Spring Cleaning Projects

Last year around March or April, I read a decent article in Body+Soul about Spring Cleaning. The object was to rethink how you feel in your living space. There were several good tips...

For example, in your bathroom, you go through your cabinet and dispose of your old medications (safely, please). Why hold on to memories of old ailments? When cleaning out your closet, aside from donating clothes that no longer fit, the article suggests that you really consider how you feel in your clothes. This one struck a chord for me, since I do associate certain articles of clothing with good and bad memories. Then, in your work space, the article suggests you think about what sort of work you want to do. That sounds a little goofy maybe, a little too touchy-feely, but I definitely made a cleaner, more efficient work area with that thought in mind.

I feel that Spring Cleaning is upon us again... the weather was about 5-7 degrees warmer than it has been lately, so, I followed the example of my favorite, perpetual Spring Cleaner, and made a quick evaluation of my closet and some dishes. All those items have already been dropped off at the local donation site. While that feels pretty good, on this bland, dreary day, my windows are open and the warmer air calls to me for more improvements.

They say that Spring Cleaning is a symbolic ritual for de-cluttering your mind. Things pile up around our houses just as unresolved issues or omens distracting us from peace collect in the corners of our brains. I have several little piles of books, magazines, forgotten articles and sheets of paper that really ought to be sorted. It's not as overwhelming as last year, the clutter, but the call for a new feeling my living space is sounding.

We don't usually take the time to consider how we feel in places. We know where we feel comfortable, but we don't always consider why. If I look at my life, one of the most comfortable spaces I know is Anya's home... Naturally, the company helps, but she has a neat, cozy space. The walls are a warm color, she has a big comfy couch, and there's a place for every little thing in the room. Her bathrooms are great, too. Fun things on the walls and just an efficient, use of a small space.

So, I think of my own place...

It's tough, because I might be moving soon, I might not be. Moving would give me plenty of new energy to refill a space and really consider what I want out of every room. I could consider paint, wall dressings, new lamps, etc. I moved into this current apartment during college, so, I didn't put a lot of consideration into my "feelings" at that point in time. I didn't bother with painting the walls (knowing I'd have to paint them back to white when we moved out) or hanging more than our ketubah and a few things in the kitchen (knowing that would be more holes to patch up whenever we left). We have reorganized this space a few times, moved the furniture around, threw away things we no longer needed... but I guess I never made it "my place."

While I'm no closer to recreating what I would have if I had made the time in the first place, I'm trying to think of the little things I can do to make this apartment "home." I already know I need some updated pictures of family and friends... and I think I need to redo my bathroom. I've started by reorganizing parts of my closet and my hope chest. I love watching the pile of things to discard grow... though not as much as the pile of things I think other people I know might be able to use.

So, how do these Spring Cleaning projects reflect what's going on in my brain?

Oddly enough, I think I'm sorting. Putting feelings and relations where they belong in my mind, in my heart... maybe I'm also trying to find a place for myself... things need a place in which they belong...