Wonderful world of washing up

Washing up is a zone, a theatrical space where domestic scenarios are played out. Friends and partners confronting each others different ways of how to strategise and execute, sharing their own bespoke system, developed and tuned over a life time. Everyone seems to have their own system and their own preference for washing up!

Some people really don’t like washing up. I personally enjoy the cleansing effect; the ‘washing away’ the physical task represents, and also because all my plates and cutlery are different colours. So I can have fun firstly just seeing the colours and swishing the soapy suds around and also playing with ordering the plates in either colour, or size - not a major rearrange, it’s all done very quickly and I’m being practical at the same time! It’s enjoying the subtle changes of different colour plates changing next to each other.

You may be thinking; Why on earth is Rebecca writing about washing up?!

Answer: Because it can be an activity of joy! Let’s face it, it has to be undertaken, it has to be done in order that we can have clean plates to eat from and so we can live in a reasonably clean environment. It’s a favourite task of mine - I really love it! (As you can read….!)

So the takeaway from this little article is to try and adjust your approach and attitude to tasks that are seemingly tiresome and challenging - and seeking to making them actively joyful; even fun! Play with soapsuds, or choose a red plate and then an orange plate, draw a figure of eight with your washing up liquid! These are all micro movements which can be done, within a task that needs to be done quickly.

I’m not suggesting that you paint the Mona Lisa on your bubble covered plate but I’m just offering you the potential thought that a little bit of fun can can be brought into an every day task. It doesn’t need to be un enjoyable, or feel like extra hard work.

If we approach a task with a feeling of dread, then we are already setting the tone for that task to feel dreadful. But if we approach it with a playful attitude, then we can enhance the feeling, making it a bit more joyful - then it’s really worth a go, especially with something like washing up that has to be done - for everyone across the world, every day.

The wonderful world of washing up is yours to claim!