A Reader Shares How She ‘Re-Thinks’ about Cleaning Leave a comment
I love hearing from readers about mindset changes and personal victories. This one is great! Though, to be clear, Lisa’s the one referring to me as Guru, not me! I would say “fellow struggler who thinks about these things WAY more than the average person” would be more fitting!
I love how Lisa shares the impact of simply changing the way she thinks about her home and her stuff. Re-thinking is a powerful tool.
Dear Guru Dana,
I’ve been a follower and fan for maybe six months. I could go on at length about how helpful your magic has been to me. I’m forever mentally drafting a book called A Return to Good Enough: Reflections on How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind. You know, sort of like Marianne Williamson’s A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles except instead of rethinking love I’m rethinking, well, thinking. And cleaning. Rethinking thinking about cleaning. A bottomless pit for me. Your observation about how for many folks, managing the dishwasher or putting away the laundry or just tending to any little mess now rather than a big scary mess later aren’t decisions. For many folks, these are automatic responses. Huh. No thinking or decision making required. I get it.
Anyway, to the point, three weeks ago today I ran across your 2010 post about containers. At the time I was lamenting the condition of my night stand. It’s a small thing, but I use my nightstand the way some folks might use a desk. At night, I need books and a phone charger and actual pen and paper for ideas and notes. Early morning–between the Mister’s departure and teens up and at’em for school–I need my laptop and a perch for my coffee mug while I get a bead on the day ahead.
This was my nightstand AT ITS BEST on the day I read your container post:
And this, 7 minutes later, after I grabbed a basket that was headed for a return to the store (wrong shape/size for the napkins for which is was intended):
Perfect? No.
Totally good enough and awesomely functional? YES. YES. YES!
Books, note pad, tissue, laptop, power cord, charging cord all in one basket. My eyeglasses case got moved to a bathroom drawer where my eyeglasses are actually used when I take a break from contacts. And the special-occasion dusting? I don’t actually know, of course, but I suspect it will be sooo easy ’cause what do I have to move? Three things. THREE THINGS. Instead of . . . maybe a dozen?
So, thank you, Guru Dana. You are making the world a better place and the people in it a little happier.
I’m about half-done with a major art/craft studio cleanup and organization project. It is fueled almost entirely by you! I’m making photos along the way and building a blog series to document my fits-and-starts and ah-has! and uh-ohs!; I’ll share it with you as it rolls out.
Again, huge, HUGE thanks for your self-awareness and willingness to share it with the world. What a gift.
Lisa
Thanks for sharing your experience, Lisa!
