Thursday, March 13, 2008

Time to Clean House

Do you ever return home from a trip, start to unpack, and then just leave it half-put-away for days on end? Or am I the only one?

It's always when I am stuck at work that my domestic tasks start to stress me out. My mind turns to thoughts of what I could be doing when we have a slow day in the office - when I'm actually doing nothing. (At this moment my task list is fairly long: laundry, dishes, dusting, vacuuming, cleaning, sorting, organizing, unpiling, entering finances, scrubbing, decluttering, and, oh, that one picture needs to be hung on the wall too). I start to get a little fidgety and excited to get home and put a dent in my household chores.

Then it rolls around to 5:00, I am tired from doing nothing all day and very hungry. Some days I can't even go straight home - errands, appointments, and groceries, oh my! When I finally return to the apartment dinner depends on how I feel. Some days I find it interesting and energizing to cook a nice meal, other days I grab the first thing I see in the fridge. Then I finally sink into the couch to relax and watch a movie or tv show online - or two.

Suddenly it's bedtime (I have to sleep now or I'll never wake up in time for work!) and I've succeeded in putting off all those domestic chores yet again. I go to bed stressed and more than a little ticked off at my lack of discipline. I vow that the next day will be different - you know, if I'm not too tired from barely making it to bed on time.

But seriously, I really will make tomorrow different.

*Note: This post was written on Thursday (the day it's posted under), but I didn't actually finish and post it until Sunday...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Oh my dear. Remember what Carl Rogers had to say, "That which is most personal is most universal" (Ryan will know who this is).

We all have those days (and by days I mean whole, grueling seasons). So do not feel alone. And certainly don't let yourself get so ticked off that you become irreparably stunted by the feeling. Your things will get done in time. (-:

Sometimes to keep myself motivated for at-home-work, I treat myself with a nontraditional activity... the kind that actually includes ACTion. (-: I only get 5 TV channels but I always seem to find something worth drooling at when I flip through. And there goes my night. Since the weather's picked up, I make Rich go on walks with me (usually to get ice cream or coffee). I feel better, I don't look at the same old walls, and I usually return wanting to be productive. You could go for frenchfries, Mrs. Sweet-free-Lenten-Ashley. (-: I miss you.