While most of us are operating on “holiday mode,” many people are actually hard at work in offices and warehouses all over the country. This I suppose is “inventory week” when many companies close shop and clean house.
They go back to their records and check what has been used, broken, stolen or sold. Come to think of it, the whole idea is a bit off since the records ought to tell what you have and what you don’t have. Unfortunately, the physical inventory is very necessary to reconcile what you are supposed to have with what you “really” have.
In the US, many homeowners observe the practice of “Spring cleaning”. After a long winter, it has become the standard ritual to clean out a lot of stuff that have been put into storage during winter. It’s also a time when they check out their homes, barns or buildings for necessary repairs, remodeling or expansion.
In a country where we don’t have seasonal markers except hot or wet, we tend to do cleaning or repairs on a need basis. We have a different system for our homes and for our businesses. We do regular inventory at work but not at home and most property owners don’t follow a regular or regimented maintenance schedule.
Eight years after building our home, we have had to embark on what has turned out to be a major “fix-up” project. Our house is more building than house, because that was all we could put up in a tiny lot shaped like a flattened paper cup, wide in the front and extremely narrow at the back.
A lot of people are afraid to start on this type of project because it’s like exploratory surgery. You never know what’s wrong with the patient until you open it up. One thing I learned after eight years is: “If you build things right, they stay right”. The other thing I learned is: “If you live long enough, you can correct the mistakes you made in building your house”. Fortunately, we built it right!
The reason I chose to write about “SPRING CLEANING” is because this would be a good time for you to consider doing some. If you’ve been good or popular, you probably got a lot of gifts, most of which you don’t need, don’t want, don’t like or don’t fit.
While everyone will be making “personal or spiritual inventories” why not do your annual material inventory? Start with your pantry, refrigerator, freezer and medicine cabinet.
You may be a potential poisoning victim or an accident waiting to happen. In 8 years I’ve cleaned out these areas every other year and discovered that there were a number of EXPIRED food, medicines or products that should have been thrown out but because we don’t do regular “Spring Cleaning”, we overlook or forget. Ever since we did the housework ourselves, we have been more conscious of “expiry dates”.
Once you are done with the perishables, go and check your “crockery and cutlery”, your towels and your linens, your shoes and bags, your electronic stuff and your jewelry. Even these things have some sort of “expiry” on them. They wear out, break down, phase out or become unfashionable.
Some people never realize the need to do “spring cleaning” until they are horrified to see a guest drinking from a chipped glass, using a crooked fork, or wiping their mouth with a tattered napkin.
This is not about lifestyle but about value and enjoyment. If you’ve destroyed a watch you really like because you failed to replace the battery, you know what I mean. Some people may call this a vote for materialism, well it isn’t.
What I’m suggesting is you “rediscover what you have, determine what you don’t need, list down what you need and make the necessary adjustments. We all have a lot of stuff we can do without, while we all need some stuff that we really should go out and buy.
After 14 years of wearing a number of shoes that belonged to my father, I decided to let go of the Feragamos. Shoes have to be about comfort, not sentiments. I rarely wear a watch so I gave most of them to loyal helpers. I retired my second cell phone because I’m not that busy. At my age I now have fewer things to lose or misplace.
On the other hand, our homes as well as our lives can use a bit of “touch ups”. Some of us really need new fashion statement. A LOT of my male friends need to find a good barber or a hair stylist. Some have wild hair growing in all the wrong places. Some have horrible eyeglasses. Many Pinoys don’t stop to think that half of their image problem is that their hair is a mess.
Some people have really horrible eyeglasses. Some have a matching problem between their body type and the clothes they wear.
Unfortunately many Filipinos don’t know “the curse of the Big house”. What happens is the bigger the house, the more goods you buy to fill the space. It never ends until you decide to end it!
In case you don’t know, Spring Cleaning is always followed by a call to the “goodwill” people. In US they often call some charitable organization or a church people who come to pick up all the stuff for giving away. Remember: You GIVE away useful things while you THROW away garbage.
Speaking of garbage, if you have to do some Spring Cleaning, why not check out the relationships you have. Many of us can live better and peaceful lives by getting rid of bad relationships, negative people and dead weights.
There are two ways of choosing the right company: Does this person care or love me? Is this person really the kind of person I can be proud to call my friend?
If not, you can list then under: UNFRIEND.