Inertia v.s. Housekeeping {Happiness Project}

Goal One: Take the Extra Step

I love a clean, clear, clutter-free space. I feel anxiety and depression lift when I am in a room that is neat, tidy, and comfortably decorated. I’ve always longed to create those spaces in my home. Since I was a child I wanted to be a housewife and make my home radiate peace and beauty.

That goal has over the years butted up against an inner nature that tends towards tamas. I don’t say that as an excuse or to limit myself and my potential, but it’s an observable fact that my personality tends towards inertia. I have noticed that I struggle to take one extra step in what I’m doing.

For example, I have a routine in the morning of taking my temperature then taking the thermometer with me into the kitchen to read it in the light while I get the dog’s breakfast. When I come back to my bedroom it feels like too much effort to walk around to my side of the bed to put it down and the thermometer ends up on my husband’s bedside table.

When I cook instead of rinsing off a dish and getting it straight into the dishwasher, it only goes as far as the sink even though the dishwasher is right there.

When I craft and take out my supplies I don’t put them back at the end.

A book that could go back to a bookshelf that is only a few feet away from me goes onto the floor or the coffee table instead because it is a few inches closer.

The first time I noticed this problem was when I was about 11 or so. My mother left me in the car while she ran into a store to get something and when she got up the pillow that she kept on her seat (to make driving more comfortable for her) fell out of the door onto the parking lot. I watched it happen and yet…I didn’t do anything. I didn’t get up from my seat to put it back. I didn’t say anything. The pillow sat on the ground until my mother returned. It felt like too much effort for me to go the extra few inches to retrieve it for her.

This inertia makes getting started on house tidying very difficult (not to mention I’ve made the house tidying worse for myself by never putting things away properly at the time I’m using them). Once I do start tidying, I tend to go for long periods unable to stop.

What I’m trying to do now to make a change in my life and my behavior is to always take the extra step.

I have noticed that I always know what I should do. At the end of a task I can always feel the urge to stop just a little short fighting against the knowledge of what really completing the task is.

If I see that the trash is full, I should just immediately take it out (the outdoor trash cans are literally only a couple of steps from the indoor trash can). I shouldn’t stop to think about not wanting to do it. If I’m holding my thermometer I should put it back where I know it belongs, not a few feet away from where it belongs. If I’m reluctant to do my Flylady routine I should remind myself that it’s only three short tasks that will be done in five minutes.