Hello My Friends
Welcome to Authentic Living Coaching.
As the month of challenging norms comes to a close, I hope I have given you some ways to improve your life, by improving the way you think about what is normal.
Today I want to talk about where you live, and how you live there.
When my children were small, I struggled to keep my home tidy, the washing done, the dishes caught up with.
I felt like I was working all day and all night. No sooner had I cleaned one area than some small person would come behind me and mess it up.
I was one stressed out mama.
Click on the link below to see today video clip.
It didn’t help that I had a strong sense of worthlessness, and the need to be perfect.
Huh, if I knew then what I know now.
Catching myself needing everything to be perfect all the time is as much of a down fall of not being tidy, or clean enough for health and happiness.
Where are you putting pressure on yourself to be perfect within your home?
Are you expecting to have a magazine ready home at any given time?
I was, and if I’m honest I still do. I have that tension in my gut if someone comes to the house and I have dishes on the bench, or the vacuum is still in the lounge, or the ironing board is still up from Sunday and it’s Wednesday.
I’m better at letting it be, because I know that my home is not always in a mess.
Are you someone who finds a messy space is a reflection of your mind?
Often for me if I am feeling an emotion I’m not sure how to deal with it will show up in my home.
I will begin a project, then leave it, and go onto something else.
I come home and drop my things on the hotspot area. (This is the area that everything seems to congregate, books, keys, jackets, shopping, mail and whatever else is in your hands at any given moment.)
Do you brush aside other peoples comments about how messy your place looks, but deep on the inside your critic has a go at you, reminding you that you’re not as good as, and you name the person who you think has life altogether.)
I use a system that allows me to clean my home in 15 min incruments.
The Flylady system.
I found her many years ago, and the impact she has had on my life has been amazing.
My home is usually about 20 mins away from visitor or client ready at any time.
She uses what she calls the swish and swipe method of cleaning.
Every day the bathroom and toilet get a swish and a swipe, removing water drips, toothpaste, dirty hand prints from the mirror, a quick dust on the flat surfaces.
This has been a life saver.
Her and now my philosophy is I CAN DO ANYTHING FOR 15 MINS.
I want to leave you with that thought, you can do anything for 15 mins.
Set a timer and begin. Wash your dishes for 15 mins, have a break and begin again.
Tidy the bedroom for 15 mins, clear a space off the floor and sort and put away for 15 mins, when the timer goes off stop.
Then and this is the secret sauce that changes everything. You get to pat yourself on the back, to feel proud of yourself, to celebrate doing something that is of benefit to you.
Often we will do a task, complete it and then move onto the next thing without actually enjoying the feeling of having done the task.
Even if the dishes are not completely finished, you know you have done 15 mins more today than you did yesterday.
The bedroom floor may not be completely tidy yet, however you know you are 15 mins into it, and tomorrow you can do 15 mins more, and so on.
You can do anything for 15 mins.
And for those of us who don’t know when to stop, we press on even when it’s time to do something else, we drive ourselves to complete even if it kills us.
Using the timer is a life saver. I have found the timer stops me from over focusing on details that are not important.
It gives me the freedom to stop and begin something else.
I could easily work on spring cleaning a bedroom to the detriment of meals for children, or making space for them to sleep, I was focused on getting the ‘job’ done.
There was no joy or happiness in the doing of the job, or no happiness in the completion of the job because I’d be so tired and grumpy, feeling like a martyr with no-one to help.
If this is you, if you find you are constantly beating yourself up about not having a tidy home, or beating yourself up about having to do it all, or beating yourself up because you are so tired then head over to http://www.flylady.net.
Begin with shining your sink.
Then make your bed.
Keep the coffee tables clear of clutter.
Every room has it’s focal point, begin there 15 mins at a time.
Challenging the norm of being a slave to your house.
There is freedom and balance in living an authentic life.
Until next time: Live your life authentically 15 mins at a time.
If what I am sharing resonates with you, please like, share, follow and subscribe.
Let me know if you have a particular topic you want me to address.
oxoxo Cheers Linda.
As a life coach, part of what I do is challenge your normal thinking. You don’t know what you don’t know, until you do.
I help bring clarity to what you do know, and shed a light on things you may not know.
If you are stuck, challenging your normal thinking can produce results you weren’t aware of.
Let’s begin a conversation about what you view household mastery to be.
Find me at
Facebook: LindaCodlin25
http://www.authenticlivingwithlinda.com
email: authenticlivingwithlinda@gmail.com
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You tube: authenticlivingcoaching
https://youtu.be/oYUyrdBA6zE