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| My look when the spouse decided we needed a picture of this momentous day! |
Those tasks, that just keep going to the bottom of the list, the ones you
promise to get to one day, with appropriate equivalent butter-wouldn't-melt-in-your-mouth excuses,
based on who you’re lying to (mostly yourself and in my case the spouse)… I’ve
got so much to do… I forgot… I am too tired... The kids ran away… dog ate my
homework… lost my kitchen….
In case the last has you confused, the last refers to a specific item on
my checklist. Cleaning my kitchen was a task I had been procrastinating over
for years. So at the beginning of this lockdown, it was very virtuously added
to my check-off-bucket-list-item-during-lockdown (along with writing books,
planning new projects, kick starting book club etc…)
In spite of a few ‘gentle reminders’ from the spouse, and my own conscience ‘That day, remained elusive. I had work stuff to get done… I was walking 2 hours in the house every day AKA… I hate being told what to do…
Although, to be fair, when I made my lockdown
bucket list, it was through rose-tinted glasses using a golden fountain pen and
perfumed onion skin paper. Because in all the ceremony of it, I hadn't factored
in juggling work from home, household chores, and cooking twice daily
– for my bhooka janta of 2 kids!
20 days into lockdown (we isolated on the Ides of
March) on 5 April, ‘That Day’ still hadn’t arrived! I was inching towards it
s-l-o-o-o-w-l-y, I promise... On the 5th, the spouse, in a fit of
frustration, reorganised our kitchen cupboards (moving things around to
consolidate stuff; flours together, baking stuff in one place etc…).
And, in a strategic, rather diabolical move, he also left a
pile of things he didn’t know what to do with, slap bang in the middle of my
living room, in front of my cavernous pantry cupboard, its doors gaping
wide.
Ignoring it was impossible since it was in direct line of sight from my designated work/dining
space. Not to mention, sweeping was a huge pain in the arse! So yeah, big cupboard-maws silently reprimanding me
incessantly, finally did what nothing could for years!
Hallelujah, “THAT
DAY” arrived!
And this past weekend, on 11 April, I 'Mary Kondo-d' my kitchen... (Somehow 'RushinaMunshawGhildiyal-d' just doesn't sound as bad-ass!)
Now, this was to be an under-the-radar black ops exercise in small,
quiet sorties (so I wouldn’t earn a specific kind of look from the spouse.) But
it quickly escalated into a 12-hour purge and clean of the entire house! BONUS!
At this point, I’m feeling supremely satisfied with
myself. The spouse-points score card is looking a-m-a-z-i-n-g (because I'm so
bad-ass I even cooked dinner after all that). My cluttered, chaotic kitchen is
now a clean, organized, (almost) zen-like oasis of a space. And grandiose plans
to NEVER LOSE CONTROL of it again!
I have a COMPLETE inventory of food items in my home.
I’ve resolved to check before I buy. Note to self, (and you) I will NEVER-BUY-ANOTHER
packet of Garhwali Jakhiya (I’ve hoarded a life-time supply) OR Irani Zaresht
berries and Limoo Omani (excavated packets of these going back 6 years in my
freezer!). I also have an all new Cooking Bucket List! (Amazing how lists spawn
for us Virgos!)
Seriously though, this purge and clean has been a
kind of detox! It’s like my kitchen, brain (and life) have been put through a sort of de-fragging! Storage space has been optimised and space for new things
has been freed up!
I am rediscovering cookbooks, favoured ingredients and
favourite recipes, figuring out ways to making the most of everything and use
up stuff that’s been lying around for ages. But, most importantly, I’m filled
with things I want to do going forward! Observations and ideas for blogs. Stories,
articles, even books I want to write… and so much more!
In case you are feeling stuck, like you are not
moving forward, consider making ‘That day, TODAY… and check off a task from
your procrastination bucket list of life… I highly recommend it!’
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