When Life Gives You Lemons… Use Them For Cleaning?

How I use life’s sour moments for a fresh restart, again and again

Angela M Ward
Living & Learning

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Photo by Steve Doig on Unsplash

The older I get, the more I appreciate a tidy space, which is hilarious since I was a messy kid. There’s proof in a photo of me as a curly-haired blonde toddler with ice cream smeared all over my face. I also shared a room with my younger sister for a time. For two teenage girls, this meant a closet that spilled out with clothes, along with a piece of masking tape that served as a line dividing HER territory versus MINE.

My fixation with spotless spaces started with Marie Kondo and her book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I picked it up due to its hype at the time and I’m not trying to be dramatic, but it really was life-changing.

Kondo’s intuitive approach to minimalism forced me to re-evaluate my rampant consumerism, my attachment to material possessions such as clothing, and my ties to the past and past versions of myself. It turned me into a minimalist: mindful of how I buy, what I keep, and how my space affects my mental state.

My appreciation for cleaning has now turned into a healthy and helpful habit. Here are the benefits it gives me (especially as I go through difficult times) and how cleaning might help you too.

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Angela M Ward
Living & Learning

Communications and digital marketing professional, interested in creativity, personal development and mindful living. Top Writer in Reading.