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Watch this video when you must clean… but you don’t feel like it.
Welcome back to the Daily Connoisseur and another homemaking video. I’m hoping to provide inspiration for you today. You might be wondering why I’m outside stabbing sweet potatoes.
Well, that’s because the kitchen is still a hot mess from breakfast. It’s just one of those days… School is out. My kids are still in their pajamas. One of them has a cold. My work is piling up. I’m just not feeling it. We all have one of those days. But I need to get these sweet potatoes in the oven for lunch and clean up the kitchen. So I thought I’d capture it and give you a bit of encouragement because let’s face it… WE HAVE ALL BEEN THERE.
Housework is mundane and unglamorous. It requires physical effort and can often feel like the dead last thing you want to do. Dead last! We want a little excitement in our lives. Some beauty. Sometimes you just want to play with the kids. Or you have a lot of work you need to get done. How tiresome to have to clean the kitchen… again! So, you don’t feel like cleaning. Don’t feel guilty. That’s a totally normal feeling. The question is, what are you going to do about it? Can you get someone else to clean it? If not, and it’s on you, here we go. Time to shift our mental attitude. Get on that apron and those gloves, pop in those air pods to listen to music or an audio book and get to it. Here’s my little secret. In At Home with Madame Chic I talk about the pleasures of the day and how they can be goal posts for you. So, I’m going to tuck into this messy kitchen right now, and stab the potatoes, and get lunch ready and then I have a bit of a treat planned…. Tea and Henry James by the pool. Yep, that’s what I’m aiming for. The imminent pleasure of the afternoon will see me through this, friends.
You’re not alone. Do you know that? I think every homemaker in the history of the world has felt this lack of motivation at some point, if not frequently. It’s totally natural and cyclical. I equate it to burnout. We go through cycles in our homemaking. Sometimes we are on top of it all. On point. Raring to go. Loving every minute of it. Then enter an illness in the household or a work deadline, or a beautiful day outside that you’d rather frolic in. Totally normal. Well, when I go dark about wanting to do my tasks, I like to shift my mental reality. Call it triggering the Matrix. As a man thinketh in his heart so is he, after all. So what do I need to think in my heart about this situation? If I moan and prolong this inevitable task, I’m only making it worse. The other day my son had a gross-tasting medicine he had to take. He was prolonging it by taking wee bitty little sips. I told him he was prolonging the bad taste. Just get it over with, I tried to encourage him. He took it in two shots and it was done with. I’m going to take this kitchen in two shots. Because I have plans this afternoon.
I take a coconut tea loaf out of the freezer to thaw and plate lunch for today. Doesn’t it look delicious? After lunch there is a light cleanup and a few more tasks to accomplish. Let’s talk about these pleasures as our goal posts. Give yourself a treat. Something to look forward to. You are not an automaton. You can’t just break your back every day (proverbially speaking) and not reward yourself. The brain responds well to treats and they are good for your mental health. So when I am faced with a task I don’t particularly want to do, I make sure there is something special waiting for me at the end of it. This doesn’t demean the task I’m doing, rather, it exalts it and makes it more exciting. I’m able do it with vigor and more enthusiasm. If there was nothing to look forward to that might not be the case.
Afternoon tea is a daily pleasure for me. The whole ritual from start to finish is calming and centering from the pouring of the water into the pot, to the stirring of the sugar and milk. The coconut tea cake will be served with heavy cream and blueberries. I take it outside to enjoy my rest along with this volume of Henry James’ letters… Remember, make time to relax. It’s imperative. I know your to-do list is still long. There’s so much more you need to accomplish today but that can wait. Use the pleasure of the afternoon as your goal post. When you reach it and reward yourself you will feel a sense of joy.
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