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You are here: Home / SELF LOVE & BODY IMAGE / How to be happy: the healing power of clean sheets

How to be happy: the healing power of clean sheets

February 18, 2019 by Molly Leave a Comment

[AD – paid partnership]

Never underestimate the power of clean sheets. This is not some inspirational Instagram quote, or even a metaphor for life. But I do feel like it’s symbolic of the secret to happiness: appreciating the little things in life.

When I went to university I would always get a little homesick on a Sunday. The day of roast dinners and vegging out in front of the Hollyoaks omnibus, Sundays were all about slow comfort, getting prepared for the week ahead, rest.

Except sitting in my tiny room in halls in my first year, comfort wasn’t the first word that came to mind. But clean sheets on a Sunday – now these always made me feel at home, cosy and looked after. No matter how bad the hangover or how high the pile of essay deadlines, if I had clean sheets to sleep in then everything seemed kind of OK and manageable.

Fast-forward 17 years and now, as a 35 year old mum of two, the same is true. I look forward to going to bed on a Sunday night in freshly washed bedding, laying my head on a crisp pillowcase. It sounds mundane and boring and completely uninspiring, I know, but it’s these tiny little acts of kindness to myself – self-care for the soul – that make up a bigger picture of happiness.

Which is why I’m pleased to tell you about Laundryheap – an on-demand service which collects and delivers laundry and dry-cleaning for free, within 24 hours, to your home, office or hotel. It means you can always have clean sheets (or clean shirts, clean pants etc etc) even if you’re absolutely snowed under with work and life admin, have a broken washing machine or any other situation which might act as an obstacle to your clean sheet karma.

When I think about the things that make me happy, it’s not just blue skies and exciting adventures and inspiring work projects and connecting with new friends and old. It’s the tiny things – clean sheets, a hot bubble bath, fresh new socks, half an hour with a good book, a well-fitting bra. I see these little pieces of luxury as the building blocks to a wider sense of wellbeing.

I sometimes think self-care is just doing all the things that you don’t really want to do. No one jumps out of bed in the morning thinking “YAY LAUNDRY!” But that feeling after it’s done? It’s just lovely. Same with exercise. I love the feeling of going for a run or doing yoga but sometimes I have to really build myself up to it. Actually looking after yourself can be a bit boring – the thought of early bedtimes and drinking enough water and making sure you’ve got clean pants aren’t going to elicit peaks of adrenaline or thrills of excitement. But they do make you feel good in the long-run.

What little potentially dull things are the building blocks to your wellbeing and happiness? I’d love to know.

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Thanks to Laundryheap for commissioning this post. Laundryheap currently operates services in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Coventry in the UK, as well as Dubai and Sharjah, Dublin and Amsterdam and Haarlem. Book a collection on the go online or log into the mobile app.

For more information about how I work with brands check out my Work With Me page.

Filed Under: SELF LOVE & BODY IMAGE, Uncategorized Tagged With: being kind to yourself, self-help, self-kindness, self-love

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Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

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If you feel bad about your body you’re less like If you feel bad about your body you’re less likely to do nice things for it, including moving in a way that feels good and eating in a way that feels good. (FYI health is about more than just exercise and nutrition, but let’s get deeper into the exercise thing for a second...)
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Research shows kids who have low body image are less likely to get involved with sports and more likely to skip PE. 
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Want kids to move more? Stop teaching them that one type of body is better than another - because if their body doesn’t look like your version of a healthy / beautiful / successful body not only will they be more likely to feel shame over their body, they’ll be less likely to engage with the very behaviours you want them to do more of (or be more likely to engage with them in an UNhealthy way - compulsive exercise is dangerous).
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Instead:
💕Try talking about the intrinsic benefits of exercise over the extrinsic ones (ie. how it makes you FEEL instead of how it makes you LOOK).
✨Create opportunities for movement where ALL children feel welcome. 
💕Show children diverse representation so they can see sporting heroes with a range of body types and know that movement is for EVERYbody. 
✨Take a zero tolerance approach to appearance based bullying, body shaming and comments that perpetuate weight stigma (including even the hint that fat = bad). 
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(If you’re a teacher or youth leader interested in knowing more about this topic, a #BodyHappyKids workshop will help - follow the link in my bio 🥰❤️)
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[Image description: A multicoloured slide with an overlaid screenshot of tweet by Molly which reads ‘If your intention is to “get kids healthy” then you need to be aware of how weight bias, weight stigma and poor body image are active barriers to health. The end.]
Sharing this outfit pic with you because it’s a Sharing this outfit pic with you because it’s a crying shame only the piles of laundry got to see it, quite frankly. Finally, a pair of pre-loved jeans bought online that are true to size, consistent with the rest of the brand’s sizing and actually fit! 🎉 
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PS heads up - I’ll be doing a Q&A about body image and kids in my Stories on Friday. The Q sticker is up in my Stories now if you’d like to submit a Q! 💕 #BodyHappyKids
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[Image description: Molly is standing in front of the mirror looking very pleased with the fact her new jeans bought from Depop fit her. She is wearing pink patterned jeans with cherubs on them, a pink check jumper and pink trainers. There are piles of laundry on the bed behind her.]
Another photo of us on a walk, because it’s been Another photo of us on a walk, because it’s been our main form of entertainment this year. Anyone else? 
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I honestly now get excited about putting my boots on and being outdoors, even in the rain. I’m going to start hugging trees next and going on wild camping weekends that involve doing a poo behind a tree and making my own fire. Joke.... maybe. 
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Just another reminder that all movement is valid, exercise doesn’t need to have to be about burning calories or even tracking steps in order for it to be “worth it”. Hope everyone’s had a great weekend ❤️
#BodyHappyMum #JoyfulMovement
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Image description: Molly and her two daughters stand on a bridge in the countryside. They are all wearing hiking boots and outdoor clothes and smiling.
My body is good and excellent and my body only bel My body is good and excellent and my body only belongs to me ✨ (Words by Effie May, age 6 💕) #BodyHappyMum
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Image description: A close up of Molly’s bare skin as she hugs herself. It’s dark and part of her body is illuminated by light. She has her eyes closed and is smiling.
“Mummy I wrote a letter to myself,” she said. “Mummy I wrote a letter to myself,” she said. And my heart swelled. Maybe I’m doing an OK job after all 🤞❤️💕 #BodyHappyKids 
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I could leave this caption here but I need to make something clear: if you think it’s great that my daughter - a thin, white, nondisabled, cisgender kid - feels good in her body but you’re not here for the self-love of any kid who doesn’t look like her.... then you’ve missed the point.
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ALL bodies are good bodies, and without this important piece of the puzzle ALL children will be at risk of doubting their body. And what happens when they doubt their body? Well... hating our body doesn’t make us treat it with love, and the same is true of kids. 
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Great, now we’ve cleared that up, can we take a moment to appreciate the incredible phonetic spelling on show here?! 
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Image description: Effie, age 6, stands against a white wardrobe holding up a letter she has written to herself. It is spelled phonetically and reads “My body is good and excellent and my body only belongs to me.”
I used to struggle to buy stuff for myself if I ha I used to struggle to buy stuff for myself if I had any spare cash - not just treats, but basics like pants and tights that fit properly. I’d tell myself I didn’t need it, didn’t deserve it, couldn’t justify the expense. There’s still that little voice (the habit of putting everyone else’s needs first and my own last dies hard it seems) but I’m leaning into exploring why it still sometimes rears its head, instead of always listening to it. 
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I’m trying to buy as much as I can from pre-loved places or small businesses these days, which is why I’m very happy to share with you some of my latest finds: a star dress from Depop (£5), earrings from @kelzojewellery by @ourtransitionallife (£12) and the comfiest tights I’ve ever owned in Raspberry Pie by @snagtights (£6.99) 💕💕💕
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Have you found any great small brands lately? Shout them out in the comments so we can all support in the run up to Christmas. ⬇️⚡️
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Image description: Molly is smiling and sticking out her tongue to the camera. Her hair is freshly dyed a light shade of pink. She’s wearing a pink t’shirt underneath a black and white star patterned slip dress, with bright pink tights and black and pink earrings decorated with a boob design.
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