Again my mind is blank; inspiration has run dry; ideas are lost in the rain. I don’t know if it’s my medication or just me that causes my brain to run on empty. I could stare into space for hours today without a single thought crossing my mind.
Inspiration is a difficult word to grasp on days like these. It is rainy and cold out, the perfect day for laundry, so maybe I am inspired to do something after all. But it doesn’t do my writing much good, unless I write about stinky socks, dirty shirts and stained underwear. Who wants to read about something they hate doing?
I really don’t mind doing laundry though. It honestly feels good to get it out of the way. I like the way the clothes smell so fragrant and feel warm and soft as I fold them. I like the feeling of putting everything neat and tidy back into drawers. I like the look of a clean room, although I am guilty of letting that go once in awhile.
Dust bunnies lurk; crumbs fly off my feet; finger prints mark the walls and glass. Cleaning can be a muse since it also unclutters the mind as it drifts to other places while you remove grease and grime. The act of repetitive, mind-numbing tasks does the brain good. For some reason, it frees your mind and soul, allowing you to think clearer. Ideas spark to life and inspiration grows like a freshly planted seedling.
According to The Telegraph’s article Health: Why a spring clean is good for you, clutter is not only bad for our physical health – breeding mould and bacteria – it also plays havoc with our mental health. This was demonstrated in a recent study conducted by David Tolin, founder of America’s Anxiety Disorder Centre at Hartford Hospital’s Institute of Living in Conneticut Tolin.
An expert in the treatment of hoarding, he carried out brain scans on compulsive hoarders who were unable to rid themselves of seemingly useless possessions. The tests were exceptionally harsh: the hoarders were asked to make a decision between throwing each item away or keeping it – before their possessions were shredded right in front of the them.
During the study, the most obsessive group showed increased activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, a section of the brain involved with cognitive processes such as decision-making. Their brains were, in his words, “stressed to the max”, and showed signs of being impaired by their clutter. However, the “normal” group – those whose homes didn’t require an anonymous call to environmental services – showed no such brain activity, nor any impairment of their general decision-making skills.
While merely being disorganised is not a medical condition, it can weigh down on a person’s wellbeing. “I’ve seen people in depression because they feel they can’t even do the simple task of keeping their house clean,” says Sue Kay, spokeswoman for the Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers and author of clutter-busting books like Hoarder To Order (www.nomoreclutter.co.uk). “It is why a thorough spring clean has a definite feel good factor. It not only clears space, it helps wipe that ‘to do’ list that constantly accumulates in your head and keeps you awake at night.”
Our minds are much like our homes. They both get cluttered with old ideas, old attitudes, old conversations and old hurts. Both need a routine cleaning out of stuff that we collected for one reason and are holding onto out of habit, neglect or just sheer willfulness.
Pursuing a simple, sustainable, flexible, happier lifestyle means that you have to choose it. And that means choosing to lose some other things. It means getting rid of things that no longer work for you, it means updating the way you do things, it means freeing up some space for new and exciting opportunities and challenges.
blaak sheep 