I woke up this morning with an extra special spring in my step. Not only is the cleaner coming round in a bit, so i did the usual clean before the cleaner bit , making beds, picking up shit (not literally) off the floor and making sure there weren't any shit stains in the loo. Sorry for all the shit so early on in this blog. But because this day is sunny and bright there is a certain buzz to it.
So first let's dispel the myth that you need a big house to have a cleaner. Believe me the day I actually took the plunge to get one was a herald of angels moment, sparkly lights, a chorus sung from the heavens and from that moment on my life took an unexpected turn for the better. God did I miss her over lockdown. It’s not that I don’t have to clean on other days because believe me I still do the odd bit and every now and then a complete blitz of all the corners and the cobwebs. Because you’ll understand that 2 hours of cleaning in a 4 bed house once a fortnight doesn’t quite make it spotless. But what it does do is make it manageable.
So why did I get a cleaner? Well because my mental health was really getting to the point where I was in a complete funk most days. I always had things to do and when I sat down and did nothing I had huge pangs of guilt if I wasn’t moving (read being a domestic goddess). That and having a physical job, meant, that when it came round to the cleaning, I felt using my last ounce of energy I had on a really shitty task like housework, was quite frankly a waste. I have later found out that I have a rare connective tissue disorder (Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos, or hEDS for short, which means I run out of energy real quick and let’s not get into the amount of pain I’m in on a daily basis cos that’s a whole blog right there!)
So back to the cleaning fairy that I hired. She is an amazing woman who I quite frankly couldn’t do without now. So taking the plunge for hiring her was a big day, it felt weird and here were some of the beliefs I had before I did the deed.
- She was gonna cost more than I could afford
- It felt weird having staff
- Surely I should be doing this job
- Would that make me a bit posh
So you can see that I had worries that really weren’t anything to worry about, but me being the anxious little thang that I was, I just needed to get past those barriers and take the plunge. What I found was that it’s not like having staff at all, it’s like having a friend who helps you out from time to time and you know what that feels really good. Does she cost a lot? Well I do pay her above minimum wage, but I want to make sure I get a good job done and quality people cost. Paying her minimum would feel like I was being a bit stingy and when I added up how many hours I needed to work in order to pay for her 2 it was most definitely worth every penny. Should I be the cleaner of the house? Well this house had a huge shake up. I stood my ground on the cleaner and I also started making others so some of the other job’s too, after all we all live in this house. That was a huge take but control moment right there and again did wonders for my self esteem and was a moment of self love.
Have I become posh overnight? Well others may think so my mum does for sure, but nope I still swear like a sailor and certainly haven’t started eating caviar just because (see crazy rich Asians for that reference).
So if you wanna put a spring in your step take some time to work out what you need for you right now and if that a cleaner then go do it I guarantee you won’t look back.
Let’s not forget that the final transformation to Spring happens this weekend and as a result lighter evenings and the definite whiff of summer in the air, after all getting rid of that hibernation cloak will feel like weight off your shoulder. Once that weight is lifted you my friend will have that spring in your step that you so need.
So take this month to start the slow process of removing the winter fluff, start to move a little bit more, change a few processes that you have got in the habit of doing a start to feel better about you and your mental health.