Clean for yourself

Maintaining a functional home is about being kind to your future self

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to clean for yourself.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Think of cleaning as an act of kindness to your
future self, because it makes your home a place where
you can lead the life that you want. Today's tip
comes from an episode of n PR's Life Kit featuring
a conversation between host Mariel Cigara and Casey Davis, a
therapist an author of How to Keep House While Drowning.

(00:46):
Casey Davis noted that what we want from a space
may vary from person to person, but cleaning tends to
let us use our space. It is hard to enjoy
great meals if you can't find a clean plate, it
is hard to relax and wind down for bed if
your bed is covered with dirty laundry, and it is

(01:06):
hard to stay on top of papers and tasks when
bills and mail could be anywhere. With that in mind,
cleaning isn't something required to impress an external audience, and
cleaning isn't a moral obligation. Having a messy house doesn't
make you a bad person any more than having a

(01:29):
clean house makes you a saint. I imagine there are
some mean people with spotless houses. Instead, having a clean
house simply lets you use your house. In other words,
you don't exist to serve your space. It exists to
serve you. What matters, according to Davis, is whether my

(01:52):
house is functioning and whether I'm able to live the
kind of life I want to inside of it. I
love that if you are able to find what you need,
gather with friends and family and the way you want
to relax, sleep well, get work done, and do whatever

(02:12):
else you ask of your home, then your home is
in good shape. Davis offers a helpful shift in language
that reinforces the reason for keeping house. Rather than cleaning
up after yourself, clean up for yourself. After all. You
will appreciate clean clothes that you can wear. You deserve

(02:35):
a kitchen with plenty of clean dishes and clear surfaces
that make it easy and pleasant to cook. You will
feel healthier in a home free from dust and animal
hair other allergens. You will be more productive in a
workspace where you can do your job. Cleaning sets the

(02:57):
scene for your future self well. When you think of
cleaning your home as something that makes your life better,
you can let go of any sense of guilt for
not doing it well enough, for any sense of obligation
to clean to standards that don't serve you. If you

(03:17):
tried thinking of cleaning up as something you do for
yourself instead of an obligation.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
I'd love to hear how it goes. You can reach
me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime,
this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
the most of our times. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

(03:48):
If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

(04:10):
listen to your favorite shows.