Feel Refreshed in #2014

Reblogged from my contributing post at Rural Housewives of America

Think about where you spend most of your time when you are home or when you are first getting around in the morning. Your bedroom, your kitchen, your laundry room. What can you do to reduce the clutter in those rooms which then reduces the clutter in your mind? 

More than likely, the way you begin your day will reflect the rest of your day.

I am going to share with you 5 things I do to make my mornings feel more refreshed and less cluttered so I can have a good start to each day. 

1. I drink an entire glass of water. Slowly.

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is pour myself a glass of cold water. I don't add ice or it's harder to gulp down. I close my eyes, drink the water slowly and I really feel myself re-hydrating. I love the feeling. It clears my mind and makes my body feel really refreshed. I use to start my morning off with coffee right away but now I do this instead. I will wait and enjoy coffee with breakfast or when I am heading up to my office to start work. 

2. I make my bed. 

I know this may seem silly, but I always feel more relaxed and my mind feels less cluttered if my bed is made. The rest of the house could be a disaster but as long as I know I have a crisp, smooth bed to crawl into at the end of the day, my mind instantly feels de-cluttered. It takes a minute at most to make my bed. I even have my husband help me. He does his side and I do mine. It has taught us both to respect our bedroom and our space. There is actually a blog post going viral called Why I make My Bed {10 Reasons to Keep Your House Clean}  which I find to be very informative and useful.

3. I Unplug.

I try not to begin my morning checking Facebook, emails, etc. I get around and have some "me" time first before I engage in any social media. Social media clutters our fresh, clear minds and it opens our thought process. If you read a stressful email or Facebook comment, that's all you're going to think. Not to mention, Social Media is definitely a good time sucker to make me put off getting around which makes me feel even more rushed. Messing around on social media gives me less time to get anything else done before beginning the day. This is something I have struggled with but I am getting better at doing. 

4. I do one load of laundry a day. Start to finish. 

If you take anything from me today, please take this little piece of advice and apply it to your life. I start a load of laundry every morning (or night before I go to bed). I switch it over to the dryer at some point in the day or evening and I FOLD IT before bed or whatever works best for my schedule. I know way too many people that have laundry hanging over their head all day. "I am not sure what I am going to wear tomorrow if I don't get home in time to get a load of jeans in." Or the classic, "I can't go anywhere today. I am catching up on laundry." Who wants to dedicate an entire day to laundry? Not me. When I first got married, I started doing a load of day and I've never had to dedicate a day just to laundry or see piles take over my laundry room. It works. It truly does. And don't feel guilty if you miss a day. It happens. Once you start this schedule, you'll never want to go back to playing the catch up game again.

Disclaimer: I don't have kids so the only baskets I have to deal with are mine and my husband's. We are both in charge of putting our own baskets away whenever they are full. You may have to work out a routine with your other family members so you're not going at this alone. 

5. I Keep the sink and counters clear.

More than likely, your kitchen is where you eat breakfast, drink your coffee, pack your lunch, read the paper, do a morning puzzle, etc. It's the last room I will probably see when I leave the house. It's so refreshing to look at the big picture and know that I will be coming back in to a nice clean kitchen. I look even more forward to making dinner knowing I don't have a pile of dishes to battle. I know not everyone has a dishwasher but try your best to take that extra step to scrub and rinse your dishes the night before and quickly after breakfast. I know it's not environmentally friendly but if you are strapped for time in the mornings, use disposable. Quickly wipe down the counters after every meal with a microfiber rag (they pick up more than a regular wash cloth) and sort yesterday's mail somewhere else so it's not in your way every morning. Get your family on board with this. Make dishes a nightly routine together. It goes much faster that way. 

It sounds like a lot of work to day every day but it's really not if you stay on top of these little chores. You'll feel like you have a cleaner house and in return you will have a cleaner mind. 

These are just personal things that allow me to have a sounder mind. Maybe you have your own? Pencil out what makes your mind less cluttered and make them a priority for 2014! That's my challenge for you.