We can reconcile ourselves to housework by practicing cleanliness. Thanks to this discipline we will be able to free our mind at the same time that we will make our house cleaner and more orderly.
Few daily activities have as bad a social image as housework. Unpaid, invisible, repetitive, not very aspirational … they are usually left last on the priority list and this leads to cleaning marathons on weekends or an obvious mess: piles of clothes, cluttered objects and chaos in the home that it further distances people from these tasks.
The cleanliness is a close discipline mindfulness and eating mindful that can reconcile us with household chores, such as cleaning and order, but also with those involving plan meals, do laundry, ironing, caring for plants or garden, etc. . . .
The method is to focus on the present and practice mindfulness when doing housework.
Although the name is new, the concept is not at all and all religious traditions praise discipline and respect in small daily actions as a way to strengthen the spirit.
From the Christian “ora et labora” to the meditation washing the dishes of the Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, the repetition of tasks and the attitude of dedication and excellence in everything we do, however inconsequential it may seem, is something positively valued and enhanced.
Thank you for watching
And within the framework of our home, it becomes even more important. We know the powerful influence that the environment has on our physical, emotional and mental well-being and the benefits of keeping our home clean, clear and in harmony can be felt on all levels.
BENEFITS OF PRACTICING CLEANFULNESS
The external disorder stresses and prevents you from enjoying calm at home. The absence of healthy food in the pantry and in the refrigerator keeps you from a healthy and quality food. The pile of dirty or wrinkled clothes does not recharge your batteries in the morning.
On the contrary, what cleanliness defends is that by taking care of your home, you can achieve a better quality of life.
An orderly and well-ventilated space will bring you more peace and clarity and will provide you with more pleasant moments than chaos.
If we remove the obsolete social prejudices about the home, the reality is that housework is just one of the daily habits and a healthy lifestyle.
We can approach cleaning in the same way as dental hygiene, physical exercise or studying subjects that we like.
This is the perspective defended by Keisuke Matsumoto, a Buddhist monk at the Komyoji temple and author of the Cleaning Manual of a Buddhist Monk (Duomo Editions). It reminds us that we live in an interdependent world and we are connected to our environment, that simple, everyday tasks help us find inner serenity and that they are a form of meditation in motion.
With so much external and mental noise, spending time cleaning allows you to slow down, focus on a task, and even relax.
10 STEPS TO PRACTICE CLEANFULNESS AT HOME
Although the theory is simple, surely, we will not go quickly from despising or postponing the home administration to valuing and prioritizing it. However, if we broaden our gaze, assume it as one more healthy habit and allow ourselves to feel that meditative cleansing, cleanliness will become the best therapy against stress because it clears the house and resets the mind at the same time. We give you 10 tips to achieve that change:
- Establish realistic daily or weekly routines adapted to our rhythm of life. It is about planning cleaning on the agenda just as we plan the gym, the hairdresser or social life. This way we will avoid procrastination and avoid cleaning at all costs,
- Divide the work. If several people live together at home, it is better to talk about this issue positively and divide the tasks according to abilities, availability and interest
- Try to put the five senses. It is essential that we apply ourselves in what we do. Mindfulness is very democratic, any task deserves our conscious presence, be it laundry, finishing a report, baking a cake or reciting poetry.
- Put on music. If we put music to accompany us while we clean, we brighten the moment.
- Give up self-demand. We do not seek perfection, or leave everything “like the jets of gold”, but we try to implement the continuous habit that our house and our life deserve such care. Little by little the results will be seen.
- Cleans without mess. Since we take the broom and the rag, let’s do it well and use natural products that do not add toxins to the air we breathe. Vinegar, bicarbonate, natural soap and essential oils will be your great allies.
- Move with joy. Lying on the couch doesn’t burn calories, but sweeping, scrubbing, dusting tall cabinets, placing clothes in drawers, and hollowing out cushions do? Don’t underestimate domestic sport
- Make it easy. Technology is helping us more and more at home. Be it a pedal mop, a robot scrubbing floors or electric brooms, let’s choose tools that help us
- Reward yourself. No tea or infusion will taste better to you than after a day of cleanliness, contemplating a job well done and enjoying that feeling of pride and well-being.
- Be patient. Like all seeds require time to sprout, we cannot modify in a short time what has been messy at home for months or years. Constancy will do it.
