February 4th - Clean Out Your Sink - Myrrhmade Love Where You Are Challenge Day 4!

 February 4th - Welcome to day 4 of the Myrrhmade Love Where You Are Challenge! 

Come on in and join us!

 Day 4: Clean Out Your Sink

Just as we challenged you yesterday to start your day by airing out your bed (did you do it again today?), today we're going to challenge you to finish your day with a clean sink.

I know some of you have this habit, and maybe you're naturally tidy people, but it's been hard-won for me. For much of my life, I've leaned toward the cooking end of meal-related labor division. Currently, I'm outnumbered by little ones, and while, after a long day of homeschooling, settling disputes, attempting to instill good habits, as well as all of my own work, more cleaning work is the last thing I want to do. 

However, if I DON'T clean out the sink, the next day starts on the wrong foot. 

Cleaning out your sink is not a chore to tick off a list. It's a gift to yourself. 

Your future self will thank you for it.

I spend a good chunk of every day in the kitchen - it's where I make all our meals. Since the pandemic, we've rarely gotten takeout of any kind more than once or twice a month due to high delivery fees and the high energy cost of getting kiddos shod and buckled and quiet enough to drive and pick anything up. It's good for our budget but that does mean I'm cooking a lot. I also use our kitchen island to print everything for my business.

Daily Challenge: Leave your sink clean and empty when you go to bed.

Daily Mindset Mantra: Cleaning is a gift to the next person who will use that item or space.

I'm really the only person who uses the kitchen sink. Doing the dishes and leaving the sink clean is a gift to myself. When I'm washing the dishes, I'm taking care of whoever will use that dish next. Rather than grumbling or "should"ing, I can focus on tending to the soil of my life and those in it.

“Wash the plate not because it is dirty nor because you are told to wash it, but because you love the person who will use it next.” -St. Teresa of Calcutta

When washing dishes for myself, I can focus on what I love about my dishes, how I can simply turn the tap and warm water comes out. I can think about how lucky I am to not only have my own home but be safe and healthy in it. I can focus on gratitude for the food we have and are able to eat together. Remember, Love is a Verb.

Bonus task:

What are some ordinary things that you take for granted? How can you shift your focus and see your everyday experience in a new light?

Did you know that only about 57% of the world's population has running water? 

Having a roof over your head, access to laundry machines, food in the fridge, heat in the winter, a bed to yourself (or shared with your squeeze) makes each of us richer than a significant portion of the world. 

Having a dirty sink means you have food to eat, dishes to eat it on, and time to eat it. 

My experience:

Why you might ask am I showing you a picture of my bathroom sink? 

Well, today I had to practice what I preach.

Due to a plumbing issue, the kitchen sink is out of order at the moment, and so is the bathtub. So, while I did clean my lovely double kitchen sink for the photo above, I did it with a damp cloth and no running water. 

After some deep breaths (exercise near the bottom of this post) I realized how grateful I am to even have the use of a little bathroom sink. If you'd asked me a few days ago, I might have told you I have no love for this sink. I even painted this sink almost five years ago. 

Now, I have a lot of love for this sink. 

And yes, I cleaned it. This sink and its surroundings haven't been this clean in years.

Washing some of our smaller pans (knowing I'd have to use the small sink) brought my thoughts back to the summer after HandsomeJoe and I met. I spent more than a month visiting him in his efficiency base housing in Maryland. His kitchenette had a very small sink and a two-burner stove. Later, for another school, I brought him two luncheon plates so that we could eat in his room and be able to wash the dishes in the bathroom sink.

When our lives require us to do more with less, we can certainly rise to the challenge and enjoy what might otherwise be a source of self-induced suffering. 

I am so grateful for plumbing, hot water, electric lights, heating, and my washing machine. 

How can you help yourself be more aware of the luxuries that we often take for granted? How can you care for what you have? 

How did you do with today's challenge?  Let me know in the comments! 

Make sure to check back here tomorrow for the next challenge, the next tips, and the next dose of the Myrrhmade Love Where You Are Challenge.

#myrrhmade #lovewhereyouarechallenge