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Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeart Radio.
Good morning.
This is Laura.
Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to clean for yourself.
Think of cleaning as an act of kindness to your future self, because it makes your home a place where you can lead the life that you want.
Today's tip comes from an episode of NPR's Life Kit featuring a conversation between host Mariel Segara and Casey Davis, a therapist and author of How to Keep House While Drowning.
Casey Davis noted that what we want from a space may vary from person to person.
But cleaning tends to let us use our space.
It is hard to enjoy great meals if you can't find a clean plate.
It is hard to relax and wind down for bed if your bed is covered with dirty laundry.
And it is hard to stay on top of papers and tasks when bills and mail could be anywhere.
With that in mind, cleaning isn't something required to impress an external audience.
And cleaning isn't a moral obligation.
Having a messy house doesn't make you a bad person, any more than having a clean house makes you a saint.
I imagine there are some mean people with spotless houses.
Instead, having a clean house simply lets you use your house.
In other words, you don't exist to serve your space.
It exists to serve you.
I love that.
If you are able to find what you need, gather with friends and family in the way you want to relax, sleep well, get work done and do whatever else you ask of your home, then your home is in good shape.
Davis offers a helpful shift in language that reinforces the reason for keeping house.
Rather than cleaning up after yourself, clean up for yourself.
After all, you will appreciate clean clothes that you can wear.
You deserve a kitchen with plenty of clean dishes and clear surfaces that make it easy and pleasant to cook.
You will feel healthier in a home free from dust and animal hair or other allergens.
You will be more productive in a workspace where you can do your job.
Cleaning sets the scene for your future self to live well.
When you think of cleaning your home as something that makes your life better, You can let go of any sense of guilt for not doing it well enough or any sense of obligation to clean to standards that don't serve you.
If you try thinking of cleaning up as something you do for yourself instead of an obligation.
I'd love to hear how it goes.
You can reach me. at laura at lauravandercam.com.
In the meantime, this is Laura.
Thanks for listening.
And here's to making the most of our time.
Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
If you've got questions, ideas or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at LauraVanderkam.com.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeart Media.
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This is an I heart podcast guaranteed human.