Like most people I presume, I have a love/hate relationship with cleaning. Of course it’s drudgery, but it has not always been the work part that I avoid. In part, I’ve avoided cleaning because once I’ve started I want to get it right. I want things to be really fucking clean. Once I’ve started that means I’m in it for the long haul.
That method takes much longer than just straightening up or quickly wiping things down. But then, because I avoid getting deep into it, the cleaning tasks pile up, making it a guarantee that the next cleaning session will indeed take a goddamn long time.
I’ve slowly improved my approach in the last five years.
First, I curtailed my perfectionist tendencies. I focused on the fact that I can do a better job at cleaning the more frequently I do it. Then I also focused on the desired result, that I’d rather wake up with a clean kitchen than have to face a sink full of dirty dishes first thing in the morning.
Second, podcasts.
Now that I no longer commute, I lost one to two hours per day of time that used to be open for podcast listening. This is all the more troublesome because I work in podcasting, and have both a need and desire to keep up with new and amazing shows.
Listening to podcasts is a great thing to do while cleaning, and actually makes me want to clean.
It’s a win for everybody, especially anyone who has to share a house with me.
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