A few days ago, I wrote about my dishwasher overflowing. That led to washing parts of the kitchen floor, which led to the digging out dust and dirt hidden in corners, which led to getting behind the refrigerator and the stove to catch and confine dust bunnies and just plain dirt. I’ve many time declared how I dislike housework. That has been a bald face lie. What I’ve not liked about housework is scheduled housework. You know, Monday - laundry. Tuesday - ironing. All the way to every Saturday morning - take out all the silver from the china cabinet, clean it with silver polish and toothbrush, and polish it til it shines!
Today, as I pushed things around, washed and polished, mopped and scrubbed, and ferreted tiny bits of dirt out of corners, I realized that I was doing something that I’d long not recognized. Being engaged with my home and my life. I know some of you are rolling your eyes about now, deciding I have positively lost it. But I’m quite serious. I enjoyed - no, relished the detail of each task. The resulting cleanliness and order left me with calm satisfaction and just a tiny bit of pride.
I’m not finished in my kitchen. It does not sparkle quite like the waters in the photo beside this little essay. The stainless steel of the appliances do have a lovely sheen and the oven has been cleaned inside and out. What’s left? Cupboards and drawers, inside and out - some have been done, but the rest still need my engagement with my home. Oh, yes, of course finish mopping the kitchen floor.
“The objective of cleaning is not just to clean, but to feel
happiness living within that environment.”
~ Marie Kondo
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