These are words that have been bouncing around my mind lately. I need these in my life. I wrote a while back about my New Year's resolutions, one of which centered on a theme of stress reduction. I need less stress in my life. Or at least better tools to manage it. The past 4-6 months have not been healthy, stress-wise, and as a result I've been sleeping terribly and my immune system is shot. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, so it's time to take control of the situation.
During the week my time is limited, as is my energy. On the weekends, when Nathan goes down for a nap, I feel immense pressure to make the most of that time and knock a bunch of things off my to-do list. But as soon as I think about that list, I feel very overwhelmed by everything I need to be doing (working out more, getting Nathan signed up for swim lessons or some other activity, developing a better family budget, organizing photos, finishing decorating now that the majority of the renovation is over, working on my master's thesis, cleaning... oh the cleaning...). And then I end up either trying to do too much at once (and therefore doing nothing very well or to completion), or give up entirely and sit on the couch instead. And then I'm stressed because I made no progress whatsoever.
Yesterday I came across a blog post that one of my FB friends had shared on her timeline (not her blog) about regular cleaning schedules and routines. I randomly clicked on it and started reading. The author is a mom with three small children who also works outside the home. She writes about a concept called "household management" and shares not only her own personal observations and philosophies, but invites readers to share theirs as well. The site as a whole is a bit overwhelming for me (but then again, just about anything feels overwhelming right now because I'm STILL sick and not sleeping well). But the post my friend had initially shared caught my attention and just might be the start of something new for me to try:
Daily and weekly cleaning schedules. I am not a neat freak. At the same time, I don't really think I'm a slob either. I guess I'm probably somewhere in between. But lately, I've felt like I'm losing the battle when it comes to clutter. And I definitely think I need to step it up a bit in terms of basic dirt-and-grime removal (especially during the winter when we're all trapped inside and sharing germs). I've always been a sort of binge-cleaner. Once a month (or maybe more like every other month) I'll do a massive deep clean. I'll work all day until I'm sore and exhausted but everything is finally clean and sparkling and then I'll collapse in a heap and hope that it stays that way for longer than an hour. Same with clutter. Every few weeks I'll go on a de-cluttering rampage where I literally charge all over the house picking up and putting away all the STUFF that has piled up everywhere.
This is not working for me. The results of my binge-cleaning and de-cluttering are too short lived and then I'm right back where I started. I don't mind a little clutter or a bit of dust, but I do need to not feel overwhelmed when I find I have an extra 30 minutes that I could devote to cleaning or organizing. I need to feel empowered to make the most of the short scraps of time and actually see results that help reduce my overall stress level. I need plan to do this. I need to have a routine, a schedule that tells me what to tackle and when. And then when I've finished whatever is on the docket for that day/time, I can allow myself to sit for a few minutes. Maybe watch a show or work out with my husband without feeling guilty because the kitchen is a mess and we are out of clean underwear again. I need small but doable steps that, over time, get me to the goal of a reasonably clean(ish) and organized house.
I'm not sure quite yet what this schedule will look like for me. I'm still reading examples on the blog and figuring out what will or won't work for our house. But I do know that I've stumbled on something that makes sense to me. Something that I desperately need and want to make work so I can start to reduce the stress just a bit. I feel like stress reduction is a ripple effect anyway. If I can have a positive impact by doing one thing (implementing a cleaning schedule and plan), then I'll have more time and energy for other stress-reducing things (working out, relaxing), and so on.
That's my hope anyway. I leave on Wednesday for my girls' trip with my BFF. My goal is to start whatever this new plan will be when I get back!
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