Tag: change

Posted in cleaning

Changing my Mind

Posted on by theselfcleaninghouse

Here we are more than halfway through the first month of 2020! How are you are doing? Did you make resolutions or not this year?

I can’t say I made any resolutions. Those always seem to go by the wayside before the end of February! I did, however, set some intentions toward the end of last year. I want to better myself in all ways, not just to have a cleaner home, or just lose weight or have more patience . I want to improve myself as a whole. That seems like a big goal but I figured that if I get my mind right, the rest kinda falls into place.

I heard something a couple months ago that has really stuck with me. “You are where you are because of who you are. If you want to change your circumstances, you have to change you.” That is not a word for word quote, but pretty close and I can’t remember who said it, but it was like a huge neon sign for me! I need to change my mind! I need to change how I think and begin to think like the person I want to be. I can’t wait to become that person and then change how I think. It doesn’t work like that. Maybe that is pretty Captain Obvious but sometimes you don’t see those obvious things till they hit you in the face!

If I can’t seem to lose that thirty pounds, I am thinking like someone who is thirty pounds heavier that she ought to be. If I have trouble keeping my space tidy it is a reflection of my cluttered mind. If I have trouble with finances, it will never get better without changing my thoughts and beliefs about money. If I hate my job, it is my thoughts about what I am worth and where I deserve to be that has me there. Everything in our lives is in direct response to what we think and believe.

I can learn all I can about cleaning my house and keeping it clean and organized but until I start changing how I think, uncluttering my mind, knowing that I deserve a clean space and thinking positively, my house will always go right back to reflecting my negative thoughts!

“Most people don’t lead their own lives – they accept their lives.”

― John Kotter

How do we change our minds though? I mean, aren’t our thoughts just part of who we are? Is it even possible to change how we think? YES! It is! The thoughts that we think now were learned. We were taught by our parents and the people that surrounded us and our experiences in life. We can learn new thoughts the same way. Surround ourselves with positive people. If you don’t know any, find new friends! Listen to podcasts and audio books that talk about the things you want to change. Read personal growth books. Journal your thoughts and things that you are grateful for. Meditate and clear your mind. Pray and do daily devotions and quiet time. Spend time thinking about what you think about. What thoughts do you have that don’t serve you? What negative self talk do you hear? Have INTENTIONAL thoughts instead of letting your thoughts just run around willy nilly! You are in charge of them!

“If I wanted to make a difference… Wishing for things to change wouldn’t make them change. Hoping for improvements wouldn’t bring them. Dreaming wouldn’t provide all the answers I needed. Vision wouldn’t be enough to bring transformation to me or others. Only by managing my thinking and shifting my thoughts from desire to deeds would I be able to bring about positive change. I needed to go from wanting to doing.”

― John C. Maxwell, Intentional Living: Choosing a Life That Matters

I know this is a bit different for a house keeping blog, but without this, I am just throwing out band-aids and temporary fixes. If we don’t clear the clutter in our minds, we will never be able to clear the clutter and organize our homes for any length of time. It will always go back to reflecting our thoughts.

I want you to truly have peace in your mind and a peaceful clean home. Let’s do 2020 the right way! Let’s CHANGE OUR MINDS! Change your mind, change your life.

Here is a list of a few of the podcasts that I enjoy listening to while at the gym and while getting ready for the day. There are so many out there and they are free to listen to! Find some that speak to you.

  • Feel Better, Live More with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee
  • The Model Health Show with Shawn Stevenson
  • The Chalene Show with Chalene Johnson
  • The Life Coach School Podcast with Brooke Castillo
  • The Proverbs 31 Ministries Podcast
  • Happier with Gretchen Rubin
  • Girls Night with Stephanie May Wilson
  • ESV: Through the Bible in a Year

With Love, Elizabeth xoxoxoxo

Advertisement
Posted in cleaning, family, family traditions, food, happiness, organizing, planning

Happy New Year!

Posted on by theselfcleaninghouse

Happy New Year Friends! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

Photo by Matej on Pexels.com

We had a “quiet” New Year’s celebration this year. Quiet for us anyway. It was still rather noisy and full of laughter and fun! It was just our family and a couple of friends playing games, eating and generally having a good time.

It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without the annual tree burning. I honestly don’t know how this tradition even started. For years we have been burning the Christmas Tree in the backyard in the snow New Year’s Eve night.

It seems so symbolic. The representation of the end of the year. All the past year’s mistakes go up in a pillar of black smoke and we are given a clean slate to start new. We get a chance to make different decisions and make better choices. It, in some way, resembles the forgiveness we were given when Jesus died on a tree and then defeated death to give us new life.

It is awesome sight to see a tree burning in your back yard! Safely… for the most part!

It is now January 2nd, and everything is back to reality with the addition of maybe some new resolutions to actually make changes this year. It is a good thing to want to make good changes in our lives! We often have such lofty goals that we totally miss the mark and are more discouraged than before though, and that is not where we want to be.

The key is making small changes that will lead you in the direction you want to go! Having someone to be accountable to, that can encourage you, guide or help you is good too!

I am so excited about the upcoming things planned for The Self Cleaning House this year! We are going to work together, step by step to get rid of clutter and organize the things we need to keep. We are going to learn how to decide what to keep and what to get rid of! We’ll find out what needs to be cleaned and how often we need to clean it. What are the best tools and supplies for cleaning? How do you make it look nice once it is clean? We will talk about time management, kids, meals and menu planning, self-care, positive attitudes, self-talk and keeping Jesus at the center of our lives.

I don’t claim to know all things clean and organized and so there will be some guest bloggers here to share their knowledge and skills!

Most importantly, these things are not going to be so hard, time-consuming or overwhelming that it takes away from your family time or your weekends. They will be small changes that will be fun and lead you to have a clean, peaceful home for you and your family to enjoy.

We are going to do this together! We are going to stick to those resolutions to clean and organize your home and we are all going to be doing it together!

When you enter your email to follow the Self Cleaning House, you will receive an invitation to the exclusive Self Cleaning House Facebook Group! There we can discuss what topics you want to hear about, chat about questions or ideas you have. We will do challenges and get daily reminders for things.

I am looking forward to transforming our homes together this year so that you can spend more time doing what you love!

Cheers to a very happy 2019!!

Posted in routines, self discipline, Tips and Tricks

New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on by theselfcleaninghouse

The new year is fast approaching and it is the time when people begin to think of change.  New habits they want to start, old ones they want to break.  

I have not been a huge fan of New Year’s Resolutions.  They sound good, but really they are just a way of procrastinating what we know we should be doing now, until the first of January.   We will probably spend money to lose weight or exercise or start some new craft or hobby and then by March,  if we are lucky to make it that long, we are back to where we were but with less money and nothing to show for it.   I am not trying to be a Debbie downer here, but let’s face it, it is pretty typical.  

I am very guilty of this myself, which is why I haven’t been a resolution enthusiast and most definitely don’t share my attempt at resolve to change an area of my life on social media.  No one likes to fail publicly! 

I am currently reading James Clear’s book Atomic Habits.  It is one of the most amazing books I have ever read!  If you want to really learn how to change your habits and change your life you need to get this book!  It is powerful! Because of this book, I may change my opinion and actually make some New Year’s Resolutions this coming year and stick to them! I am learning so much!

We often we fail to follow through with our efforts to change because although we WISH to change, we don’t really WANT to.   Even though we don’t like the habit or behavior we wish to change, it is comfortable.  Change is hard.    We may be afraid of change.  It may be subconscious.   We may not feel we deserve it.     We got there for a reason.   It may require working through those issues before change can happen.  

Another reason our resolutions flop is because we don’t know how to go about changing!  We rely on sheer willpower to make huge changes in our lives.  When we are tired, stressed, hungry, sad, our willpower is the first of our character traits to bail on us!  Our brain is trained to make us feel better and protect us.  It doesn’t know that a quart of ice cream at 10pm is a bad thing.  It just wants us to be ok.  

There are some amazing habit hacks that you can use to help you actually stick to those resolutions!   

Make your new habit as fun and attractive as possible! Buy a new pair of walking shoes or a cookbook.

Reward yourself! Pay yourself each time you work out and use that money for a spa day or for something you want.

Don’t make your new habit so difficult that you are defeated before you start.   Go to the gym a couple times a week, not 6 days a week for two hours a day!  Make it easy! 

Remove any obstacles that would give you an excuse to not follow through.  Set out your gym clothes at night.  Get rid of all the junk food in the house.

If you are trying to stop watching so much TV put the remote in another room or on top of a shelf that you can’t reach well. 

Change your routine.  If you always have cookies after dinner and you want to stop, immediately after dinner, do something else!  Go for a walk.  Take a bath.  

Most of those things relate to weight loss and healthy living but you can apply those principles to anything!

Those are just a few small things that are mentioned in this book.  There is a wealth of knowledge in it! 

You can purchase it here! 

I am following his blog as well.  It is always fascinating and I learn something new every time I read a new article.  I am kind of a nerd when it comes to self-improvement, productivity, motivation and that sort of thing.  If you are into that, you really should check it out!

https://jamesclear.com/

If you are wanting to make a change in the New Year, whether in your home, in the way you go about housekeeping, or in your health or whatever it is you want to change, now actually is a good time to start planning and moving in that direction.  With the proper tools and knowledge, you will be able to achieve your goals! 

Check the routines page here on my blog for the basics to help you stay on track!  

Get the Atomic Habits to help you learn how to best keep those habits in place

And hide the Cookies!!