A Good Cleaning Day Can Brighten Your Outlook

Over the past couple of weeks I've been feeling a bit low, the dreary weather, the dark nights, it all got on top of me. Today I got up and decided to have a bit of a cleaning day, the hoovering desperately needed doing, not to mention the polishing, and the windows, and... well let's just say cleaning is not a priority!

All morning I've been putting shoes under the stairs, tidying toys away now the boys are at school, and the hoover got switched on. I pulled the polish out from under the sink and polished the window sills too. 


As I was hoovering the stairs, a job I hate doing because I have to use the nozzles, I began to feel brighter. A smile creeped onto my face as I watched the bits get sucked up into the hoover. 

It felt good to clean! 

This doesn't often happen, I see cleaning as time away from the blog, time I could be using to write. I do put the dishwasher on daily, tidy the kitchen and such, but general cleaning is only done when absolutely necessary. 

Part of the reason for that is I cannot stand cleaning up only to have the boys get out the lego box and tip all the lego out, 5 minutes after I've finished. Cleaning can feel pointless at times because I know that it won't be long before it will all need doing again. It's one of those jobs that is never really finished.  

Today though, even with the dark morning, cleaning up made me happy. Seeing a clean carpet, toys away, a lounge that someone could sit in without having to move something first, made me smile.

Don't get me wrong it's not all perfect, there's still a massive pile of washing to get through and my ironing pile is resembling Everest, but the rest of the house is looking good.

Although I hate cleaning sometimes it does brighten my mood, it's like therapy. 

A good cleaning day almost feels like you're cleaning out your mind. Does that make sense?

With the day-to-day humdrum of life your mind can get bogged down in details, bits of jobs left on 'floor', dust settles in the corners, and a good cleaning day almost feels like you're cleaning up your mind too.

Perhaps it's the mindlessness of it, maybe it's taking time away from other stuff and just getting on with it, either way I'm glad to be feeling brighter.

It's made me wonder about sorting out other rooms and getting rid of 'clutter' but I think I'll save it. Maybe I'll need it as the days get shorter!

How do you brighten your mood this time of year?


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