Ten Commandments on No Housework Day

April 7^th is celebrated in the land of Uncle Sam as No House Work Day. How wonderful. Today being Sunday which is most people’s catch up with the week’s stuff day, it is rather ironic.

the definition of housework is work done in housekeeping especially cleaning and tidying.

It would be an interesting carrot to dangle, an official “no housework day.” I can already hear the monotone “Mitron, hamare desh ke mahilaon ke samman ke liye, hamne April 7^th ko no housework day yaaneki, (now what’s the equivalent for housework in Hindi)” ghoshit kiya hai”

When it comes to housework, I’m yo-yoing, that is when I am at it I am OCD if not I let go. But my true sincere belief is if the item doesn’t multiple, smell catch fire, or block the refrigerator door, then let it be, no one cares, why should you. If it really bothers someone then they can set it right I shall not stop them. It took me a while to reach here. Housework does not really kill you, but why take a chance?

I plan to give myself off from housework today. I have reached a stage where I clear up and organize things just as much I want and I can… if MIL  upset well it’s her party. When FIL complains it’s his opera. If my husband snorts well its his problem. As for my daughters their opinion. Reaction and house work planning would have already set it I don’t have to work at setting an example anymore.

The secret of surviving housework I realized was to simply do it. Pull the plug on the part of your brain that wants to negotiate everything. The garbage has to be thrown out, don’t wait for the appropriate moment., rinse a bottle, clean a spill just do it. It’s a no-brainer, period… end of story. The more we postpone the chores the less we mental energy we spend on temporizing, or stalling that makes life more restful

Many of my epiphanies have happened while did the dishes. Now that I finally got my dream dishwasher I find the epiphanies diminishing. As for battling dust bunnies I find is a way to pacify the predator in me.

Housework, if we choose to call it cleaning could be a form of meditation, apparently a disciple of Buddha found Nirvana as he sweeping.

Just think about it, an organized, aesthetic house helps the mind to calm and clear. Fragrances of the house plays an important role too.

Ten commandments of housework I learnt from various elders in my life.

1. Treating every object with care. After every object has been created with effort and dedication, which must be respected.
2. Being grateful for the objects that have been useful to us. once they are no more useful, we could give them a new lease of life by giving them away to someone who could use them.
3. Its best be done with cleaning early in the morning for the day begins with calm and silence while everyone else is asleep. Your heart will the peace and mind will be clear.—though this is piece of wisdom most elders in the family adhere to and I did so too for a long time, I realized that my creative energy is lowest noon time so I do my tidying and laundry in the afternoon. But sweeping and moping in the morning, it allows me to ensure the rooms are tidy and the fragrance changes.
4. Before going to bed put away things that I have used during the day. In other words tidy. This makes sweeping and mopping a breeze.
5. Routine cleaning and organizing helps us to feel calm. And less distracted.
6. Open the windows and ventilate the house. If you are Delhi or Bombay put flowers and plants on your window sill. There is still something good about wind. It allows you a connect with nature.
7. Cleaning up after every meal is about respect to life. this keeps bugs away so killing them later will not happen. It also takes away any stale stink. I use mild fragrance on my table cloth.
8. Enlist your family particularly if you kids to do things for you. They are not helping you, they are respecting the space that they are being in. Try to rotate work so everyone appreciates what the other is doing.
9. When stressed or sick delegate.
10. Once in a while let go.

When I had to bring the house back to way I wanted it, it’s MY visual, after a major illness, it was step by step. The first was getting into a routine my support system was Flylady, then when I had to re-organize lot of stuff because it was choking me, I used the KonoMarie method. If you are curious about the spiritual aspects of cleaning the book that I would recommend is A Buddhist Monk’s Guide to a Clean House and Mind by ShouKei Matsumoto.