Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 2: Today's tip is to clean for yourself.
Speaker 1: Think of cleaning as an act of kindness to your
Speaker 1: future self, because it makes your home a place where
Speaker 1: you can lead the life that you want. Today's tip
Speaker 1: comes from an episode of n PR's Life Kit featuring
Speaker 1: a conversation between host Mariel Cigara and Casey Davis, a
Speaker 1: therapist an author of How to Keep House While Drowning.
Speaker 1: Casey Davis noted that what we want from a space
Speaker 1: may vary from person to person, but cleaning tends to
Speaker 1: let us use our space. It is hard to enjoy
Speaker 1: great meals if you can't find a clean plate, it
Speaker 1: is hard to relax and wind down for bed if
Speaker 1: your bed is covered with dirty laundry, and it is
Speaker 1: hard to stay on top of papers and tasks when
Speaker 1: bills and mail could be anywhere. With that in mind,
Speaker 1: cleaning isn't something required to impress an external audience, and
Speaker 1: cleaning isn't a moral obligation. Having a messy house doesn't
Speaker 1: make you a bad person any more than having a
Speaker 1: clean house makes you a saint. I imagine there are
Speaker 1: some mean people with spotless houses. Instead, having a clean
Speaker 1: house simply lets you use your house. In other words,
Speaker 1: you don't exist to serve your space. It exists to
Speaker 1: serve you. What matters, according to Davis, is whether my
Speaker 1: house is functioning and whether I'm able to live the
Speaker 1: kind of life I want to inside of it. I
Speaker 1: love that if you are able to find what you need,
Speaker 1: gather with friends and family and the way you want
Speaker 1: to relax, sleep well, get work done, and do whatever
Speaker 1: else you ask of your home, then your home is
Speaker 1: in good shape. Davis offers a helpful shift in language
Speaker 1: that reinforces the reason for keeping house. Rather than cleaning
Speaker 1: up after yourself, clean up for yourself. After all. You
Speaker 1: will appreciate clean clothes that you can wear. You deserve
Speaker 1: a kitchen with plenty of clean dishes and clear surfaces
Speaker 1: that make it easy and pleasant to cook. You will
Speaker 1: feel healthier in a home free from dust and animal
Speaker 1: hair other allergens. You will be more productive in a
Speaker 1: workspace where you can do your job. Cleaning sets the
Speaker 1: scene for your future self well. When you think of
Speaker 1: cleaning your home as something that makes your life better,
Speaker 1: you can let go of any sense of guilt for
Speaker 1: not doing it well enough, for any sense of obligation
Speaker 1: to clean to standards that don't serve you. If you
Speaker 1: tried thinking of cleaning up as something you do for
Speaker 1: yourself instead of an obligation.
Speaker 2: I'd love to hear how it goes. You can reach
Speaker 2: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime,
Speaker 2: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 2: the most of our times. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
Speaker 2: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 2: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
Speaker 2: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
Speaker 2: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 2: listen to your favorite shows.