Healthy RGV Issue 107 - October Has Us Thinking Pink

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE · OCTOBER 2017
HOW TO
DE-STRESS
YOUR HOME
IN TEN
MINUTES
You know that feeling when the baby’s crying,
the toddler needs his butt wiped, dinner’s
burning on the stove, the laundry hasn’t
been switched in eight hours, and you can’t
remember when your last shower was?
Yeah, I know it well. That's why I did a live
stream about it the other day. Hashtag mom
life, right?
Well, sort of. I mean chaos is the name of
the game when you’ve got little ones, but
the thing I’ve learned in my mommy years is
that there are things you can do to calm the
chaos and cut the clutter in your life, and
that’s such a comfort in the desperate years!
I’m gonna break down a few key ways you can
de-stress your home in just ten minutes.
Note: maybe your mess is too much to knock
out in ten minutes - that’s okay! Just work on
one of these things for ten minutes, and if it’s
not perfect when the timer goes off, at least
it’s better than when you started. Progress,
not perfection.
TEN MINUTE DE-STRESS IDEAS
Go through the pile of dirty laundry
you have waiting for you. Are there
any pieces of clothing in there that
aren’t really needed? Anything that doesn’t
fit anymore? Anything that’s super worn out?
Anything that you don’t really like? Get rid of
it! Work through the pile till you only have
what you know your family likes, needs, and
wears regularly. Now Laundry Mountain is a
little smaller!
Give the surfaces in your house
some attention. Is there paperwork
or clutter on any of them? What
about the unexpected surfaces like the top
of the fridge, microwave, or cabinets? Do
a surface clean-up for ten minutes. Throw
away trash, sort paperwork, and put toys and
random items in the rooms they belong in.
Get a large empty laundry hamper.
Go through your house with it
collecting anything and everything
you see that isn’t where it belongs. When
you’re done, carry the hamper with you
throughout the house and put everything
away.
You can do the above idea the
same way, but with items that you
don’t even need to keep! Carry the
hamper through the house collecting any
items you see that are not something you
really need, that’s used regularly. Dump the
items in the hamper into a trash bag and
put it in the back of your car for a trip to
Goodwill this week. Doesn’t that feel good??
Take your kids into their bedroom
(or wherever their toys are kept)
and tell them there are lots of kids
who are poor, and do not have any toys. Give
them a box or bag and excitedly tell them
they get to choose ten toys they don’t play
with that they would like to give to another
child who needs them. Make it a happy,
exciting ordeal! Take the toys to the donation
center with them this week. You purged,
helped someone else out, and taught your
kids empathy all in one shot. Awesome!
Go into your bathroom and take
a look at all your hair and makeup
products. Put everything you don’t
use on a weekly basis into a box. Throw it
away. Wipe down the counter tops, toilet,
and edge of the bathtub. Voila! Clean and
organized bathroom in ten minutes.
ALLIE CASAZZA is The Purposeful Housewife.
She is all about helping you purge the clutter
that's clogging your joy, rediscover the purpose
in your days, and live with intention. Learn more
about Allie @thepurposefulhousewife.
Head into your kitchen. Set a timer
for five minutes and wash dishes
until it goes off. Spend the next five
minutes wiping down counters and sweeping
up crumbs. Maybe your kitchen isn’t
completely detailed, but it surely looks better
and you feel a lot better!
Go through your house and make all
the beds. If your kids are home and
old enough, have them make their
own. Made beds make for a tidy house and a
happy mama!
Go through your house with the
mindset to straighten up. Fluff the
throw pillows, rearrange the pillows
on the beds, wipe down and rearrange the
items on the nightstands, put a cute stack
of books on your coffee table, pick some
flowers from outside for your dining room
table, straighten up for ten minutes and see
how much better you feel afterward!
Focus on the entryway. This is the
first things you see when you walk
in your house, so it’s important!
Straighten it up. Put shoes in the closet
they belong in, hang fallen coats on the
hooks, arrange the kids’ backpacks in a way
that looks better, sweep, wipe down the
baseboards. All clean!
There you have it. Some simple, doable ideas
to decompress the stress in your house in
just ten minutes. Sometimes things like this
are the difference between a horrible day
and an “Yay! I made it!” day. Keep on keepin’
on, mama.
14 HEALTHY MAGAZINE