cleaning like a maniac — it was my outlet to purge the feelings and emotions inside me that I couldn’t process.
Hoovering, cleaning, and scrubbing felt like I was scrubbing away and removing, organizing my emotions arising after he left. It felt like I was cleaning and washing away the ones I didn’t need, letting them go, and making a place for new ones.
After I’d finish my vigorous cleaning session, I’d begin to feel a little more human, a little more composed. I’d accept that I would miss my husband tremendously and that I was worried about the family when he wasn’t around. But I would feel assured that we’d manage to sail through, stick through the plan, and be okay. It would give me solace.
Cleaning was my respite, my strength, and in many ways, I could make sense of my life through cleaning. Cleaning always makes me feel like that. It has a profound effect on my mental health.
Nowadays, things like decluttering and going minimalistic are in vogue for this very reason because the more unnecessary stuff we bring into our physical space, the more it affects our mental and emotional space.
It is more pertinent today in the internet age, where we are constantly bombarded with messages and consuming information at an incredibly increasing pace. We must be mindful of how much we consume and when to pause, stop, and let go.
Hence, decluttering or doing a spring clean is often recommended. It is essential for clearing not only our physical space but also our mental and emotional fields.
All these spaces need to be kept clean. We should take active steps to keep these fields clean because when we do so, we can let go of things, feelings, and thoughts that don’t serve us, are holding us back, and occupy precious space in our lives, making way for new things.
Or, for just a few moments, we could allow that space to be clear, empty, and filled with just space, giving us clarity, peace of mind, and the resolve to carry on.
I look at journaling as an emotional hygiene tool. In our journals, we can be ourselves and share all our unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and beliefs without judgment.
When we declutter our room and bring all our clothes out of the wardrobe, only then do we know how much we have, what we’ve been holding on to for ages and never used. Only then do we realize what we need, don’t need, and are unsure of.
Similarly, in journaling, once we are aware of our feelings, thoughts, and beliefs on any matter, we immediately know the ones we don’t need and can let them go. We can put the ones we are unsure of or need more time for in a future basket that we can review later. This process gives us more breathing space, time, and energy to act on important things.
We no longer have to waste our time or energy trying to shove more clothes into an overfilled wardrobe because we are afraid of what we will discover.
Get started on cleaning right away. It is one of the most essential skills I’d recommend.
Like I said in the start, diamonds are pretty, and I won’t say no to a 24-carat on my fingers, but I’d take a Hoover any day.
What cleaning tool will you invest in today?
Journaling can help us face our unpleasant thoughts and feelings. Click here for Journaling with Intention — an online course that teaches you Journaling Practices to clarify your desires and vision, navigate areas you are stuck in, and create the life that you wan