What little things make you feel clean? I know, for example, that getting my arms/legs waxed makes me feel a thousand percent cleaner. Probably because I’m so smooth from all the dead skin getting ripped off.
And I know some people feel cleaner from getting their skin exfoliated. (Which is kind of what waxing is.)
Is there any special ritual you have that makes you feel that way?
A good body exfoliation. New underwear. Having an orgasm without making a mess. Going swimming in a lake. And – TMI, beware – taking a really good, clean shit that makes you feel 10 lbs lighter. And – bulimics, beware – having a stomach bug and getting the last of the vomit up, also feeling 10 lbs lighter and miraculously feeling fine from that point on when you were in pain only moments before.
Shaving and just general body-hair management. Hair hangs on to odors really well, so getting rid of it smells, feels and looks better.
Brushing my teeth.
Clean sheets!
A vigorous face scrubbing and a fresh shirt usually does the trick for me.
Q-Tips for the ears. Sometimes there’s so much wax, each ear gets its own.
And every night, a fresh pillowcase (and every week, a fresh under-case). Do that for a week and you’ll never want to stop…
Obsessively vacuuming. I’m also started to become particular about making my bed in the morning. Which is strange because I always fell in that “it’s just going to get messed up at night” camp.
Over the years I’ve gone from complete and thorough slob/cluttery place (not affirmatively dirty though, like food/pizza boxes) to obsessively neat. Oddly, this started happening AFTER I got a housekeeper. You have to keep the place semi-neat for them to do the hardcore cleaning.
Clean sheets, a good facial mask, waxing, shaving, and using the back scrubber with a benzoyl peroxide soap. That’ll get your back spiffy clean and prevent blackheads all right!
Oh, and flossing. Feels way better than brushing, possibly because I never did it until the SO pointed it out and I got embarrassed…
Getting away from the human-built world. Outside, walking on natural earth, feeling wind, hearing only the sounds of nature.
To add to the above, clean feet make everything better. Even if I am too exhausted to take a full shower and wash my hair, I have to at least rinse my feet off before staggering off to bed. Conversely, if my feet are too dirty, nothing about me feels clean (although I strangely still love going barefoot).
Shaving my head (I keep it buzzed to 1/16") - I get out the clipper every week and it just feels even and fuzzy and neat.
Breathing in cold, crisp air away from the sights and sounds of humanity.
Putting on clean clothes right out of the dryer.
Freshly shaven/waxed legs + clean, cool sheets = Heaven!
Oh yes! I love the feeling of being in bed and feeling my legs so smooth against each other. It totally made up for the pain of waxing them my very first time, and I still love that first night after I’ve just been waxed. So yum!
Getting a haircut.
Wearing something new, especially shoes.
Cleaning the litter box (no, I don’t personally use it).
Being ready for work. Perfectly styled hair, fresh makeup, clean, stylish clothes, a good breakfast, and brushed teeth. There are things that affect this, though, like my mood. If I’m too tired, or the weather sucks (I take the bus, so I really gotta pay attention to it), or I wake up too late and don’t have time to complete my routine, I don’t get this effect. I tend to cut out things that aren’t as necessary when I’m like this (like the makeup), but I have to at least have clean clothes and breakfast.
I felt perfect this morning, though, so that was good.
Jogging. I’m beginning to turn back into a fitness nut, and there’s something about an hour jog that makes me feel clean, refreshed, and alive, even before I shower. I feel as if I’ve sweated the toxins out of my body–and according to the scientific literature, I have–while shaking the etch-a-sketch on my brain. It doesn’t matter how tired, grody, or heavy I feel before a jog. By the time I finish, I’m whole again.
Oh, and ditto on the haircut and teeth-brushing (although isn’t brushing your teeth considered normal everyday washing?)
Yeah, I know what you mean. Not so much on the breakie, but when everything’s going well, and you look and feel totally coiffed, it’s nice.
I feel similarly about exercising but not so much for the toxins. I just feel like after I go for a run and take a shower, it just feels better than if I just took a shower. You know, like, I’ve worked out and gotten sweaty and really earned this awesome feeling shower.
Another vote for the freshly shaved legs plus freshly changed sheets. One or the other is nice, but the combination is heavenly.
Yeah, but it just kind of goes with the package. And if I were to skip it (which I almost never do), it would throw off the entire thing and I wouldn’t feel clean.