There’s a popular hashtag on Instagram, #cleankitchenatnight. It’s consists of beautiful images of sparkling clean kitchens at the end of the day. The desire is to encourage others to take the time to tidy at night in order to start the morning fresh. These pictures are lovely and although I try and make this my goal at night, sometimes the idea of achieving this standard is completely overwhelming.
After a long day that has been particularly messy, often the last thing I want to take on is the task of cleaning the entire kitchen. Since getting rid of so much of our unused kitchen stuff it always takes less time than I anticipate, but the hardest part for me is often finding the motivation to begin. To help tackle this feeling of overwhelm I tell myself I only have to get the dishes done. It then becomes more doable.
Often once I get moving, I keep moving and end up cleaning the whole kitchen anyway. Or…sometimes I don’t…and I’m done, and that’s ok too. I’ve met the initial goal. Since I’ve started this habit there have been times I haven’t gotten the dishes done before bed. One night recently the kids had gotten to bed late and Jamie and I had plans to watch a movie. I wanted to start it so I could get to bed at a decent time. The next morning as soon as we came downstairs I immediately regretted my decision. I felt overwhelmed and behind as I began my day. I didn’t like that feeling. It provided enough motivation for me that the following night I got those dishes done.
So here’s my challenge. Let’s start a new hashtag. #cleandishesatnight. The objective before bed is to have the sink empty and the dishes and only the dishes clean. Whether it be by hand or having the dishwasher loaded and running to be emptied in the morning. This more manageable task still provides benefits that your future self will notice and feel inspired to continue. Who knows maybe after a couple of nights you’ll add, wipe down the counters too. Then maybe you’ll notice objects in the kitchen that are only in your way to getting your kitchen clean and start to let them go.
Beautiful images on Instagram might be totally motivating for some, but for others just too much. A big example of how far they have to go. So if this is you, start small, #cleandishesatnight, and remember that is a victory too.
