First and foremost, I am a mother who had a crazy idea to launch a small business. My name is Ashley and I am the proud founder of Dashing Maids. My days, similar to most of you reading this, are filled with the never-ending laundry, dishes, meal prep, house chores, school schedule changes (why do they get so many days off?), after school activities, work, and of course self-care.
Who am I kidding? I rarely have time for self-care! I love the joke that my only spa days are when steam hits my face when I open the dishwasher.
The number of things vying for our attention is staggering, even if none of what I just said apply to you personally [Insert your daily chaos here].
With all of that said, having a clean and tidy home maintains my sanity. I am the person who prefers it when the home looks like no one lives there. Probably not the healthiest, and my husband and son surely don’t care for it, but it brings me joy and peace when the house is in order.
While researching for this blog I came across a plethora of articles and studies that prove I am not the only one.
One study, from Princeton University, found that the visual cortex, aka everything in your line of vision, can be easily overwhelmed by objects that are irrelevant to the sole task you are working on-- aka the bobblehead, stapler and stack of unread mail on your desk are not doing you any favors. Even though the bobblehead may bring you a smile here or there.
As much as companies love to require applicants to be ‘good multi-taskers researchers continue to prove that our minds really can’t do more than one thing at a time. All this to say, the less cluttered your space, home, office and bedroom can be, the better!
The benefit is not just an internal sense of calm but the opportunity to work more efficiently and accomplish more in less time. And while many of us are working from home, doesn’t getting finished with your to-do list a little early sound nice?
At the end of the day, a dirty or cluttered surface simply hangs in your subconscious as a task left unfinished which in turn can leave you feeling anxious and unresolved.
What no longer serves you and does not serve an active purpose in your direct line of sight has to go. It does not have to be a weekend-long project to purge your home in search of the monk's meditative mindset.
If you have not needed a certain item for over 6 months does it really need to take up your visual space?
3 TIPS TO GET STARTED
1. START SMALL: Clear your desk to start, then your office. If you can turn your desk around to maybe face a window or at least away from the view of a cluttered shelf or your kitchen, great! Every little bit counts.
2. DELEGATE: Enlist the help of your kids/spouse/roommate. After all, many of the items clouding your visual cortex are theirs as well, right? At the end of the day, everyone will benefit from the positive mood you will be in for weeks to come after the home is a little bit lighter and brighter.
3. MAINTAIN: Once you have made all that progress, spend a little bit of time each day keeping it that way. Put things back where they belong and before you make another purchase think long and hard before you commit. Do you really need another chachki from Hobby Lobby? Your wallet will thank you later too!
Anywho, I hope this leaves you feeling empowered to tidy even a tiny corner of your home and take back your visual cortex! Are you thinking "this all sounds good, but I still have ZERO time to execute the above." Did I mention I own a professional house cleaning service? We are just a click away from providing you with a FREE quote! Wanna skip the quote and schedule an appointment? No problem! Give us a call today at (720) 924-6513.