You know how many times I've fallen off the Fly Lady bandwagon. Don't get me started on How to be the Perfect Housewife. A shiny spirit is more important than a shiny sink, but can you kill two birds with one stone? Can you turn housework into something that's good for your soul? Ben Bushill, author of The Transformation of Housework (Capall Bann Publishing, £8.95), thinks so; inspired by his pioneering book, here are ten ways to bring spirituality into housework!
1. "Let go of your negative feelings as you let go of your rubbish," says Ben. Making the connection between the yucky stuff in your bin and the ugly stuff in your life, try saying "I throw away all feelings of ...(shame, guilt, regret etc), right now" as you put the bins out.
2. Instead of detesting the washing-up, see it as a chance to mess about with water and bubbles. Put on a bit of hand-lotion, don your Marigolds; "this is a chance to soothe your hands and your whole body...with water therapy" grins Ben.
3. With "horrible" jobs, such as cleaning "stinking, damp" cupboards, says Ben, "it is the starting that is difficult, it is the idea of having to do something that seems so nasty that makes the job difficult." But just make a start! "Once you actually get going at it and stop thinking, the revulsion fades".
4. Faced with mouldy grout, or a blocked sink, connect the task to yourself. "If you can feel that you are cleansing part of yourself, then suddenly the job is more worthwhile," explains Ben. Before you start, "reflect on something that is mouldy inside of you, either physically or emotionally. If you have any aches and pains in your body, take a few seconds to tune into them...As you wipe away the dirt, feel your self cleaned and your body becoming fresher."
5. Julia Day, in Patchwork of Magic, suggests that if life's become dull and dingy, "give the windows a good clean and concentrate on all the light pouring into your life."
6.When you're scrubbing the walls and floor and have dirty water to pour away, Julia says "as the black water flows down the drain, think of all the bad things leaving your life."
7. Instead of thinking about how resentful you feel, as you tidy away the sippy cups, lego, assorted hair accessories, dinosaurs and six pairs of your husband's shoes, focus on how organised your life is becoming. It's mind over matter!
8. Decide to enjoy a task. If playing a CD in the background or sharing housework with a friend helps, do that! Change your attitude so that what you are doing becomes "a positive experience, rather than an exercise in resentment and grumpiness." When peeling potatoes for example, decide to relax your shoulders and let yourself sink down into your feet. "Let a feeling of stillness and energy fill your body," suggests Ben; be open to calm and enjoyment.
9. See the link between the grimiest parts of our houses and the darker sides of ourselves, neither which we want to look at. You can release your negative feelings as you deal with the dirt and mess. "When we can accept the darkest parts of our houses, then we are halfway" says Ben, "to accepting the darkest parts of ourselves."
10. "If we learn anything from our housework, from the never-ending cycle of chores," says Ben, "then it is that nothing is permanent, nothing stays clean." This might be seen as a bad thing but it means that everything passes, however dire things seem, "your negative feelings will change."
