Cleaning House Masks My Need for Accomplishment

I've realized that I use housecleaning as a way to avoid challenging myself in other areas. Think about it (this is more to myself than to anyone else): the house gets messy and then I have something urgent to accomplish. It's okay for me not to write, not to strive for personal goals, not to exercise or challenge myself in some other way because I'm cleaning, and cleanliness comes first.

And the most alluring part of it is that I can achieve a sense of gratification and accomplishment so easily. After a cleaning spree, Hubs compliments me on how great the house looks, and I feel so pleased and happy every time I walk into my newly clean house. Of course, neither of these states lasts very long, so the only way for me to get that same sense of accomplishment and the same gratitude from my husband is to let the house get messy again so that I can rescue it once more.

Of course, masking my desire for real accomplishment with house cleaning makes me accomplish less, and it means that my house is messy a lot of the time.

It's an interesting realization, the way that psychology is affecting my cleaning habits. I wonder what I can do about it.

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That's why I've always had trouble with Flylady's "never see dirt again." It's just not nearly as satisfying. But I also create crises in other areas of my life. I think I enjoy the adrenaline rush and subsequent relief.