An Easy, Do-It-Today Prescription for a Clean & Happy Home

We often offer you posts about how to clean your house and we also give advice about how to get happy at home. Well, hang on to your hats folks, because I may have had a breakthrough over here. What if I told you how to clean your home (ugh) and get happier (wheee) at the same time?

You see, I’ve been reading all sorts of articles lately that the way to get happier isn’t to TRY to be happy, it’s to get really grateful about what you have in your life. So I decided to test out that theory on a chore that usually makes me decidedly unhappy: cleaning my house. I decided to be grateful for every single thing I was cleaning and see if it made me happier while I worked.

First, I rinsed the dishes and I admired the beautiful plates that I’ve used while sharing so many laughs with my friends and family. While I was scrubbing at some old food with my nail, I remembered how great it is to have food to put on those plates in the first place. Not everyone does. I put them in the dishwasher and noted how lucky I am to live in a time of modern conveniences and thought about all the opportunities I have that my great-grandmother never had because she was too busy scrubbing plates and washing laundry by hand.

Then I cleaned the bathroom and I thought about how nice it is to have clean, available running water; so many people around the world don’t. I remembered how much I love a hot bath when it’s a cold day and how easy it is for me to draw one. I could do that right now if I wanted to! I wiped down the shelves and silently thanked my boyfriend for buying and installing extra storage for my crazy product line-up. That was nice of him. He’s great.

I spent some time going over the couch with a roller to pick up dog hair as I do every once-in-a-while and remembered how much I love my dog and how happy she makes me every day, even with her maniac shedding. I picked up some shoes that I’d left on the floor in the living room and remembered the shopping trip when I bought them. My friend was with me and she was so funny that day. I remember how she was cracking me up in the store.

In 20 minutes I felt better than I had in a long, long time AND had a clean home, which just felt like a nice bonus. Seems like there’s a little something to this.

Will you try it?