Update on Nature Mom’s Big Spring Clean

Oh dear! Here’s another one where I fell at the first gate! See, there’s this thing with me. I’m a starter and not much of a finisher. At school I could run the 200 metres like a rabbit on speed, but I could never do the cross country. I’m full of ideas, bursting with creativity, but leave a trail of unfinished projects and good ideas behind me.

I’m a bit of a butterfly really and I get sidetracked by the next sweet-smelling flower and take on too much so that I am guaranteed to fail. (Gosh, I’m so glad my mother doesn’t read this; she’d have a field day with my admissions).

So I cleaned my car with one bucket of water (I DID feel good about that), cleared the greasy fingerprints off the inside doors and light sockets with vinegar but ummm, I think that was about it. Oh, I did do a blitz on little miss Green’s bedroom with her.

The one thing I HAVE done, which I am pleased about, is to get into a daily rhythm with the housework. My pattern had been to let it pile up until I couldn’t bear it anymore, go at it with great gusto and then crash and burn. So then I’d be too tired to pick up the mess the next day and in a week I’d be back to square one.

Now, I’m adopting the ‘little and often’ rule, I have found out what my limitations are (having a clean and hygienic bathroom and kitchen is essential to my well being, but muddles I can tolerate for longer) and I’m just trying to put good, daily habits into place.

Little Miss Green is pretty good at putting her stuff away at the end of the day. And the other thing I am learning is to be more tolerant. I can be a bit of a control freak at times and if things aren’t done ‘my way’ then I’ve been very critical in the past.

Now I’m learning that we all have our different ways of doing thing, what is important to me might not be important to the two other members of my family and, when you’re seven, the last thing you want to do is tidy up after yourself when there is a world waiting for you to play.

I have definitely had a change of mindset over this. I’m trying not to see cleaning as a chore, but as a way of honouring my life space. I’m trying to be more Zen like about the whole thing and the secret is not to rush or squeeze jobs in between other things – this is a sure way to allow resentment to build up.

Instead I’m turning these ‘chores’ into choices and an opportunity for creativity. The power of semantics eh?! Instead of saying to myself that I have to wash the bath, I’m asking myself ‘what do I want to create?’ and my answer might be ‘A shiny bath that smells of lavender essential oil’. Try it – it’s amazing what a difference that small shift of consciousness can bring.

I find that using products that smell beautiful can make all the difference. I have a plant mister that is filled with water, lemon and lavender essential oil. It is divine – so uplifting and it puts a smile on my face to smell it.

I put on uplifting music that makes me feel happy too and all these things act as anchors to turn a chore into a meaningful and pleasurable experience. I feel this is so important when you have children around. What a gift to show them that cleaning and nurturing your home is a good thing rather than something to dread!

The only thing I need to learn to do now is be less of a martyr and more assertive in asking for help. I make a good martyr and it’s not good for me. I get in a tangle with the ‘if it’s not important to him’ idea again. I mean, if Mr green doesn’t care whether his toilet is clean, but I do, then isn’t it up to me to do it?

I’m just not sure on that one.

One thing I am sure of is that whenever I get those ‘I wish I lived on my own’ feelings, so that I didn’t have to pick up after other people, Little miss Green will walk in the room at that very moment with a picture she has drawn for me and eagerly tells me about every minute detail whilst declaring her love for me.

Then Mr Green cups my face in his hands, kisses me on the cheek and tells me I am the most beautiful woman in the world and I figure, I’d rather have them and their piles of dirty washing left around the house. These two people enrich my life far more than a perfectly clean home ever could………….

Degreasing fingerprints, tidying forgotten corners and cleaning the bath can be a wonderful process for spring cleaning the mind and finding clarity too 🙂