I have always enjoyed cleaning and doing laundry. I find it really therapeutic and relaxing, but I never thought I could make a living from my passion.
I wanted to share my love of cleaning with others, so in 2018 I created my cleaning Instagram account to talk about my favorite cleaning products and where to buy them. At the time we had just moved into a big home renovation project and making videos helped motivate me to clean the house.
However, I never thought that my love of cleaning would make me quit my job of almost 20 years.
I've been a salesperson at M&S since I was 17 and have worked my way up to Visual Merchandising Business Manager and Store Manager. But while I originally only created content at night, I started getting paid work from the brands I shared on my Instagram page.
In 2020 I made the decision to take the plunge and become a full-time content creator. I've made around 50,000 subscriptions in that time, I think it's a huge risk and I'm incredibly nervous about the idea of Bouger My Dreams.
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The leap of faith has made me happy, but cleaning gets me going every day.
Why does cleaning make me happy?
1. Cleaning means taking care of yourself
Keeping our home clean and tidy is part of my personal grooming routine and I enjoy using cleaning products as much as I do using beauty products.
Our environment has a major impact on our mental health and well-being. This is why self-care at home is important, because self-care is really for us.
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2. It's time to relax
Cleaning the house helps me switch off and relax. My thoughts focus on spraying, scrubbing and buffing, and I feel like the condition of my home is a reflection of my thoughts.
When I'm busy, stressed, and disorganized my house tends to be messy, but when I'm calm and in control my house tends to be tidy too.
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It's such a good feeling when a room is fresh, clean and tidy (although it might not last long!)
3. Cleaning makes me proud
When I moved into my first home, I felt proud to be able to take care of my home, and it was also a great comfort when I was homesick or going through hard times.
© Cristina MasseyI like a tidy house, but I'm a realist and we don't live in a model house, so I don't overdo it if it's messy. I focus on what I can, when I can, and that's enough.
Read on for an exclusive excerpt from Laura's book Live, Laugh, Laundry: A Relaxing Guide to Keeping Your Clothes Clean and Happy on how to create a laundry routine and a happy life ...
Create a laundry routine
Rituals help me incredibly in everyday life, especially when I'm going through a phase of fear. You may be able to understand the unexpected feeling that your head is spinning, you have an uncomfortable feeling in your stomach and you can't think straight for no reason.
During these times, I find that rituals allow me to regain control and not let fears rule me and my day. In this excerpt, I want to share my laundry routine with you and how it helps me on a daily, weekly, and year-round basis so you can start creating your own.
Every home is different and depending on how many people live in your home you will have different priorities. I hope sharing my routine helps you find one that works for you.
My daily routine
I tend to throw in a load of laundry each day, which might seem excessive for a two-person household, but I'll show you how I sort my laundry and hopefully that's all clear.
I sort my clothes into white, light and dark, then knitwear/delicates and sportswear. Each day I will address what you have built the most.
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So there can be a lot of dark clothes on a Monday, so I refrain from doing a dark wash. Tuesday may have a lot of knitwear so you can wash it depending on how many items have accumulated in the basket. I don't like doing laundry when there are only a few clothes items because I don't want to waste them, but I feel like my laundry basket never seems to be empty!
I use the color catchers which really allow me to wash mixed loads without color bleeding, but I still don't mix light and dark colors.
Since I work from home, I usually do my laundry first thing in the morning, but at my previous job I always put them on in the evening as soon as I get home. If your washing machine has a timer, you can set it to finish as soon as you wake up in the morning. Do what works for you, but most importantly, at the end of the wash cycle, you can remove the clothes from the washing machine as quickly as possible so you can hang them to dry naturally or use the dryer.
Usually at the end of the day, when everything is dry, I go upstairs and immediately sort all cleaned items into piles ready to be put away. If I don't do this before bed, I put it off and interrupt my routine for the next day because I can't start a new load until the basket is full of clean items. ready to transport the next batch of soiled items to the machine.
my weekly routine
Each week I put in loads of sheets and towels that have accumulated over the week. I wash our linens weekly, usually on the weekends, to keep them nice and fresh for the start of the new week.
Towels can be cleaned every 3-4 days and do not need to be washed daily unless they are particularly dirty. I also wash the bath mats with the towels weekly.
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Once a week, I wash any rags I've cleaned with, as well as any dishcloths that have accumulated over the week. I don't know what a tea towel is but I think they are very basic.
I have some bins in my laundry room that I put dirty clothes in; I use the rags a lot because I use them as an alternative to disposable cleaning wipes because they are so much better for the environment. I wash them with detergent, replacing the fabric softener with laundry detergent to give them a deep clean and kill any bacteria and viruses.
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