Getting Healthy: Deep Cleaning Your Life

I feel like all I do is clean when I am home. I am constantly wiping down, scrubbing toilets and tubs, vacuuming, dusting, mopping. Put the clothes in the wash. Push clothes in the dryer. Fold the clothes. Load the dishwasher. Unload the dishwasher.  Always picking up. Always putting away. A lot of the time it is like I’m a hamster running on its wheel.  Working hard and never stopping, yet getting nowhere. And my kids notice it too. 

You know those precious “About Mom” sheets teachers do around mothers day? On one there was that question that asks about mom’s favorite thing to do and one of my kids put “laundry”. Not even close, buddy. Another one of my kids answered their question asking about what mom loves most and put “a clean house”. That one is not far off, but it felt a little sad reading it. I do tend to get overly attentive when it comes to my house-so much so that I neglect other areas in my life that need tending to. And something catastrophic, like a kid spilling the entire pitcher of RED drink EVERYWHERE, can push me over the edge. 

I get down on the floor to clean that mess only to notice other areas that I have neglected to clean lately. Or ever. I start to see those tiny areas I haven’t cleaned in months-or years (we listen and we don’t judge…). Then I start to clean those areas, then more spots that haven’t been touched, clean that spot then find another area next to it and so on. Before I know it our floor, walls, baseboards and every area in that room is cleaner than it has been in, well, probably ever. And I am exhausted from it all, but there is also another feeling that comes…peace. Just knowing all of those areas that were so disgusting and neglected are now free from dirt and build up. Is this just me? 

If we are spending so much time just taking care of the surface cleaning then there is no time, or motivation, to even think about the deeper things. Just a vicious cycle. No results. No purpose. Keeping on like this for too long leaves us feeling like we want to just give up. I’m not just talking about cleaning a house anymore.

We go through the motions just trying to get by. Just maintain the superficial things and stay “clean” but don’t look too close. Don’t look under anything or in anything. That junk drawer, or junk closet, is full you guys. Whatever you do, don’t open it or everything will fall out, collapsing on top of you.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Life can be like this too, right? We go through hard times, or we just become drained from the daily grind, and let ourselves go through the motions, not actually dealing with anything. Instead, letting it build up. We just get by. We hit that survival mode button and think we are managing just fine. And that’s what we are. Fine. We want our life to appear to be clean. To smell clean. But in real life, there is dust everywhere. And maybe we didn’t notice it because from our view it was clean. But then something happens in our life that throws everything off in our life. It’s those big catastrophic moments that make those huge messes we dread, bring light to those dirty spaces in our life. It’s not fun or ideal, but those moments are also how we can get to the deeper things that need to be taken care of. 

Sometimes we have to clean things out of our life to be able to transform into who we want to be. Getting too deep is not fun, but it is necessary. But how do we get to that deep clean? How do we get transformed? 

Choice. Whatever result you want, you make a choice to work for it. Do you want a super clean house? Do you want good health, healthy relationships, etc.? You have to just decide to make it happen. That is the first step.  Deciding what you want and choosing to start.  

Prioritizing. This takes some organizing. I guess you could compare this to putting things in their place on the shelf or closet-instead of just throwing the item wherever because it’s convenient at the time. This is where I have to decide in each phase of life what is necessary or most important in whatever moment I am in. Sometimes my kids need more of me, sometimes my spouse and other times I have to put my needs first whether that’s resting or doing something I enjoy. It’s a balancing act. It’s not always equal in the moment but it does equal out if you make sure to prioritize the right things at the right time. 

When I start to feel overwhelmed, my go-to is to do nothing. And by nothing I mean, sitting on my phone, scrolling through reels while ignoring everyone around me. And you know what this does? It makes me irritable and cranky, especially when it is interrupted. Not because what I am doing is important, but because I know I have a lot of important things I need to be doing and the interruption brings me back to my reality.  You cannot prioritize well by “checking out”. Which is why we have to have the next thing.

Discipline. I do not like doing the dishes or folding clothes. But I do like a clean sink and I do like to know where my clothes are. Some days I am a go-getter and can manage all the areas in my life and other days I struggle to get out of bed. But you know what I don’t do? Base my choices off of how I am feeling. Been there, have done that and it made my life a complete mess. You can only let the piles of dishes or clothes go for so long before it gets out of hand. So once you know what needs to be done, get ‘er done! No excuses((because you will always be able to find one)).

Get Emotionally Regulated. This is definitely a must. Go for walks/exercise, find someone to talk to, take breaks from overstimulating environments, put the phone down for a while, meditate, etc. When we are constantly on go mode, we are not regulated. You know what happens when your emotions are not regulated? We eventually explode. Not literally, but we snap and yell. This leaves us feeling guilt and shame over our actions, which causes a domino effect with our mind, filling it with clutter. When we do not feed our emotional health, we will struggle keeping even our counters clean because the junk drawers and my closets will be busting open. If we cannot put it in the full closet anymore, it sits there on our countertops for all to see (AKA our outbursts). It is not a fun cycle to live in. 

So get that deep clean on! Be the best version of yourself so when a catastrophic event happens, you will be able to maintain your peace and joy in the chaos instead of feeling overwhelmed by it.