THE BEST THING THAT MY MOM TAUGHT ME

Dear Mom,

There are lot of things that you have told me, a lot of things that started to make sense as I happened to step in the world of unknown. One of the things that I learnt from you has started to reveal its noteworthiness and has been asking me to share with the world. An extremely trivial thing with a little proactive behaviour that keeps my sanity together – the act of tidying up. Thank you for teaching multiple rituals out of which cleaning ritual had been such a worthwhile lesson.

It’s funny how I stumbled to write upon such a trivial thing like tidying one’s own room and keeping the house clean. The voice which even made it extraordinarily powerful and always gets to me is Dr Peterson’s, he always mentions how important it is to make your own bed.

In the world where we are always overwhelmed by talking about things that matters, we happen to undermine the value of things that seem very inconsequential like organised surroundings. My mom always said – a clean and organised surrounding is one of the best mental hygiene one practices and now when I am finding my way in the world of chaos, orderliness seems one of the best ways to connect with myself.

I now seem to understand that why I am gripped with sudden desire to clean the mess that surrounds me. Clean surroundings impacts your mental health and gives you a sense of positive emotion. Nothing can be more satisfying than rooms and closets where everything is put together. And now when I happened to experience the benefits that the act of cleaning can bring, I would love to extend it.

1. Doing mindfulness cleaning.

I have been trying to be very deliberate when it comes to getting involved in household tasks, a simple act of tidying my room gives a sudden sense of accomplishment. My anxiety levels are calmer and I’m actually able to think much more rationally. Pouring myself completely into a task makes me forget the weight of the world and gives an instant sense of gratification. If you want to get involved in the practice of mindfulness, what better way could it be than consciously engaging yourself in household tasks.

2. Try Dishes

I have seen people really cribbing about the fact that doing dishes makes them feel unpleasant. Honestly, I never skip a chance to offer doing dishes at the dinner at a friend’s place. Cleaning dishes involves you in the activity of flowing water. The scented dishwasher can actually uplift your mellow state if you solely focus on doing each dish nicely and properly. It can make you fully aware of each moment. Transforming a dirty sink to a clean one never fails to calm your nerves down.

3. Making your bed in the morning.

It’s very common for us to leave the crumpled blankets and sheets in the morning and rely on someone else to do it in the family. I have been doing the practice of making my own bed after waking up since more than half a decade now and it has been extremely rewarding to help me set a subtle tone for the day. Untidy bed can make you feel uneasy even when you don’t realise it whereas doing blankets into nice folds yourself after waking up can please you and announce that you are good to go for the rest of the day.

4. Enchantment of organised closets.

What does your closet says to you when you open it ?

Closet’s orderliness – hello dopamine ! Closet’s chaos – hey there, cortisol !

There is a reason why this happens. Crumpled clothes automatically emits negative energy while on the contrary if clothes are nicely folded and wardrobes are not overstuffed, they will release the positive energy that we all need in our life.

Taking some time out purposefully and setting our wardrobes in order will add more positive energy to our being. With me, it lets me think clearly. The practice of picking each item in the closet and keeping it properly allows me to sink in the moments of present. It helps me to notice and even appreciate the things I have in my life.

The act of cleaning, dusting, arranging and organising can instantly lift your spirits. I have never been an ironing person but a simple act of ironing my shirt the other day allowed me to notice the patterns which I never happened to notice before. That day I realised, pouring myself completely into simple household chores can be a road to mindfulness.

So next time, if you see that speck of dust on your table, you know cleaning it off can be therapeutic. Also, the practice of ‘Clean as you go’ can ask you to slow down and be mused by the orderliness that you had just allowed to enter in your environment. The whole idea is not thinking about doing it but throwing yourself into the act of doing it. So start doing it today, now, at this very moment!