Mindful Mopping

If all goes as planned, this weekend should be the last time I clean my house. I am neither dying, moving, or deciding to lower my cleanliness standards—I’m reinstating my cleaning service. I'm calling back the spirited, happy, energetic people who would blast through the house in an hour or two leaving it sparkling and uplifted. Why would I ever let them go I can hear you asking. Feng Shui, of course.....

I have had a cleaning service for most of my adult life. I’m busy, I don’t enjoy cleaning, it’s affordable----all valid reasons for relinquishing an activity that doesn’t make me leap for joy. However, many years ago when I was first learning about Feng Shui, I realized that, although I loved my house and I felt a strong connection to it, there was one layer I was missing out on. I wasn’t cleaning my own house. So I experimented with letting the service lapse and picking up the mop myself.

I’ve taken on the cleaning tasks twice in the last seven or eight years. Each time it has proven very beneficial and each time I’m happy when it’s over. I get into corners that I don’t ordinarily see. I appreciate the work behind the shining floors. I am less messy in the bathroom since I would be the one to clean up after myself. During this last phase I discovered a hair-line crack in a bathroom tile. This led to a massive bathroom remodel since water had been leaking through that crack for who knows how long providing mountains of mold behind that tiled wall. If I hadn’t been cleaning my own bathroom, this would have gone undetected.

It stands to reason that when I clean my own place, I would do things the cleaning service doesn’t do. I lug furniture around, rearrange things, dust under armoires, often find lost kitty toys in obscure places. Unfortunately, I never did acquire a smooth cleaning routine. Cleaning happened when company was coming or when I was disgusted enough to do it. But when I did, I made sure I was in a pretty good mood, had some time to devote to it, and took pride in the results.

Nevertheless, I’ll be so happy when those cleaners walk through the door in a few weeks. Somehow the house stays cleaner longer after one of their sessions. They have all the right equipment and tools, and a good attitude about it. I know the day I walk in and all the fringe on our area rugs has been combed into straight little lines, I’ll have trouble holding back the tears of joy.