Creative, clean living in 3 easy steps.

Do you start a boring job that has to be done around the house,  and plod through it?

I have begun many a task like that, and somewhere between the necessity of gettting it done and the annoyance of wasting my time with upkeep, I have discovered how to make it fun and creative.

First, I have to change my perception to take in the gestalt of laundry in my life. No research, just what it represents in my life. So I reflect upon  what laundry means  to me. Cleansing, layering renewing are concepts that come to mind.

Then  I observe laundry  as a way of exploring shadows and light. See how it looks in different lights. Look at it straight from the dryer crumpled in the basket and then folded crisp and clean.

Then I respond to the visual beauty that I have discovered in my ordinary day. What a blessing!

Because I draw and paint, I will document my experience that way. Other ways to articulate your laundry experience could to write about it , photograph it or tell stories about it. You could also begin to notice subtle variations in colors, trying colors next to each other that you never tried before.

I can't say that this will get those chores done faster. In fact, I may take a little longer, especially once I get started on a painting.  But I have a real feeling of satisfaction when I complete the task , As I touch the laundry with my hands, transforming the deep clefts of shadows and mountains of light into folded patterns of crisp geometric shapes I am lead to understand the necessity for renewal, order and balance in my life.

What ordinary household or work tasks could you transform creatively?