Clean your kitchen sink

I've just finished a course in Stress Management for my Coach CEU's. My absolute favorite part of the content was this: cleaning your kitchen sink.

One of the most important clean-house rules is to keep your kitchen sink empty, clean, and sparkling.
This is legit practical advice, and too, a clean sink is a metaphor here, as it has incredible stress relieving power. 

"As the kitchen goes so goes the rest of the house."

The kitchen is the heart and soul of the house and if one’s house is symbolic of one’s life (as it is in Feng Shui), keeping the heart and soul in perfect order will resonate into all areas of your life.

If you are like most people, you may discover that the kitchen is a clear and direct reflection of how your life is going. When your kitchen is clean and sparkles, you can feel great about yourself and everything in your life is probably working well for you; when it gets to the point where you would be embarrassed if someone drops in, then your life is most likely in disarray as well. 

The kitchen is also an instant RIGHT NOW spot in the stress cycle. No matter how busy you are, no matter how far behind or overwhelmed you are, if you take just a few minutes to go into your kitchen and put everything in order (clean, tidy, and everything in its place) you will not believe the impact it will have on your self-esteem. An instant fix if you will.

When this is done every day, the affirming effect of waking up and walking into the kitchen to face a bright, shiny sink, as opposed to a sink piled high with dirty dishes, will astound you. 

This really works, and it may seem small but it is stress management.

Here are a few more 'keep it clean' tips that WORK to minimize more daily stress:

1. Never leave dishes in the sink. Or counter. Clean up any messes in the kitchen after you're done. Wipe the counters, keep the sink clean. Remember, this is the heart and soul.

2. Tidy the bathroom as you go. After I use an item in the bathroom, I put it away. Water, toothpaste, shaving cream, just a quick swipe, clean the sink. It only takes a couple of minutes, seconds! and the relief of a clean bathroom is unmatched.

3. Pick up as you go. There are little things your spouse, the kids, you yourself! leave around the house. Just pick them up throughout the day, or keep a basket for their stuff and dump them in there, for them to put away later.

4. Never leave clothes out. Wash, dry, put away. 

5. Take the trash out. Please don't let your trash pile up until it's falling out. 

6. Tidy up before you leave the house. It’s wonderful to come home to a clean house. Just pick up a little before you leave.

7. Make your bed in the morning. The moment you get out of the bed, make it.

8. Tidy up before you go to bed. Waking up to a dirty house is stressful. Waking up to a clean house is an incredible way to start the day.

9. Don’t let clutter pile up. Piles are stressful. Clutters are stressful.

10. Get rid of the papers on the fridge. They leave a very cluttered appearance.

11. Teach the kids, your spouse, your dog!! to put their stuff away. By far the greatest source of stress and messiness. This will also be the most difficult task, and I don’t know if it can ever be accomplished. But it’s worth a try! ;)