One Step at a Time: My Spring Cleaning Journey

The dreaded spring cleaning is the first thing to come to my mind. I’ve been staring at a dirty room for almost a month now, and I’ve struggled with the motivation to get it done.

My room is a complete and utter mess.  Clothes are piled up high on my desk, boxes are scattered around from the garage.  These remnants are from trying to sort through things I want to keep and things I want to get rid of. Such as clearing out the unnecessary trinkets that take up too much space or just look like fillers when none needs to be there. The vacuum needs to be run to catch all the fallen dog hair. My sheets are begging to be washed, and the dust has gotten so out of control it’s like a layer of time itself. 

Oy! It sounds like a lot of work, but it needs to get done. What better day than today, right? The only way I can get through it with ease is by blasting some music through my headphones. Music helps me to get into the zone and forget about my worries or the overwhelming task at hand.  If I try to do everything at once, it feels like too much, I essentially become paralyzed by the insurmountable work ahead of me. 

I’m a procrastinator through and through. I always end up leaving things until the last possible moment.  And, of course, that’s when I feel the discomfort and worry creeping in.  It’s the knowing it should have been done sooner feeling but still finding myself in the same cycle.  

It’s incredibly frustrating to feel stuck in this pattern. But it’s a part of me, one that I keep trying to break away from.  I suppose the first step is accepting that I’m indeed human, and that motivation isn’t always instant. I’m tackling one small task at a time.  No matter the size of the task, I always feel a sense of accomplishment afterwards, and a huge relief off my shoulders. 

It’s funny because once I start, I can’t stop.  I keep finding things that need to be done, and I go off on a tangent to complete everything. The piles of clothes begin to shrink, the room slowly transforms back to life and soon enough, I’ll have a fresh, clean space to breathe in.  

I’m rather proud of myself that my motivation gears up once I’m in the act of doing things.  I always try to take it slow, and I do, I just need to know it’s done so I can go back to unwinding and resting for the remainder of the day.  

Usually getting one task done is enough for me.  The anxiety before and during the process overwhelm me, but every small effort counts. 

Just like everything else in life, it’s about taking it slowly and not letting the anxiety of the task overwhelm me. Every small effort counts.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

Lao tzu