I recently caught myself telling a lie.
I was changing into my comfy clothes for the night and tossed my jeans on the floor. “I’m too tired to hang them up,” I said.
Later on, I got to thinking. I am really not good at keeping my closet floor clean (as in, 20% chance of seeing my carpet on any given day). And the reason? I don’t put away my clothes when I’m done with them.
And the reason for that?
My excuse, as I drop my clothes on the floor, has always been because I’m too tired. But truthfully? Most of the time it’s not that I’m not too tired, I’m just making excuses to procrastinate on a task that the cranky teenager in me doesn’t want to do.
When you really consider it, picking up after yourself isn’t a tiring activity at all. Putting away the dishes and folding your clothes and clearing off the bathroom counter are all ways of taking care of yourself: It’s not putting off for later what should be done now. It’s doing your future self a favor. It’s one less nagging task on your list.
You can choose to believe that cleaning, organizing and decluttering are a chore . . . or you can choose to believe they nourish you.
Tending to your surroundings doesn’t deplete your energy, it replenishes you by allowing you to look around and feel order and calm, rather than clutter and chaos. It’s the clutter and chaos that really drain your energy.
As someone who isn’t naturally a “neat and tidy” kind of person, I must say . . . this is paradigm shifting.
Ever since I called myself out on this recurring lie, it’s been much easier to keep myself (and my closet floor) in a calm and orderly state. Because it’s hard to argue with “too tired to clean up” . . . but when I’m being honest with myself and I know I’m just making excuses, the wisest of my inner voices can roll her eyes and prod me towards just doing the thing, already. Which feels much better, in the end.
Don’t worry, I haven’t cured myself of making messes. But I do feel a little more mature than I was last week.
