Realizations after Cleaning my Room

I'm getting ready for the start of a new semester and what better way to do that is to do some organizing and decluttering. New semester, new life! (I'm sorry but I love writing about the mundane details of my life. Haha.)

1. I need to dispose some of my books. This is not surprising. I am an English major and novels are my textbooks. I read books to pass the time and I write reviews for Dimensions. I can’t leave the mall without purchasing at least one book from Booksale or National Bookstore. Not to mention, my bookshelf at home is already sagging from all the weight of the books I've had since I received my first Nancy Drew. I am a shameless zealot of the written word, the smell of good quality ink, the warm heft of cotton-rich paper. Though I feel terrible putting books I have for years on the cull pile, as if I am consigning old friends to the guillotine, some of them has to go.

2. I work better in an organized environment. How my room looks is directly proportional to my state of mind. And yes, when I’m busy I tend to be a slob. Everything gets unhinged when I enter my room, my clothes will pile up on the floor – I could go on. But I realized that as my room becomes free of clutter, I became happier. With the weight of my stuff lifted from my shoulders, I felt more spontaneous, energetic, and carefree and I get things done faster and better.

3. Cleaning my room is a therapy. Not really while doing it but the after-feel of it. I get the same feeling after a long bath or right after I finish a 30 minute yoga session. It’s rejuvenating. It’s emotionally uplifting. I feel like I’m anew and can do anything.

4. I hate doing laundry. Everything about it. It does really awful things to my hands. It's like polo y servicios in slow motion. Did I say I hate everything about it?

5. Music makes cleaning enjoyable. Cleaning is really a boring practice but with music on, I don’t notice the pain of it. It's a good distraction.

6. Each of my possession speaks of me. What I have, I love or loved in one point or another. What I have touches a chord within me and resembles what I have thought or felt. What I have, I worked hard for and that’s why I take good care of them. I am not easily provided by my parents when I want something and I appreciate my stuff more because of that.

It feels good to have a clean room.