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Post by dayeanu on Mar 3, 2011 20:06:00 GMT -5
Good for you, Peach! And Happy Birthday!
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Post by creativechaos on Oct 29, 2011 23:16:39 GMT -5
this is just the thread i was looking for. i have never been able to stay in maintenance. i have never had a way to look at cleaning that made me want to do it. i garden with vigor and passion and devotion, but my home and myself? i abandon them both and live in squalor, all because i had no way to look at the repetitive cycle of dirt and cleanliness, and the idea of using what you have, using your life, and using up your things. i have hoarded things for someday when i'm good enough. the part about hoarding candles until they slowly lose their essence and scent; that could be a description of my life. here i am only a few years from 60 and my essence is definitely fading, and it doesn't have to. life left to me may be short or longer, but i want life to use me and use me up. it means risking. i'm tired keeping myself on the shelf; safe - yet bored out of my skull and feeling useless.
y'all have given me so much food for thought and since i don't get on regularly anymore, i missed this the first time around. thank you, blossoming, clutterblind, dayeanu, and all other contributors. i needed to read this - and will visit it often. there is much wisdom and creativity here; i'm deeply grateful for you all.
luv, cc
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Post by ClutterBlind on Oct 30, 2011 0:12:27 GMT -5
this is just the thread i was looking for. i have never been able to stay in maintenance. i have never had a way to look at cleaning that made me want to do it. i garden with vigor and passion and devotion, but my home and myself? i abandon them both and live in squalor, all because i had no way to look at the repetitive cycle of dirt and cleanliness, and the idea of using what you have, using your life, and using up your things. CC, you say you garden with vigor and passion and devotion. That must mean you also do a lot of weeding over and over and tending to the garden to keep it in order. You don't think of that as something you do once. Or, in no time, by not doing anything, the garden gets overrun, or the plants you do want to thrive, grow weak and fade, losing their essence way before they get to fully bloom and be enjoyed. Perhaps, you can think of maintaining your home in the same way you maintain your garden.  You do it not because you have to, but because you want to grow something beautiful. As for your hoard, I read a blog post last night. It talked about things having an expiration date. Just like your garden. They come into your life in full bloom. To be used, to be enjoyed. Then they fade, or their time with us passes. Just as you wouldn't keep dead flowers or rotting vegetables in your garden, way past their time, it's time to weed out and pluck the useless things in your life to be tossed or given away. It's easier to recognize the dead flowers. They change shape and lose vitality. Flowers you had to celebrate your birthday no longer have to be kept once the event is over. They no longer signify your birthday. You had your celebration. The flowers or vegetables for that celebratory dinner have served their purpose. Keeping them doesn't bring the celebration back or keep it going. Their time in your life is over. With items, because they may not lose their shape or essence as quickly, you have to discern their losing their vitality and place in your life and whether their purpose is over in different ways. Ask yourself whether they have a place in your life NOW. Not what they meant when you first acquired the item. As you have realized everything is temporary. Yourself, your life, your plants, even material things. Not everything that comes into your life has to stay or is meant to stay. This reminds me of a poem I read called, Reason, Season, or Lifetime. It was written about people. But, it can pertain to items, too. YOU of all people, since you garden, know that not all plants can be planted anytime. Some are for a particular season. Nor can you make a plant stay past how long its meant to be here. Here is the poem: (Insert "Items" for "people/person.") Reason, Season, or Lifetime
People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
— Unknown I think for people who hoard, they confuse a reason or season item with a lifetime item. |
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Post by rnabckly on Oct 30, 2011 2:45:25 GMT -5
Wow, clutterblind!!
Profound and yet so simple!! I love it!! I've always felt EVERYTHING should be permanent!! When something was not, I felt a failure!! Now I can assign things: reason, season or lifetime!! It should help!!
Renee
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Post by ClutterBlind on Oct 31, 2011 20:38:29 GMT -5
Wow, clutterblind!! Profound and yet so simple!! I love it!! I've always felt EVERYTHING should be permanent!! When something was not, I felt a failure!! Now I can assign things: reason, season or lifetime!! It should help!! Renee Glad I could help.  |
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Post by fluffernut - now Jannie on Nov 1, 2011 11:01:43 GMT -5
Ever notice, "women's " work is done over and over? You clean, you cook, you do laundry. And the next day you start all over again. You put fresh towels in the bathroom and by the end of the day, they are wet and lying in the bathtub. Yet a man mows the lawn once a week, changes the oil maybe every 3 months. "Mens" work stays done a lot longer than womens.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2012 7:05:02 GMT -5
Such wisdom in this thread. I had recently read a book about housekeeping being offered as a prayer to God, in thankfulness of what we have. It helps to stop the tedium. Though I can't always seem to stay out of my messes, mandalas and other spiritual practices make a beautiful philosophy for righting a home again. I think it was Day who bumped this thread....thank you!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2012 7:09:44 GMT -5
double post...sorry
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Post by maggie on Mar 26, 2012 11:32:37 GMT -5
CreativeChaos's comment puts me in mind of this quote:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO what a ride!'"
-Author Unknown
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Post by maggie on Mar 26, 2012 11:41:09 GMT -5
Just found another one, appropriate to the thread:
"Cleaning your house while your kids are at home is like brushing your teeth while eating an Oreo cookie."
-Author Unknown
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Post by ramatama on Mar 26, 2012 12:44:14 GMT -5
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Post by ramatama on Apr 9, 2012 9:55:30 GMT -5
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Post by dayeanu on Apr 9, 2012 11:17:28 GMT -5
I must be very well developed!  |
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Post by dayeanu on Apr 9, 2012 11:38:23 GMT -5
I am always glad to see this thread come to the front page. I think there is such wisdom here about how to think about the repetitive tasks of our daily lives. I go back and re-read this occasionally, just to remind myself that life (and housekeeping) is about ebb and flow. That messes created are a sign of life being lived. This seems an appropriate thread to re-read after Easter, the symbol of rebirth and new life. It's a good time to start looking at our daily jobs with a new and fresh attitude.
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Post by sparkle on Jul 4, 2012 22:36:30 GMT -5
I'm so glad to see this moved to Favorite Threads. It's certainly a favorite of mine. Thanks, blossom. |
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