Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to clean for yourself. Think of cleaning as
Speaker 1: an act of kindness to your future self, because it
Speaker 1: makes your home a place where you can lead the
Speaker 1: life that you want. Today's tip comes from an episode
Speaker 1: of n PR's Life Kit featuring a conversation between host
Speaker 1: Mariel Cigara and Casey Davis, a therapist an author of
Speaker 1: How to Keep House While Drowning. Casey Davis noted that
Speaker 1: what we want from a space may vary from person
Speaker 1: to person, but cleaning tends to let us use our space.
Speaker 1: It is hard to enjoy great meals if you can't
Speaker 1: find a clean plate, it is hard to relax and
Speaker 1: wind down for bed if your bed is covered with
Speaker 1: dirty laundry, and it is hard to stay on top
Speaker 1: of papers and tasks when bills and mail could be anywhere.
Speaker 1: With that in mind, cleaning isn't something required to impress
Speaker 1: an external audience, and cleaning isn't a moral obligation. Having
Speaker 1: a messy house doesn't make you a bad person any
Speaker 1: more than having a clean house makes you a saint.
Speaker 1: I imagine there are some mean people with spotless houses. Instead,
Speaker 1: having a clean house simply lets you use your house.
Speaker 1: In other words, you don't exist to serve your space.
Speaker 1: It exists to serve you. What matters, according to Davis,
Speaker 1: is whether my house is functioning and whether I'm able
Speaker 1: to live the kind of life I want to inside
Speaker 1: of it. I love that if you are able to
Speaker 1: find what you need, gather with friends and family and
Speaker 1: the way you want to relax, sleep well, get work done,
Speaker 1: and do whatever else you ask of your home, then
Speaker 1: your home is in good shape. Davis offers a helpful
Speaker 1: shift in language that reinforces the reason for keeping house.
Speaker 1: Rather than cleaning up after yourself, clean up for yourself.
Speaker 1: After all. You will appreciate clean clothes that you can wear.
Speaker 1: You deserve a kitchen with plenty of clean dishes and
Speaker 1: clear surfaces that make it easy and pleasant to cook.
Speaker 1: You will feel healthier in a home free from dust
Speaker 1: and animal hair other allergens. You will be more productive
Speaker 1: in a workspace where you can do your job. Cleaning
Speaker 1: sets the scene for your future self well. When you
Speaker 1: think of cleaning your home as something that makes your
Speaker 1: life better, you can let go of any sense of
Speaker 1: guilt for not doing it well enough, for any sense
Speaker 1: of obligation to clean to standards that don't serve you.
Speaker 1: If you tried thinking of cleaning up as something you
Speaker 1: do for yourself instead of an obligation, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear how it goes. You can reach me at Laura
Speaker 1: at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've
Speaker 1: got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at
Speaker 1: Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.