The above picture popped up when I searched for “clean” on Pixabay. My intent with the search? To find a picture to represent what I felt like doing today: cleaning.

The picture isn’t quite what I was going for, but honestly, it made me laugh, and really, who reads this blog anyway? Especially one where I’m going to talk about cleaning.

That’s right: today’s post is about cleaning.

Riveting, right? It could be, if done well.

(But my posts are always just straight from the heart with very little editing, so will it be “done well”? That remains to be seen.)

Back to the point: cleaning. How can one feel like cleaning? Does anyone else every feel this way? I’ve done a lot of thinking about it over the years. We don’t clean every week in this house. (That’s right, I just put THAT out there.) We do clean every time someone comes to visit (good excuse to have people over. As you can imagine, 2020 was NOT our cleanest year, thanks to lockdown), and we often wipe the kitchen and bathrooms down (including cleaning the toilets). Vacuuming occurs more often than anything else because Patty is a shedder, especially when her favorite person comes over (I’m looking at you, Erin Flanagan). When Erin’s around, Patty gets so many cuddles and scratches that the hair just pools on the floor. And the stairs. And the plants, boxes, chairs, whatever is in the way.

But I digress. I feel like cleaning today, and I’m going to do it. The question is why.

Sometimes I clean as a means of procrastinating. Sometimes I clean for the workout. Sometimes I clean because I want the house to be fresher. Today, I’m cleaning as a means to unclutter my brain.

Lately, I’ve been tackling a ton of projects, but I’ve also been juggling a good amount of mental weight (that’s for another post). My brain is not relaxed (thanks, Steve Martin, and yes, that’s for another post too), and I’m hoping that cleaning my house, putting away the clutter, organizing the hot mess that this place is, will help guide my brain into the peaceful, calm state I’d like it to be in. Fewer outside, overwhelming stimuli around me (like dust motes, pet hair, dirty dishes, and smudged windows) means mental clarity for me. And what can be better than that?

Of course, I didn’t have these kids just to check a box or propagate the species, so whoever is home will need to watch out as I’ll be grabbing a few to be my partners in crime.

Here’s to more mental clarity and a sparkling abode!

Image of monkeys by Charles Davis from Pixabay.com.