Thursday, August 05, 2010

Of Rituals



A young friend of mine at Facebook wrote something like:

"I hate housework! Hate it. Hate it. Hate it."


Uh-oh. Housework is a Fact of Life. Well, unless you're wealthy and can hire help for it all or if your spouse does your cleaning for you. But for most of us, hey, it's there. The floor that gets dirty, the dishes in the sink, the laundry, vacuuming, beds which need to be made, the cooking, the--


That's a whole lot of stuff to hate! Besides, hating anything (or anyone) zaps energy which could be put into work or creativity, instead.


So what to do?


Teach ourselves to enjoy housework--and create some lovely rituals.


I put dishes into soak, light a candle, turn on the radio. Then I might feed the birds, sit down inside or on the patio and read a few pages of a good book. 


Then I wash a few dishes, put some others in to soak (I store dirty dishes in the dishwasher whose handle is currently broken, not that I used it that often before), do some dusting, then return to my book. Or check my email or blog. 

Then I might put in a load of laundry, finish the dishes and sit and watch a few minutes of Oprah. Make dinner during the commercials. Or bring in tomatoes from the garden, peek at the new growth or pull a handful of weeds.

I try to mow the lawn in the early morning while it's cool. I water my plants on Mondays and Thursdays and have special days for vacuuming, too. And always there are my books, the computer, the tv and times for staring out the window as my rewards for completing my tasks. Coffee and toast and lunch breaks, also. 


So many rewards to anticipate.

What's there to hate about housework done that way? I'll tell you what I hate-- I hate it when I look at housework like a necessary evil and leave it all until it becomes a cluttered, grimy, out-of-control mess. It's then I must attack that mess while kicking myself for not keeping it under control sooner.


So much of our lives involves cleaning and organizing our homes. Why not enjoy that time? 


Why not seek ways to make it go faster, easier (realizing the less we own, the less time we must spend caring for our stuff)? 

Most anything in Life can be made distasteful. Most anything can be made enjoyable.




*****


"Attitude, attitude, attitude."  


Want to read a fun autobiography? I'm just now finishing Patsy Clairmont's delightful, I Grew Up Little. Highly recommended.


*****

To the kind soul who left a nice comment which is not showing up at my last post, please forgive me. It was early, 4:45, and I accidentally hit delete instead of publish. Gah! That's what I get for approving comments all bleary-eyed in the morning.


*****

9 comments:

  1. Yes, yes! Baby steps is the only way I manage at all. Baby steps while listening to books on tape........Haven't thought of candles yet!

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  2. I am more tidy than clean :-)
    The mail gets sorted first thing...wait, second after feeding the cats (they will have it no other way), as soon as I come home, into bills, shredding and recycling. No piles on the table!

    My friend Pam, who owned a cleaning service, puts extra bags in the bottom of the garbage (there's always a new one handy) and does one room at a time.
    Then there's always at least one room completely clean at any one time. I copy her; seems less overwhelming.

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  3. I make my bed before I get in the shower every morning. It's so nice to emerge from the bathroom and see that my bedroom is already tidy! I like to make games out of household tasks, too, Debra. It really does turn them into enjoyable tasks. And the reward is a day spent in a tidy house.

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  4. Very good post...
    We will sing a happy tune...
    while we tidy our house today.
    The reward system even works for grownups.
    Take care,
    Mommy 2

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  5. In our new place, the kitchen sink is stained and gross looking and I've tried to just take it, assuming it was well cleaned before we moved in and I've taken a scrub brush to it a time or two with the same "stain" results. Then, the other day, I was cleaning the bathroom with some bleach and I thought to pour some in the kitchen sink just in case. IMMEDIATELY, those "stains" disappeared - it was fascinating. I was so happy about it that I almost posted it on FB and realized that I would get loads of hate comments about my loving any sort of housework. Or people hating themselves for not being as clean as me or patting me on the back for my clean freak nature. Ugh. Up next on my to-read list: When People are Big and God is Small

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  6. I love the dish washing routine. It actually is mine -- except for the candles and music. I just need to add that part. For some reason, it is just hard for me to stay at the sink until everything is done!

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  7. :)
    you know you have a beautiful soul girl

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  8. I have a love/hate relationship with housework. There are so many more interesting and enjoyable things to do. But I agree with you, attitude is everything. It's nice to have a flexible routine. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. I once read that doing housework should be considered "Blessing my home". So every day instead of cleaning, I bless my house....it has made all the difference. Isn't it amazing how thoughts control feelings.

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