My mom keeps a little magazine clipping taped to her washing machine that reads "Laundry is a task with no end in sight." It's not exactly a complaint, but more of a reminder of a reality that we can't avoid (short of hiring a housekeeper).
I've been thinking of that line and its implications a lot in the past few weeks as I've been dealing with one particularly persistent cleanup job.
My neighbor's beautiful hot pink crepe myrtle arches over the new patio in my backyard. The view of this mature tree from inside the guest bedroom is one of the things that sold me on this house. That said, all flowers eventually drop their petals, and little rings of pink buds have been falling nonstop all over my patio. If I leave them, they make brown stains on the brick. If I clear them, there are new ones on the ground within minutes, if not seconds. I've settled on picking them up for 5 minutes or so each morning when I let my dog out and doing a big sweep on weekends. The patio won't stay clear for long, but this approach gives me a balance of tidiness and sanity.
While chores can sometimes feel Sisyphean — since it never takes long for it to be cleaning time again — Apartment Therapy has amassed methods and tips for managing these tasks. As you develop a pattern for each job or realize how quickly one chore can be done, it's just a little easier to accept that you'll be doing it again soon.
Apartment Therapy Tips For Making Chores Manageable:
• Helpful Tip: Make A Cleaning Schedule
• Housekeeping Basics: 36 Step-by-Step Guides To Every Chore In Your Home
• Household Chores You Can Do While You're On The Phone
• How to Tackle That Humongous, Unwieldy Beast of a Nagging Household Chore
• 7 Tips To Keep Your Home Clean (And Your Spirit Lifted)
• Share Your Favorite Cleaning Tips
(Image: Magnet by Anne Taintor)
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Haha! I like that first comment. The links are sweet. I used to feel inundated but no longer. I do 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. I have plums landing on my porch and found out that if I leave them too long they turn to glue.
Sisyphean! That's the word! I think of my apartment as a mischievous goblin that dirties up as soon as I clean! Because otherwise, where does the dust and the untidy come from?
Living in a small house with my long hair, my hairy BF, 2 fluffy cats and a dog I've come to accept that there will be hair and fur everywhere all the time no matter what I do. I pick up dust bunnies when I see them and vacuum/sweep on the weekends. It's the best I can hope for.
I've already accepted the fact that my life is a never ending chore. Especially since I have a cat that sheds like crazy all year and two mischevious ferrets to pick up after. But I did like the 'clean your bathroom in five minutes' post on AT awhile back.
I have two Yokies..and wood flooring...NOT a good combination- NOT AT ALL! I could be watching tv and a tumble weed of dog hair will go by..sigh.. makes me think I have three dogs..and a cat...LOL..
@hinmelb - I agree! Maybe it's because a lot of them work from home?
Kim, chores are simply part of life. Your "Mindful Living" title suggested that you get that concept, but the text of your article suggests you don't. You remind me of the old saying about life happening all around you while you're waiting for it.
If you HATE chores, then you're hating an essential element of your life. Chores, done mindfully, are as worthwhile as any other tasks you can perform.
Google the photo of Mohandas Gandhi spinning thread. Call to mind the story of Mohammad mending his own clothes. and milking his own goat. These are some of the tasks of which life is made.
I'm JUST beginning to accept this fact; two kids and a cat later, lol. Over the years I have learned that the best way to deal with this fact is to do small chores daily. Keeps thing tidy and from becoming overwhelming. But in all honesty, the best thing I did was just accept it and change my mindset.
@mdorothy Not to be rude, but your comment really rubs me the wrong way. I personally loathe doing chores. Your comment implies that I must therefore be small-minded or wrong somehow and that's insulting. It's perfectly acceptable to be miffed that you need to clean when you'd rather be outside walking on the beach or hanging out with friends or making something. It's normal to be annoyed at having to do a task and not having it stay DONE. Kim's post is about finding the balance between one's need to tidy and one's need to not be cleaning, so what's the problem?
I might also add that most of us don't ever milk goats, mend clothes or spin thread unless those happen to be our hobbies.
Gardening is never a chore for me, cleaning is though, so to each their own.
I realized that if I also want to do something "fun", my weekend is only long enough to either clean the house or do all of my gardening tasks.
My solution wasn't to embrace spending more time doing chores, my solution was to hire a cleaning lady.
Maybe that's not going to get me to a higher level of spirituality but it sure makes me happy.
"It's perfectly acceptable to be miffed that you need to clean when you'd rather be outside walking on the beach or hanging out with friends or making something. It's normal to be annoyed at having to do a task and not having it stay DONE."
You're right, it is perfectly acceptable to be miffed and still ACCEPT doing the task; I think that's the point. Mindfulness is about bringing your full attention and awareness to each present moment, and letting in all the emotions/reactions that come with the task, be they anger or aggravation or frustration or boredom. Instead of trying to AVOID those feelings, accept that you're going to clean and be frustrated for a few minutes, let the feelings in as you're cleaning, and then let them go when you're done and move on to the next part of your day. Frustration results from wishing you could just "get this part over with" and get onto your "real life." This part is as real as any, so be present for it! Over time this approach will lessen the frustration itself because you're letting it be instead of fighting against it.
Thanks for indulging me in a lesson on mindfulness. Can't help myself.
The thing that irks me the most......that the first comment has been deleted. User *Sisyphean seemed to have posted something that two people commented about after. Somebody must have been jealous that it was taking away from the article above and deleted it. Is it strange that i think of that as Typical?
All I think about when I come on AT now is how there is a lack of good posts, and how I'm being bombarded with advertising ( Clorox products nonetheless- when really the best things to use are water, vinegar, and baking soda if you read any good comments here about cleaning.) Its like its pointless to even give your own opinion here anymore. Unless its PRO AT its DELETED...And thats what irks me.
Is it too redundant to say that there's a time for everything-- a time to do chores and a time to relax. I'm personally not very good at the latter. (Not that my apartment is any indication; I've also got two boys below the age of two). You can hate chores and still responsibly do them. The beauty of life is the variance in how we all go about our daily chores and duties. If one of us chooses to get a maid, and the other works his tail off, that is their decision. Let's love 'em for it!
@mkhey, I don't think there was ever a comment by someone named "Sisyphean," I think that the commenter was reacting to this phrase in the article itself: "While chores can sometimes feel Sisyphean..."
Personally, I feel like some days the comments on this site contain nothing BUT complaints about AT itself. If you really think that every single comment that isn't pro-AT gets deleted, you aren't paying attention.
i appreciate this posting - i despise the routine tasks that are needed to keep a household going. I find this dislike to be a real motivator for having less - I don't want to spend my time taking care of things. If you own fewer things, you don't have to dust them as much, etc.