Who Loves Cleaning? Love-Hate Relationship

The never-ending chores that can seem unappreciated and mundane.
I was raised by a mother who made housework a priority. I knew it was important to keep the house clean, but it was hard. I’ve always worked full-time outside the house. Even when I was a young mother, it was a challenge because I was trying to be a perfectionist in that area. But by the time I turned 40, it became daunting. I felt hopeless and just didn’t have the energy or hours in the day to keep up with all the work.

I tried convincing myself that having a clean house wasn’t the most important thing in life, but deep down, I knew—the state of my house made me really unhappy. And as the years passed, it only became more difficult.

Then, another thing happened. In 2021, I broke my arm. I was ice skating and fell. For over two months, I couldn’t work or do anything at home. My husband and two boys tried to keep up with the housework, but there are some things only moms can see and do. That’s when I realized something had to change. I had to do something about it because I could see I wasn’t prepared for emergency situations. It’s like wanting to be ready in case of a fire or earthquake.

But I didn’t know where to start or what to do. I was really stuck!
I started learning about minimalism and decluttering. It was like a revelation to me: if there are fewer things on the table, it’s easier to dust the surface! Or if there’s nothing on the floor, it’s easier to vacuum or clean without having to move things around. So, I began getting rid of some stuff in my home—especially the little tchotchkes on surfaces that had no practical purpose but made it harder to maintain my house.

It was a long process. It took me about a year to get through every space in my house. And in many spaces, I had to go back and redo them more than once. But eventually, I reached the point where it was easy to clean and maintain.
Now, I’m pretty happy with the state of my house, even though it took me so long. But it definitely pays off!