Cleaning homes is a beautiful thing. Many people see it as drudgery, the bottom of the barrel. They see someone pushing a mop and all they see is someone pushing a mop. But the deep value of cleaning homes is in the why. Why do we need to clean our home, outside of the obvious, if I don’t, then the piles will just get higher and spread wider? Getting closer to the answer, what are the rewards for cleaning?
Peace of mind. Satisfaction. A more spacious feeling. The air feels lighter. Nothing is weighing on the shoulders. The whole family is quieter and more contented. There is even a sense of time itself opening up, minutes stretching, allowing room for more activities to flow into the day.
Today I was listening to a young lady on a video who said she used to clean houses and it just didn’t feel right and she didn’t enjoy it at all, and now she does what she loves. “There’s nothing wrong with cleaning houses, by the way,” the facilitator added, while mentioning that people grow and we all start somewhere. My thought was, how sad that she couldn’t see the beauty in what she was doing. As for me, I’ve been a member of the US Air Force, a medical records analyst, an interior decorator, a make-up artist in a high-end department store, a writer and publisher – and I choose to move into this work. Furthermore, I see it as an arrival of a sort, because cleaning homes is part of healing homes – a true heart-and-soul calling.
Washing a window lets the sunlight in without the eyes stopping at smudges. Dusting and polishing let that light shine, slowly shifting beams of light around a space as the sun slips westward. Opening windows and vacuuming clean the air, making breathing more effortless. People with depression need more light. People with respiratory problems need clean air. People with eating disorders need a clean kitchen. People with neurodiverse children need holistic kitchen practices, water and air purifiers, etc., to provide as toxin-free an environment as possible. These strategies are all part of healing homes.
To clean is not to erase, but to reveal. It is to lift the veil of dust and distraction so that light, breath, and presence can return. Healing homes is not a side gig or a stepping stone – it’s a vocation of deep listening and sacred tending. It’s the art of making space for life to feel more livable, more luminous. It restores dignity and invites peace. It’s a satisfying chaos-to-serenity process, preparing the ground for joy to take root in people’s lives.
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