. . . is a day to work in the kitchen.
There is a little bit of a story behind this. Towards the end of last month, Kat posted this amazing video from Rajiv Surendra about his most valuable piece of clothing. It was a stunning embroidered waistcoat, and I was so entranced that I sent it to my SiL. She has become slightly obsessed with his videos and now tells me every week that I must watch his kitchen tour or his talk about his Indian jewelry. He has a lovely voice, lives in an apartment in NYC that he carefully curates, and seems like a gentle soul that appreciates beauty.
The video that my SiL said I must watch this week was this one:
I have never viewed washing my floors as therapy but it is a new way to think about a chore that needs to be done. My SiL said it has made a difference to her; she has very little control about what is happening in the world or our country, but she can control whether her floors are clean or not.
That makes sense to me, so I told her I would give it a try. I found four gallon bags of tomato puree from last year's garden in the freezer and I cooked them down into sauce yesterday. The area by my stove has plenty of sauce spots and needs to be thoroughly cleaned. I've also been getting increasingly aggravated with the mess in my pantry cupboard, so my plan today is to take everything out, clean the shelves, throw away everything that is old and/or expired, and then put it back in an organized way.
Then I'll wash the kitchen floor after doing two messy jobs. I hope to have a clean and organized pantry along with a clean kitchen floor and maybe even improve my mental health along the way. Here's hoping your Monday is a good one whatever you do!
I have been watching little bits of his videos as well! He is truly a delightful young man! But somehow I missed Cleaning Therapy! I love this and his use of my Nana's go to... good old Murphy's Oil Soap! I also love how well read he is! Thank you for sharing this bit of therapy to change my attitude about my least favorite task of washing the floors! And good luck with your pantry reorganization!
ReplyDeleteI had my floor therapy yesterday (kitchen floor and two bathroom floors). I have never thought of it as therapy, but I know I am always happy when I've done those chores. Of course after cleaning the kitchen floor I managed to fling a glass of (red) wine off the counter and onto the floor where it broke and wine and glass went everywhere! I really need to organize (and clean out) my spices and other items, so thanks for that reminder.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea - you get an organized pantry AND a clean floor AND a break from thinking about the state of the world. I did this with my pantry a few months ago and it feels so nice to open my cabinets and know exactly what I have and where it is.
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ReplyDeleteMy favorite mood booster has always been to get rid of things. It is much easier to keep a house clean when it is not chock full of stuff. My second favorite thing is cleaning floors, so I should definitely watch this video. It does seem to be the time to concentrate on things that we can control rather than driving ourselves crazy with things that we cannot. And when we get through, we have the pleasure of a calm, clean, and orderly immediate environment, at least for a while. Keeping the house clean has certainly been a bit more of a challenge since Boomer arrived, but I think it's been a good trade off for my mental health. Enjoy your day!
Back when I was in college and used to get really stressed out, I'd clean out and reorganize my desk as a way to relieve it. I haven't done that kind of thing in years, but perhaps washing my floors would be a good way to get rid of some of the current-state-of-affairs stress in my life (though I would need a good cushion for my knees). Best of luck with your cleaning and organizing!
ReplyDeletethere is nothing better than a cleaning frenzy to make spaces feel fresh and your mind at ease. I love a good deep clean or organization.
ReplyDeleteI take two gray washcloths that are designated for the job and lay them out on the floor after giving them a good soak in distilled water and a bit of white vinegar. Then I blast some dance music and go to town on my floors while sliding the washcloths under my feet. I follow up with an old towel to dry them, still sliding along to whatever bop I'm feeling at the moment. It's a great workout for mind and body. I'm always sad when I run out of floor.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like lots more fun than getting down on hands and knees!
DeleteClearly I need to watch these videos!!! Life changing magic! I just love it. Thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI hope you got all your kitchen chores accomplished. I bet you did. There is something about cleaning and reorganizing spaces that makes me feel better. - Order I like order while it is not so important to my husband. I'm going to look at that video.
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