Housekeeping

I love housework. When I lived abroad, my weekends were almost always dedicated to it: laundry (both machine and handwash), major bathroom scrubbing and a vacuum job to end all vacuum jobs. And that’s not counting the nightly washing down of kitchen sink and counters and the almost religious degreasing of plates, utensils, pots and pans. I can clean the dirtiest oven back to newness. I can make any bathroom sparkle; get down on my knees with a toothbrush to whiten the tiniest crevice if I have to.

Oh, let’s not forget ironing – one of my all-time favorite activities. (I actually aspired to be a professional "ironer" when I was a little girl.)There’s something infinitely satisfying about seeing those creases disappear under heat and steam. A few months ago, after my son’s birthday meal in school, I spent some time ironing the children’s craft aprons. I cannot tell you how therapeutic that was for me. Each crease in my heart straightened out with every little apron freed from wrinkledom. My worries left their over-magnified posts and found the space to amble into their rightful place in the scheme of things. Seeing those tiny aprons made crisp and smooth by my hand gave me such a feeling of warmth. Every time I do housework, I come away feeling like I’ve spent time doing work that matters.

I admit it wasn’t always fun. When I lived abroad, I craved chore-free weekends. I had my share of rough days and fantasized often enough about having someone else take care of breakfast while I bought a few more minutes of early morning solitude. After a big clean-up, though, and that searing hot shower, I would take my newly-scrubbed barefoot self across a freshly-vacuumed carpet and sit in the middle of all that renewed energy feeling that life was good. And it was.

A few days ago I polished some silver. I loved bringing out the shine beneath every piece, seeing what was underneath as if for the first time. At the end of the task, my fingers cramped and burning, I felt good. I looked at my work and felt a surge of solid satisfaction. I liked that I polished away the tarnished layers to bring out the true nature of each piece. It’s a great metaphor for life and one’s journey, isn’t it? As I sat by the sink and began working, I felt myself falling into that place of inner quiet, despite the whooshing of little bodies around me. When I am in that place, my children seem to respect it. It’s easier for them to play alone and quietly when I am busy with my hands.

I think that housework–-the quiet, purposeful doing for yourself and your family, cleaning and enlivening your home and everything in it–-has a strengthening effect on your being. First, it brings you to a quiet place. Then the rhythm in the doing brings a certain focus to that calm. You’re never just cleaning outside. When you take care of your external spaces, I think that something happens within, too. That’s why it feels wonderful.

I’m not even talking about beautifying the home, though there is something to be said about that. To me it’s just making your home your own by doing things yourself and claiming that connection between your inner and outer spaces. In this country, we are fortunate to have help and though that frees us up to do other things, I think it’s important that we go back to basics and feel our home with our hands again. It’s a good way to take care of that home within.

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Jim Paredes will be holding his workshop, tapping the creative universe, at the Tao Center, 1499 Carissa St. Dasmariñas Village, Makati City, on October 14, 15,16, 17, 18, and 21 7 to 9 p.m. Please call 426-5375/ 929-0239 for details. Do something for good for yourself and take it!

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