A different take on old vs. new

I had an exhausting first day of the new year. My husband and I chose to stay home and I chose to give our apartment a spring cleaning. The part-time domestic help was here, doing her usual cleaning routine. I cleaned, unpacked, packed, purged, organised, reorganised the apartment, section by section, from 8.30am to about 4pm. And I made fish porridge for lunch.

I started to make mental notes of things to improve, adjust, reposition, things we lacked and needed (ok, some of these things are nice to have only.) I also made notes on the list of things to ask the cleaning lady to do when she comes again next week.

It feels great to start the new year this way. I find housework therapeutic, a cleansing ritual. It only becomes a chore when I procrastinate and the things that needed to be sorted out and dealt with accumulate to a daunting pile.

There’s still quite a bit to do in the apartment but I am glad I started the cleansing process. It is physically tiring but spiritually uplifting. Cleaning up the old and embracing the new. Starting the new year on a fresh note is refreshing. Starting the new year doing something productive is empowering.

I am so looking forward to a kick-ass 2010!