What is it that we are actually doing when we do that
monstrous Spring Cleaning? Is it
removing bacteria and dust from all surfaces? Is that the important
action? Not at all. If that were so, in this world of germophobia,
our homes would never accumulate the layers of clutter and dust that is typical
in most houses. But we do allow the
clutter...
Until we have no freakin' idea where we've put anything.We
know that there is the coat by the door, where we place our purses when we get
home, normally a somewhat organized food storage system and a general idea of
where to find clothing for the day. But
the rest of it? The bills, letters from relatives, keepsakes from short
daytrips, the new collar we bought Fido, the bag full of picture hangers
because we always intended on putting up that framed photo of Grandma in the
hall...it's all important, just not top priority. It gets lost in the
redundancy of daily life, vanishing at the bottom of so much irrelevant mental
detritus.
Until we get to clean.
Sort through the debris in the horizontal filing systems, inspect the shopping
bag tossed in the extra room and rediscover the collection of gifts you bought
last summer at that craft show. As each
room unearths its intended purpose once again, so we manage to discover and
refocus on plans, goals and actually take a moment to think about what we want
to accomplish next. Oh yes, the cupboard
that needs to be reinstalled, the pile of clothes to go to the donation center
and a reassessment of paint/repairs and other projects. If we have time to clean, we have time to
work on finishing thoughts, afghans, stories and visiting friends. Spring
Cleaning is in fact the equivalent of a biological reboot.
I am by no means preaching that we would all benefit from a
spartan life. That would be unexciting. Boring.
Predictable. However, an annual observation of that which we've collected about
us is worthwhile. Otherwise, in this day
and age of 90 second attention spans, how are we ever to manage to build upon
those fantastic ideas we collect over time?
