Tidying Up a Bit

I've been spring cleaning my life: moving from place to place in my house, stopping one day to tackle a bookcase, another to empty the cluttered china cupboard--essentially taking on one room at a time, donating or discarding at least half of what I have, keeping a quarter, and setting aside the last quarter in a designated spot to decide later when I finally reach that point in my tidying.

Over the years I've noticed how the inside of my house reflects the inner me. When I'm scatter-brained and harried, my house looks like a cyclone hit. When I'm feeling more in control of my schedule and of the choices in my life, my living area is, well, while not always eat-off-the-floor clean, it's not completely embarrassing when neighbors stop by to drop off a dozen eggs or a huge bowl of popcorn. (I love neighbors who do those sorts of things!)

"Eggs on Tile" thank you photo for the eggs from a neighbor.

Last year I was sick. I know, you're tired of hearing me say that. What I rarely admit to myself is that I am still sick. I'm able to control most of the debilitating symptoms with a strict diet regimen (see "Confessions of a Chocoholic" for more on that), but when I stray, even if only a tiny bit, I end up in pain. This week has been a painful week for me, so yesterday's massive vacuuming and steam cleaning of the tile and wooden floors was a huge undertaking, but one that actually helped me to heal. Once I got my house looking the way I wished I felt, I actually did feel much better.

Okay, maybe mine is not an exact science, but one can't deny the benefits: a sparkling clean house, in which we could actually have eaten off the floor if we really so desired. And I felt like once again I controlled my pain instead of the other way around.

Today it's off to the University of New Hampshire to teach all day, but tomorrow I think I'll finally clean off my office shelves...as I start a new freelance assignment that I just landed yesterday. It's good to feel in control of something. If not our entire destiny, at least the short-term chaos that threatens to engulf us daily.