Spring Cleaning Me

When dealing with stress and anxiety , we tend to think in distorted ways and fall into Emotion Mind and the pitfalls of negative thinking patterns—the complete opposite of Wise Mind Living. Your homework this week is to be on the lookout and notice if you start to engage in any of these negative thought patterns. The more stressed out you are, the more likely you are to think in absolutes.

In this distorted way of thinking, life is either totally awesome or a complete train wreck—there are no shades of gray.

This pattern of thinking comes in two flavors: Both occur when you draw conclusions about a situation without knowing all the facts. They are not going to hire me—there is no point in even going on this job interview. In this way of thinking you tell yourself that the absolute worst will happen, and that a situation is horrific and intolerable.

Underneath and Behind

Before you start going room to room, pause first to put on some great, lively music. Now pick up clutter , and as you go, feel free to second-guess your belongings. The less you have, the less you have to put away, clean, and dust: Turn off light bulbs and ceiling fans as you go for the upcoming dusting work. Dust go left to right, top to bottom with microfiber cloths.

This will lower allergens and improve the air quality in your house. Dampened cloths tied to the ends of mops and brooms work great for removing cobwebs.

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For the face of framed photos, TV screens, and computer monitors, use glass cleaner on your cotton cloth or microfiber to avoid streaking. Hit the floors in the whole house, and upholstered furniture. Be amazed at all those missing items socks, your favorite pen that you find under your couch cushions. For mopping, start at the farthest corner of the room and move back toward the entrance. Rinse mop after completing each 4 x 4 foot area.

Every now and then, some wooden furniture needs a good waxing. Clean face of appliances refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher.

Wipe down stove top. Clean inside of microwave.

Watch out for these Negative Thinking Patterns

Soak stove drip pans and knobs in sink. This includes crown moldings, ceilings, corners, and any areas around your light fixtures that are a little bit dusty. I like to do this with a mop pole. I use this to do all of my high dusting, and then I just flip it on over and use the same thing to clean the baseboards. Windows often get ignored during the winter and window tracks almost never get cleaned. If you open your window to let some fresh air come into your home, dirt will also make its way in through that screen too.

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And eventually, it settles right there in your window tracks. Then, I take a vacuum and suck up any other schmutz. To clean the windows, I like to mix equal parts white vinegar and water with a teaspoon of cornstarch. Get out your ladder, or get down to eye level, and take care of these areas using a microfiber cloth dampened with a little bit of all-purpose cleaner.

These are the ones that can get a little grimy—kitchen walls, bathroom walls and anywhere you see drip marks on the paint. Start with a simple spot cleaning with a microfiber cloth. Spray a little bit of all-purpose cleaner on there and give the wall a quick wipe. Now, if you want to clean the entire wall, take a flathead mop and fix a microfiber cloth on the head. We have a full video on how to clean walls and baseboards if you want more information.

If we consider our soft surfaces for a moment—pillows, cushions, blankets, upholstery—we know they get a lot of use and get really dirty. These things are full of dust, dirt, debris and pet dander. Start off by checking the fabric care label. A lot of these items are machine washable, but make sure you wash them according to the care instructions.

This will help break down odors and bring dirt to the surface. Let it site for 30 minutes then simply vacuum it up using a brush attachment.