We’ve all been there.

Exhausted after a long day, you walk through the door and are greeted by dirty countertops, a full dishwasher, and papers spread from one end of the house to the other.

There’s a load of wet clothes in the washer that you think has been there for a couple of days, and the amount of crumbs on the floor could feed a family of four for a week. And don’t get started on the state of the bathroom…

Household chores are just that … a chore.

Kids are raised with the threat of scrubbing the toilet as punishment, and we often withhold fun experiences until AFTER the house is spotless. No wonder we all hate cleaning!

But alas, when you have a home it needs to be cleaned. So I’d like to suggest something – change the way you think about household chores. Shift the paradigm and make cleaning an act of service to your home.

I believe by its very nature, your home is sacred. The root of the word sacred is sacer or “holy” in Latin. “If something is considered sacred it is recognized as being touched by the realm of the divine in some way and is therefore something worthy of respect or honour,” explains one of my favourite authors, Arin Murphy-Hiscock.

The very act of caring for your home is an act of service – a way to give thanks for the divine role it plays in supporting the well-being of you and your family.

We are blessed by interacting with what we consider sacred. This is one of the most important precepts of home-based spirituality; by caring for and maintaining your home, you simultaneously enhance its sanctity while it touches and blesses you.

Arin Murphy-Hiscock

I dare you to look at sweeping the floors the same way!

This radical way of thinking can seem like quite the stretch, especially if you’re a busy mom or dad with a to-do list a mile long. I get it!

Sometimes all it takes is a change in mindset…it’s all about baby steps, right?

Consider these dinnertime conversation starters:

• what do you love about our home?
• what are some of the special things our home does for us?
• do you consider our home a member of the family? How does it feel to say that?
• how do you care and support a family member?
• what are some things you can do to show our home gratitude and respect?

Encourage the family to come up with new ways to give a positive spin to cleaning and maintenance…to reframe it as an act of service. Some examples to try:

• explaining as you tidy a room that you are cleaning away the negative energy and filling the space with happiness.
• do an evening “clean sweep” and put away toys, papers, etc. as a way to help “tuck” the house in for the night.
• washing the windows together with the intention of letting the sunshine in and helping your home “see” better.

Have fun with it!

One of my favourite mindful cleaning practices is wiping the kitchen counters every evening. As I clear away the dishes and wipe away the dinner crumbs, I visualize negative energy from my day being washed away, leaving a clean slate for the next morning. It makes me feel peaceful and calm.

Things may not magically improve overnight — you’re still going to be picking up random socks and finding uneaten food between the sofa cushions. It is a process…but a beautiful one to start. Model the behaviour and language often with your family and get everyone involved. Start teaching your children at a very young age that cleaning is a way to say thank you to your home and the very act shows respect and love.

That’s the HomeHearted way.