Mundancity: Chores as Self Care
(I mistyped “mundane” as “mundance” two or three times while writing this, and I kind of love the idea of chores being a dance, so please enjoy my new word.)
Image from https://www.jeremywinslife.com/cartoons
The cartoons and posts that I’ve shared here have been popping up on my social media lately so either there’s a general movement to promote the appreciation of these little mundane moments or Meta knows me really well. I suspect the latter, but the funny thing is that the algorithm hasn’t yet figured out that I have no intention of buying any of the various “self care” products, trips, or experiences that come across my screen. It’s not that I wouldn’t love a women’s-only retreat in a salt cave next to a hot spring - or maybe a hot cave next to a salt spring? - it’s just that the chores are still going to be there when I get back.
I don’t enjoy doing dishes, or doing the laundry. I do, however, love having clean towels and plates. I’ve been trying to incorporate some Alexander Technique thinking into the pursuit of cleanliness lately for two reasons: one, I’m old enough that an abrupt twist and bend from the sink to the dishwasher is likely to cause distress somewhere, and two, because it’s a really great opportunity to connect your feet to the floor and think about what your shoulders are doing. Therefore, here are some ideas about making your peace with sink height, vacuum trajectories, and laundry weight.
Dishes: There are two ways to get yourself to the height of the sink: only bending forward at the hips, or bending the knees forward and the hips back at roughly the same (shallow) angle. I recommend the latter as I’m sure everyone has plenty of experience with the former. Try a little shallow bend without dishes in hand and then try a deeper bend in the direction of the dishwasher if you have one - consider turning your feet to face the dishwasher before bending instead of twisting like a discus thrower. Stand up periodically while actually tackling the dishes and walk around a bit if needed. Your back will thank you and not rushing through clearing the sink will help to save your crockery from disaster.
Vacuuming: This is basically a series of lunges if you think about it - usually the back foot stays planted while the front foot lifts and moves forward. Again, try this without the vacuum cleaner first and notice that your balance is likely to be more stable if your feet are not in a straight line. Congratulate yourself on having done some exercise for the day! With the vacuum cleaner in hand, resist the urge to step wayyyyyy forward to get it done quicker. Switch up the front and back feet if you can. Boogie a little to keep your hips loose. If you are going under furniture, consider just getting down on the floor or sitting on a low stool or pillow instead of losing your balance in a weird half-squat and ending up on the floor anyway.
Laundry: I have a stacked washer/dryer setup with the washer on the bottom. Wet clothes are heavy and if the dryer door starts to close on you, you might add a concussion to the mix if you’re not careful. If you think about the full movement of bending down, reaching forward, straightening up with extra weight, and then either lifting the wet clothes to about neck height (in my case) or turning to the side to throw them in the dryer, that is a RIDICULOUS movement sequence and one you wouldn’t do in the gym first thing in the morning. This is a great space for experimentation: maybe wet clothes go in a basket and then the basket goes to the dryer. Or the basket of clothes gets lifted off the floor if there’s somewhere to put it near the head-height dryer. Try squats if you can, bending both hips and knees, or something to sit on. Or you can pick up a few things at a time and appreciate your clothes as they pass through your hands: your functioning pairs of socks, your cozy go-to clothes, and your extra fancy or colorful things that were so much fun to wear to a special event last week.
Image from: maudiemoods on tumblr.com
Finally! Something else I see floating around the Internets is the idea of doing something “for future you”. This can apply (and sell plenty of books and online courses) to exercise, financial planning, marketing and business, and lots of other practical endeavors. At its simplest, though, you can give future you a clean T-shirt AND spend some time thinking about the best way to move through the process. Future you will thank you!
