Anyone who knows me will be aware that I’m not the best at housework. I avoid it like the plague. Unless, of course, relaxation is also involved. Today I’ve spent quite a few hours relaxing whilst sorting out my cupboards.
When I closed down my Centre I had a lot of stuff. And not many ideas what to do with it all. I gifted some, filled up bags for charity, took a storage unit and ended up still with lots of stuff. All of what remains found its way into my home. It was good to be away for the holidays because it seemed like every bit of floor space at home was covered in stuff. Piles and piles of things to be sorted and stored. Or, better yet, given away. Since I’ve been home again I have wanted to get on with the organising. But I hate housework. So I talked to myself about the relaxation to be had from knowing all of my cupboards were in order.
How wonderful it would be for everything to be in its place. And how fantastic to find anything I was looking for without a three day search. If all the items were grouped, stacked, and stored in sensible places. But where to start. I have to confess I’m a bit of a dabbler with housework. I start one place, get distracted and then end up with disruption in every room. Or more chaos to be exact. How could this massive tidy up include relaxation? And produce some sort of order for me? I set out with a great game plan. I had things to take to the tip. So that was number one task. Then I had clothing to dry from a massive bout of washing (poor washing machine) so that was task number two.
By the time I was considering what next, the relaxation of having completed two things was steadying my nerves. So I started in on the food cupboard.
It felt really peaceful to be clearing out of date items, wiping the shelves and reorganising the supplies more logically. So peaceful that I moved onto the cupboard under the sink. It looked fantastic when I had finished. That relaxed me even more. Feeling very chilled about this whole housework/throwing things away exercise I sorted out four drawers, a display cabinet, my storage cupboard and the bathroom cupboard. Each brought me a surge of excitement as they bowed to my organising energy and got tidy.
My work desk is now clear. My clothes are hanging up or put away. Five charity shops have had a donation today. I have more rubbish for the tip. And I have also managed to hang some of my own artwork in my home. My relaxation comes from knowing that I am clearing my sacred space. making an environment where I can live and work in positive energy. Although I still have more sorting to do I feel like I’ve made a good start. And I’ve recognised those things that represented stuck energy. Even better, I am happy to move them out of my home into new places.
Hand on heart I have to say I still don’t like housework. Because it takes up time, I suppose. Yet a clean and gleaming house is a wonderful energy to be in. Not necessarily perfectly tidy. But under control. In a world where so much is out of my control my relaxation comes from knowing I have this tiny bit of my life sorted.
Day 771 of my blogging challenge