Closure - Housekeeping/Pentacles
Jan. 1st, 2007 02:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qosI have released my lifelong resistance to and resentment of the common chores of keeping an orderly, welcoming, nurturing house.
Somewhere in all the books on organizing and housework, I also happened on some information about energy flow and the psychological impact of clutter, and other more subtle impacts, and a switch tripped inside my head. It's not just about "being neat" it's about creating a positive environment in which people can feel secure and at peace.
Also, the presence of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
_storyteller_ has helped a great deal. With his partnership in cooking and doing dishes many times a week (and uncrowned_king there on most of the evenings Storyteller is not), I was relieved from the unrelenting pressure of facing chores without adult help. Having companionship transformed my experience of the chores, and now even when I face them alone they are far less onerous.
There is still a great deal to do to make my house as comfortable as I would like it to be, but now it's a stimulating challenge, not a crushing burden.
My daughter is also starting to realize how much better the house feels when things are in order, and that's been a great help as well.
We've also actively engaged with our Hearth Spirit, which adds another positive element to the mix. We try to keep its feelings in mind (clutter gives it indigestion), and ask its help with chores and protection.
Somewhere in all the books on organizing and housework, I also happened on some information about energy flow and the psychological impact of clutter, and other more subtle impacts, and a switch tripped inside my head. It's not just about "being neat" it's about creating a positive environment in which people can feel secure and at peace.
Also, the presence of
_storyteller_ has helped a great deal. With his partnership in cooking and doing dishes many times a week (and uncrowned_king there on most of the evenings Storyteller is not), I was relieved from the unrelenting pressure of facing chores without adult help. Having companionship transformed my experience of the chores, and now even when I face them alone they are far less onerous. There is still a great deal to do to make my house as comfortable as I would like it to be, but now it's a stimulating challenge, not a crushing burden.
My daughter is also starting to realize how much better the house feels when things are in order, and that's been a great help as well.
We've also actively engaged with our Hearth Spirit, which adds another positive element to the mix. We try to keep its feelings in mind (clutter gives it indigestion), and ask its help with chores and protection.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-02 12:38 am (UTC)This is a demon I conquered this year, as well, though in a much more dramatic and painful way. Doesn't it feel good to have a home instead of just a place?
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-02 03:40 am (UTC)Chantal
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-02 05:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-02 05:35 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-02 03:37 am (UTC)Chantal
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-02 05:41 am (UTC)You might be interested in checking out Spirit of the Home, by Jane Alexander. Among other things, it really helped to have her explain that it makes perfect sense for my Myers-Briggs type (she uses Jung's types) to have a hard time wanting to even bother about housework. It was so liberating! Spiritual Housecleaning, by Kathryn L. Robyn was also helpful in getting me past seeing chosework as nothing but drudgery.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-03 07:34 pm (UTC)Chantal