Nobody talks about the household. That has been out of fashion for years. Strange. Most people live in a house and that house must be kept. That takes time, effort and requires a plan of action. Or not? Am I mistaken? Is there no more lovingly cleaning and tidied, rusted, cupboards refurbished or pushed with furniture?
To tell you the truth, a well-functioning household is essential for me to have a happy life. For me it is the true foundation, the home, the starting point of everything I do in my life. The knowledge that things are going smoothly in my house (wherever I live), that it is spic-en-span and the refrigerator is filled, gives me all the space and tranquility to create what I want.
Here at Quinta dos Chões there is therefore a friendly regime to give the junk spirits no chance to settle. Because do you know what happens when they do get the chance? They not only settle under, in and on the closet, but also in your head. They clog your brain and block your thinking. If you do not clean up your nest, leave rubbish around you, have all unnecessary things in your house, do not brush or do not have them cleaned, then they become unintentional unconscious memories. You therefore unconsciously know exactly where everything is and what you have (in the attic or in moving boxes, for example), so why tidy up, the professional junkman would object.
I used to tell that story about the clutter ghosts to my children while cleaning up their rooms and toys together every day at the end of the afternoon. Did they learn from it? I mean, did they become men with identical regimes? No. As it should be, they have each found their own way of dealing with their habitat.
I mastered the art of cleaning in the early days of my young family. At the time I was genuinely surprised that other people suddenly made a mess in my environment. Look, my junk was okay, but the other’s? That did not feel good at all. This 45-year-old regime makes my life extremely simple because I rarely lag behind the facts and have all the time for myself, family and work or life fulfilment.
Incidentally, I also regard the unwanted herbs in my garden as clutter spirits with whom I talk to while I’m picking them. Our conversations sometimes make me reflect on life and the end of the song is that the intruders and I feel liberated from each other, which also gives me a wonderfully quiet head.
Leave a Reply