House Cleaning Chores and How to Take the Chore Out of It

When I had kids, and even before that, one of my worst chores ever was washing dishes. It was so distasteful to me that over time, as our family grew in size, as did the dinner mess, I found it was easier to throw out the dishes, and buy different ones at the thrift store. This became a habit very quickly and easily over time.

I didn't really know why I hated doing my dishes, or cleaning my kitchen so badly. It wasn't that I did not care about cleanliness, for I like my cooking area to be clean, and would even pay people to come and clean for me, and the excuse I made up for myself at the time was that I was extremely busy with three boys and other things. It worked for me....and I hoped it was working with those around me.

Then one day, while in my therapy group, my doctor out of the clear blue said to me, "Deb, do you know why you don't like to do your dishes? and did your parents use washing dishes as a punishment when you were a kid?" he asked. After some thought, about five seconds worth, it hit me in the head like a speeding car. Yes, that had been my Mom's favorite punishment -- dishes for a month. I once got dishes for a month for saying the word crap. Bam, that was it, I felt like I was punishing myself.

I felt so enlightened, that I excused myself from the session, went home and rushed into the kitchen and began the soapy endeavor. The more I washed, the more free I felt, and I was even feeling better and better the longer I stood there with my hands in soapy water, knowing that I was indeed cleaning my dishes for the right reasons, and how important that was. I was washing the dishes because I liked my kitchen to be clean, not because I was bad. That doctor set me free from a lifetime of chains and misery in about 12 seconds. In my life, it was a small miracle, but it meant so much.

So now, I no longer throw my dishes away, and in fact it came to be my favorite chore in the whole house. So, if you feel a natural aversion to doing something like this in your life, maybe it is for a real reason and maybe there is something that you can do about it. Possibly just because you read this story, and became aware of it being a problem, you might not even have to go through all the steps of finding a doctor and going to therapy, but will have the inner enlightenment yourself and will be able to come to terms with it yourself. As they have said in the past, doctor, heal thyself.