Spring Clean of the Mind

As a stay-at-home mum I have lots of jobs to do on a daily basis and most of you know what they are. The typical jobs that drive us mad and never go away, cleaning, hoovering, ironing, etc. Sometimes those that don't do our job think that we sit on our bottoms all day watching Jeremy Kyle on the TV, cake and tea by our side. Other's think that as a stay-at-home mum we must really hate all these jobs and would love to go out to work every day. The truth is that we all fall somewhere in the middle.

A lot of the time I hate all of my jobs, I hate that, half-an-hour after the hoovering has been done, LP will have a pack of crisps and get half the pack on the carpet. I hate that even after spending a whole day loading the washing machine, and dryer, and ironing the clothes, within two days I will have a very large pile of dirty clothes ready to be washed again. I hate dusting all the counter tops, window sills and tables only to have that dust settle again and again and again. Absolutely all of the jobs that I do are never ending, I have to do the same work over and over and sometimes that really gets me down. The feeling that I'm never making progress will fill my head and that darkness will grow until I can't keep it in any more and I will break down in tears. It doesn't happen often but when it does I really do feel like I'm not worth anything, as if the work I do doesn't count.

The strange thing is that even though this is how I feel about the housework I can also feel the exact opposite. As you've probably gathered, if you're a regular reader, there have been a few things getting to me of late and I've felt that breaking point heading towards me fast. I never know what to do when I recognise the symptoms and usually I will just face that breakdown and let it pass but this time I've managed to abate it. You'll never guess what did it... Cleaning!

I know, odd right? I didn't actually decide that I was going to clean to try and get rid of my building darkness, that's not something I would ever think of given that it's the cleaning that usually causes it. I have friends coming over later today and yesterday the house looked like it had had various bombs land on it. A bomb filled with toys - Lego, Moshi Monsters and super hero figures had landed on the carpet in the lounge. One filled with bread crumbs and crisps had landed around the coffee table and sofa and another filled with paper, crayons, felt tips and colouring books had exploded all over my dining table. My kitchen didn't look much better and I knew there was some serious cleaning required. I got stuck in to it and spent most of the day tidying things away and making sure the house looked respectable. The more I tidied and cleaned the clearer my head felt and when I looked at my gleaming kitchen I smiled. I was actually achieving something.

By the time I'd finished my whole body ached, my arms felt like lead and my legs didn't want to move but my mind was brighter, the darkness had gone. Not only had I cleaned my house but I'd cleaned my mind too, who'd have thought?

After the kids had gone to bed the hubby and I settled down to watch a movie and last night we chose Music & Lyrics starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. If you love 80's music and romantic comedies then this is the movie for you, it's got all the necessary ingredients of a great movie. Before I knew it it was bed time and I realised I hadn't blogged at all so I took the computer upstairs with me to get on with some work. And that's when the internet decided to start playing up. I couldn't comment on the blogs I'd read and I couldn't post my own. That's what you get for living in a village I guess, intermittent internet problems. So here I am, early Wednesday morning writing my blog post.

I'm happy today, my darkness has subsided and I'm feeling bright and optimistic. Who knew cleaning could be so therapeutic?

How about you - is there something that's surprised you this week?


Mama and More
SuperBusyMum
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