I tried A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and Mind

Blinkist Books to Check Out:

- The Urban Monk
- A Monk's Guide to Happiness
- The Monk who Sold His Ferrari
- Atomic Habits
- Eat that Frog!
- Raising a Secure Child
- Not Today
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- Digital Minimalism
- The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up
- Simplicity Parenting
- Outer Order, Inner Calm

🖤 I N T H I S V I D E O

🖤 L E T ' S H A N G O U T

🖤 R E C E N T L Y M E N T I O N E D

🖤 LOOKING FOR MORE SUPPORT?

Here is the best way that I can help you!

MINIMAL MOM MEMBERSHIP GROUP:
Decluttering + Home Management Support

Your monthly subscription will include:
- Daily strategy videos
- Live guided decluttering sessions
- Weekly 60-minute household planning meeting
- Twice daily live "body doubling" sessions
- Weekly office hours
- Printable household management binder
- Encouragement & support from other members

This is ideal if you're looking for more motivation & accountability!

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🖤 DECLUTTERING PLAYLISTS

Thank you for your support!

:: C U R R E N T L Y R E A D I N G ::

:: M O S T P O P U L A R O N O U R B L O G R I G H T N O W ::

#minimalism #familyminimalism #minimalist

:: M O S T P O P U L A R V I D E O S R I G H T N O W ::

**AFFILIATE LINKS! THANK YOU!!!**

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[cynamun]

Dawn, I love the way you talk about your faith. I am an atheist with bad childhood experiences. The last time I tried to attend a church, my brain literally knocked me out to "protect" me from going. Unlike the people I grew up with, your faith gives you joy and generosity, not arrogance and superiority. I am happy for you when I hear you talk about it.

[brightpurpleviking]

It feels SO GOOD to wake up in the morning and not have to clean the dishes from the night before. It reminds me of the Bible verse about each day has enough evil of its own that we shouldn’t have to take on the burdens of any other day than the one we are currently in. Yesterday’s mess in our home is the burden from other days! Today has enough, for heaven’s sake lol

[CAEO]

“Where there is nothing, there is everything”. THIS is what minimalism is to me. The less stuff I have around me, the more grounded I feel.

[beep-beepwatermelon]

I have a toddler and baby twin girls. Every day I make all the meals from scratch, take care of the children, do all the cleaning, make smoothies, breastfeed, all on hardly any sleep, and I’m not dead yet. THIS IS BECAUSE OF MINIMALISM!
Whenever someone asks me “ how do you do it”
I say
“ I threw everything out”
That and GOD 🙏
I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the chores if I hadn’t declutterred. It takes me five minutes to make sure everything in the house is picked up for cleaning the floors. Laundry is a task, but we have no more clothes than we need and what fits. I’m diligent to get clothes out of the house as soon as it’s outgrown. And new or not, even if it’s a gift, if it doesn’t get worn for whatever reason, I won’t hesitate to get rid of something even if it still fits someone.
I started decluttering just over two years ago when I was pregnant with my first born. It amazes me how much I’ve gotten rid of, and that I’m still able to find more!
Our home is highly simplified. I’m at the point where, just yesterday, I got rid of two wooden bowls that I LOVE, because they collect clutter. I’m literally donating things that bring me Joy, because not having them bring me MORE!
I used to get a thrill when I found a score at a store…. Now I get a thrill when I find something I can get rid of!
BYE BYE! Hello freedom! What we actually need is not very much!

[kathleengarness]

Cleaning is a spiritual practice of hospitality - for self, family, others.

[janallen]

My mom and grandmother always said don’t go to bed with dirty dishes. It’s so nice to get some coffee without having to look at that first thing in the morning

[karenflom]

My husband is finally realizing this! More than a month ago I did a deep declutter of my half of the bathroom - counter, drawers, space under sink, but I didn't touch his side. For weeks he's quietly watched how easy it is for me to find what I need, put it away, and keep the counter clean. My mom is coming for the weekend and he was helping clean rooms. He did a major declutter of his own stuff, asked for a small storage bin for his items to keep on the counter, and then cleaned both our sinks and wiped the whole counter. So much easier to do! Thanks Dawn for your inspiration!

[LittleWayChoir]

My husband spent 18 months in a Benedictine monastery (discerning priesthood) before we met. He spent many hours working in their apple orchard. One of the reasons that many monks do 'menial', repetitive tasks, such as making fruitcake, is because this allows them to pray for hours while they work. While some orders are committed to a more visible service to the church (as is the case with a teaching order), monks and other more isolated clergy, consider it their main mission to pray for the church. It is really a beautiful model that we can adapt to our own lives.

[uteme]

Something my DinL OFTEN says when she visits my house is, "your house is so peaceful." I believe what she's really noticing is the clean kitchen surfaces, the lack of clutter throughout & the calming effect created by having an easily maintained home. It pleases me, for her, that she has found a place of respite. ♡

[neahughes]

I’ve volunteered to clean my local temple for my church before, and we did a full cleaning every single evening. They said the point wasn’t to clean it because it was dirty, but rather to continually clean it so it never gets to the point of being dirty. I loved that. 😊

[llamasugar]

Homemaking/housekeeping IS a form of worship.

Restoring order and removing the acquired filth of the day, removing weeds to make a garden beautiful/productive, caring for family and friends—all of these push back against the effects of the Fall. All creation yearns for, _requires, _ order and peace.

[sandragoodman]

I actually overcame depression by embracing, well, not minimalism, but less stuff, every task completed, and not letting things build up. I have always had what I called "The Big List". It was overwhelming, and I couldn't deal with it alone, so I hired a professional organizer to do it with me. I have one or two more sessions, and then I'll be on my own. (Of course I can call on her if I need support.)  

My organizer's time is one of he best purchases I ever made. My whole mood has changed; when I wake up in the morning, I feel happy. I even spontaneously cleaned my apartment the other day!  

I'm sure I COULD have done everything myself, but I WASN'T doing it. Now it's almost done.

[amydepaul]

I am a maximalist, but I am SO TIRED OF BEING ANXIOUS! Im going to highly simplify my house one room at a time and see if it helps.

[nesxya]

I lived overseas in Bolivia, I loved the lifestyle. I lost so much weight. Coming back to the United States it was a culture shock, I gained weight, and my health declined greatly. Work weeks easily go to 60 to 80 hours. Food is unhealthy and even our frozen vegetables have added sugar! Portions are super large! We don't walk and the town planning is horrible so you depend on your car in most states to drive 10 miles to the grocery store. So you overbuy to save trips to the store. We don't have a healthy lifestyle here in the United States.

[belle]

I love the beauty of a clean and sparkling kitchen sink. Sometimes it helps me to think "I'm not doing the dishes, I'm creating a beautiful sink."

[maryannehibbard]

Dawn, I want to share a total win with you! Yesterday, organizing my bedroom (recently moved in), I picked up something and thought, "Where shall I put this?" The immediate internal answer was "Donation box." Woot! Woot! Decluttering win!! Thanks!!

[lisam]

Yesterday I had off from work and I took a box of old small rugs and linens to a local animal rescue. It felt so good to get that out of our home. A couple of weeks ago we got rid of our old couch (we had had it for 25 years! It was a beast) and we got a smaller couch, rearranged the living room and it feels so open and tidy now. I find I keep walking into the room just to look at it. LOL But every little thing you do to declutter your home helps to declutter your life. Gretchen Rubin was correct when she said that outer order contributes to inner calm.

[libbykat]

I love it when people are confident enough in their own convictions that they can look without fear at other ways of life. Good practices are good practices, irrespective of culture or spiritual beliefs.

[rebeccaross]

When my husband and I got married, my parents gave us a washing machine for our gift. We fixed it 3 or 4 times, but after 24 years, it finally died, and I cried because it had been such a great machine in our life. I’m sure I wouldn’t have been so emotionally attached to it had we only had it a few years and had just gotten a new one instead of fixing it when it broke before.

[roxannesmith]

I’ve started the Japanese habit of cleaning my toilet daily. It’s quick to do and so nice having a fresh toilet to use daily.