What do empty egg cartons, miscellaneous winter wraps, and a cutlery caddy from Ten Thousand Villages have in common? They no longer occupy my counter space. This week, following a sudden burst of inspiration, I turned my kitchen upside down. I think it had something to do with the spring-like weather though, truth be told, I’ve never done systematic spring cleaning in all my married life.
In the process of reorganizing, several other questions came to mind:
• Who designs a kitchen with the silverware drawer under the cutting board?
• How many times has Will searched in vain for a drill bit when there was a veritable gold mine under and around the plastic recyclables?
• What kind of chemical reaction has caused the old hand mixer in the junk cupboard (and only the mixer) to turn sticky and yellow? Is the varnish can somehow to blame?
• Where does one dispose of bent nails, shelled out doorknobs, broken utensils and rusty skillets?
• How long has my good brother-in-law been sorting nails, knobs, utensils and skillets for recycling? And when exactly did Will plan to tell me this?
• Why did I wait eight or so years before just getting the drill and screwing the fire extinguisher holder back onto the wall myself? (Therefore, the fire extinguisher also belongs on the list of things which no longer sit idly on my kitchen counter.)
For all the satisfaction I get out of a good thorough housecleaning, I wonder why I don’t make more of an ongoing effort to keep things in order. I remember my mom telling me what her mom told her: “It takes just as long to drop a piece of clothing on the floor as it does to hang it up.” Well I think we all know, even without timing each, that that is simply not true. Which explains why every so often I get to purge years’ worth of scrap metal from my kitchen.
At one time I might have expounded on the obvious spiritual analogies of clutter and space, order and chaos, bondage and liberation. As it is, I’ll leave that to another.
Yes!! I went on a week-long post-Christmas purging/organizing/cleaning rampage. It feels so wonderful and yet it happens so rarely! There is a Bosnian saying: “Nered u kuci, nered u glavi” which translates, “Disorder in the house, disorder in the head”. I feel that!
Keep posting, please.
Karin, I’ve come to appreciate purging as a Lenten activity. I guess I’m getting a head start this year. Last year for Lent I decided to give up clutter. Each week I was going to do something major like 1) make the pillows that have been measured/cut/on a shelf in my laundry room for ages, 2) haul the paint cans, batteries, etc. to the toxic waste disposal center in Sioux Falls, 3) transfer my favorite recipes to a recipe file so I can get rid of several cookbooks I currently hold onto for just a handful of recipes, 4) find places to recycle broken toys, expired car seats, old ink cartridges and electronics, and actually ship them off, 5) print off the photos that have been on the computer since 2008. Last year I failed miserably as most of those projects are still staring me in the face. But I printed off the photos yesterday and have moved on to our bedroom and will keep working as long as the inspiration strikes!