The Secret Cleaner - The Little Book of Cleanfulness: Mindfulness in Marigolds!

The Secret Cleaner is a busy mum of two, originally from America, now living on the west coast of Scotland. She is a self-confessed rage cleaner turned cleaning enthusiast. She transformed the way she thinks about cleaning and wants to change your mind about cleaning too with efficient, no-nonsense methods, grounded in science, to clean your home and raise your spirits.

Theres a revolution happening, and its all about cleaning! Im here to explain why you should sit up and pay attention.

Cleaning is the new Zen.

You might be asking yourself what cleaning has to do with meditation, as it might not leave you feeling very calm. But keep reading

This book is not about turning you into a domestic god or goddess, or becoming a slave to bleach. It is about making your peace with cleaning.

We all lead busy lives, so we need time-friendly but effective ways to stay on top of the daily, weekly and monthly chores that can pile up and make us feel defeated.

Being mindful is a well-known therapy for stress, anxiety, depression and low mood. In a time of change in my own life, I discovered that I could use mindfulness while cleaning or cleanfulness, as I now call it to improve my mood and my physical environment at the same time. I want to share my learning with you.

In this book, you will find simple, tried-and-tested ideas to help you keep your home and life in order. Nothing fancy, nothing time-consuming just quick steps to get you on the path to a more harmonious home life.

You dont have to use them all. Pick those that work best for you and your lifestyle. Dip in and out of the book. If you are feeling overwhelmed with a million tasks, open this book and choose one thing to do.

The first thing I want you to do is to ask yourself how cleaning makes you feel. I dont mean how having a clean house makes you feel I havent met anyone yet who thinks that having a clean and tidy home is depressing! But how does having to clean make you feel? Does the relentless list of chores leave you feeling anxious, confused and angry? Are you overwhelmed at the thought of tidying and cleaning?

Cleaning is a task we all must do unless you have a team of helpers who clean your loo and pick your clothes off your floor for you. In which case, lucky you why are you reading this book?! So many of us find cleaning and tidying tedious and even stressful. We put it off for as long as possible which, by the way, just makes it worse.

Cleaning really doesnt need to be your enemy. By the end of this book, I want you to have changed your relationship with cleaning. I want you to have learned how to think about cleaning as a solution, rather than a cause of stress and worry. I know how crazy that sounds, but bear with me. The amazing thing about humans is that we can change the way we think about things. An annoyance, like cleaning, can be turned into a challenge or discovery, if you just adjust the way you see it.

By reframing the way you think about cleaning, you can become less stressed, more confident and even grow to enjoy it!

Are you a rage cleaner?

A few years ago, I noticed a pattern in my mood when I tidied and cleaned. I was always angry, annoyed and short-tempered. I flew around the house shouting at my husband, Peter, and our children, whipping everyone into a frenzy of negative emotions as I went.

When I sat down and really thought about it, I recalled my childhood. I always had a messy room back then, and I remember being in trouble for it quite a lot. I wonder if my brain held on to the link between feelings of anger, shame and frustration and tidying or cleaning for decades.

The link worked both ways if I was angry, I would clean; and if I was cleaning, I became angry. I identified this pattern, and I recognised the cycle I was in. If I let it continue, my children would probably end up the same way, and then their children would, and so on until the end of time.

Or I could stop it.

So I decided to change my mind about cleaning. I decided to make it fun and enjoyable. My son and daughter now have more positive experiences of looking after their home, and we are building on those experiences every day. We share household chores between the four of us, and this is another key part of our approach to maintaining a happier house.

Becoming aware of this was a game changer for me. The next time you are tidying or cleaning your home, take a moment to check on your mood:

• How are you feeling about what youre doing?
• What thoughts are going through your mind?
• How are the other people in your home feeling about you doing this work?

You are not alone.

So youre looking at a mess. Getting cross about it isnt going to help anyone. Before you start clearing it up, decide to accept the task at hand.

Theres a job to do. You can choose to let it ruin your mood and everyone elses, or you can choose to tackle it and then move on with your day.

Look at the following list and find the section that most applies to how you feel and/or how youd like to feel, and try some of the ideas it contains:

• Overwhelmed to Empowered ()
• Resentful to Thankful ()
• Frustrated to Relieved ()
• Confused to Clear ()
• Demotivated to Motivated ()

Set a timer on your phone 15, 30 minutes, whatever youve got. Clean as hard as you can, then stop when the timer goes off. Admire your handiwork and move on with your day. If you have 30 minutes to spend, you could spend all 30 minutes in one room or you could do 10 minutes in three different rooms. Youll be amazed by how much you can get done in a short, fixed amount of time.

Where to start? Look around the room and choose the first place you see that looks like it needs attention. Deal with it. Dont overthink it, just do it. Doing something is always better than doing nothing. Remind yourself that you will feel so much better for it.

When youve achieved what you set out to do, watch your favourite TV programme, make a cup of tea, go for a walk Rewarding yourself with small treats is a great way to make the emotions linked to cleaning and tidying more positive.