Ready to jump on this journey? Heading has already disclosed the topic. And now, I am keen to talk about cleaning and organizing and how they impact our minds, leading us to be mindful.
First thing first, cleaning, disinfecting, and organizing are different things. Rarely do people understand this. If you are one of them, then this article is for you. Cleaning is significant. De-cluttering your space helps in de-cluttering your mind as well. Do you know why after bathing, we feel fresh? Cause we have cleaned ourselves physically. You must have noticed that when you clean and organize your space, you feel a clearance in your mind as well? It's like arranging your thoughts together. If you keep your space tidy, you will feel a clearance in your mind as well. Physical space affects mental space.
I know you must be thinking about how cleaning and organizing help in being mindful. Here are a few things you can simply feel while reading...
It helps in calming the mind: I have an example of it. Imagine that you enter your room after coming from the office/ grocery shopping and see a messy room. How will you feel? You will feel more tired. And now, imagine entering a room where everything is clean and organized. You will feel relaxed just by seeing it. You can just chill and relax as per your time. This is how it helps in calming our minds.
Increases productivity: What is the difference between working on a messy desk and working on a clean and organized desk? You already know that, right? And when you work on a clean desk, it clears your mind as well. It helps you to be focused on your work. Cause that clutter space doesn't distract and irritates you. Tidy space helps in being more focused, which leads to an increase in productivity. So, there is a direct connection between an organized place and productivity.
Saves time: Visualize yourself working calmly on your projects. Now, you had another important point to add to the project that you had written on paper, and now you cannot find it. How will you feel? Stressed and irritated for sure. Apart from it, you will waste your precious time finding it. Therefore, if you keep your things organized and clean, you save a lot of time while working and in urgency.
Significant steps to improve your cleaning and organizing flair
Eliminate useless things: There is always one person in our home who is against getting rid of useless things. If you don't have such a person, then probably you are the one. Jokes apart, I understand that a few things we kept just because of the memory attached to it. But, you can remove a few things and give them to someone who can use it. They will be grateful to you. Old clothes, bed-sheets, extra utensils, some old toys, gifts that are not in use can be eliminated from the house. Giving someone in need would be a good idea, and you will find it easy to give away as we humans feel good in sharing or giving. And this way, you can follow minimalism as well.
Allot everything a place: Since now you don't have extra things, you have extra space. Now, you decide to allot things at a specific place. Cleaning and organizing go hand in hand. Only cleaning doesn't help much. And while cleaning, you organize things easier once you allot them a place. So while you clean the bed, desk, floor, etc., you can instantly grab everything and put them at its given place. You don't have to think about what to keep where. And this saves plenty of time. We are not lazy. Maybe we are just confused. And this confusion leads to procrastinating on anything and everything.
Delegate or take up responsibility: This is something I have saw in everyone's house. The only responsibility of cleaning and organizing is of homemakers. If you are a homemaker, then delegate responsibilities. Give one responsibility to one person only. Cause responsibility of everyone's becomes the responsibility of no one. And if you are a bachelor (your gender doesn't matter), take up the responsibility. And please adhere to it. Your parents, guardians would be proud of you even if you take a small duty and stick to it. Apart from that, at least do your work. Keep your things at their allotted place. If everyone does their work, keeps their belongings at their places, it would be much easier to clean the remaining stuff. Dear homemaker, please first tell all the family members to keep their belongings and then assign them duties according to their capability. These 2 things will create a great impact on keeping your place tidy.
Planning and Consistency: This is something I truly believe in and have saw the impact it creates. Planning and then being consistent in cleaning and organizing saves time. For instance, if cleaning and organizing daily takes 20 mins, then at the end of the week, it won't take 2 hours. It will take 3 hours. This means if you are regular in this, you won't be stressed at the end of the week, and a bunch of pending work won't be waiting for you. Apart from this, once you have planned your time, you are more likely to take action and be consistent. And believe me, if you are taking action at least 5 days a week, then that 2 days won't bother you much. Once you have planned, just stick to it. This works for deep cleaning as well.
Clean and organize at the start and the end: I never believed in the concept of making your bed just after you wake up cause I never tried it. But, the time I tried it, I realized why so much importance is given to this. When you wake up and make your bed, it gives you a feeling of completing your 1st duty, and then you are motivated to keep other's places clean as well. One completed work leads to another. Imagine starting your working hours with a messy desk. How will you feel? Cluttered, right? So, before starting to clean your desk, organize things appropriately. I know at the end of the day, it gets cluttered again with stationery and documents. And this is the reason I told to clean at night as well. While you get up from your chair, just take 2-5 mins and clean it only. Before leaving, you have the time to clean your desk instantly while shutting down the PC/laptop. And if you have organized the things in the night than in the morning, you only have to do the dusting which takes hardly 5-10 mins. And if we clean daily, then it doesn't get that much dirty.
Keep organizer or make DIY: You love the above image cause it shows a clean and organized space. See the impact of a visual. If this image can impact, then think about what impact your actual visual space will have. I am a great fan of DIYs. An organizer helps too in keeping your space tidy. We all have gone through a phase where we desperately search for something and discovers something else. And it keeps on repeating. Whatever you search now, you will get that the next time you search for something else. And this is something common and epic. I have tried this, and it works ALWAYS. Allot things their places and then use organizer or DIY to keep your place organized. You will get your stuff in just one go. I know that it takes time to become an organized person, but it is not hard to believe me. I know always being on top of things is difficult, but we can try to be a bit closer.
I hope this helps in unboxing your mindfulness. Stay clean, organized, and mindful.
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