Kitchen Sink Ritual

Hi, I'm Dan Cunningham. I'm a life coach and professional organizer specializing in organization and mental health. I want to share a trick that I learned years ago that's really made a difference in starting my day off right years ago, I became aware that my external environment played a big part in my mental health and how I was feeling inside. So if things were crazy around me, if a room was in disarray, chances are I was feeling anxious, depressed, and I wasn't in a good state of mind. Now, in the same sense, if I was feeling really good and at the top of my game, my exterior surroundings matched that as well.

So it went either way. The two went together. So I was studying some organization techniques and came across a woman who practices this clean sink ritual. So every night before she went to bed, after she finished dinner, somewhere in between, she would make sure that her kitchen sink was completely empty, scrubbed down and rinsed so that when she woke up the next day, that's what met her. You know, there's something about getting up and walking into the kitchen and having a clean kitchen. It just feels so good to start your day off with a clean slate.

Also, I've walked into a kitchen that was just trashed from a gathering the night before. It's just not a good feeling. It's just not a great way to start the day. They have to clean everything up. So this simple practice can really make a big difference in how you feel in the morning. So before you go to bed, give this a shot. Clean your kitchen sink out. Get the dishes in the dishwasher, wash them, dry them, put them away, whatever you need to do. Make it a ritual so that when you wake up in the morning, the first thing you're greeted with is a clean kitchen sink.

It's a great way to start the day, and it does make a difference. Give it a shot.