What is Oosouji 大掃除

Japanese has many rituals around ending and beginning of the year. Saying goodbye to the old year to welcome the new. Bounenkai 忘年会 literally translates to 'Forget Year Meeting', typically an office party celebrating the end of another calendar year. 23rd is a public holiday to mark the Emperor's Birthday Tenno-Tanjyoubi天皇誕生日 (which will be renamed the Retired Emperor's Birthday Joou-Tanjyoubi 上皇誕生日soon). Christmas is acknowledged as a fun event in schools, an excuse for couples to go on dates, and decoration enthusiasts to put the tree up and bake intricate cakes. Food preparation for New Year's Day is also important - if not cooked in traditional family or regional way, then ordering packs of Osechi ryouri おせち料理 are sorted at the local supermarket or department store. (Small versions or segments are also available at Seven Eleven, which makes me wish it was available at MY local Seven Eleven.)

On the last week of the year, something similar to Spring Cleaning, is done to the house. Oosouji literally means 'Big Clean'. That is, top to bottom dusting to vacuum, throwing out rubbish or sorting out donations, every single room. It is a family job. The intention is to purify the environment to start the year fresh, but it also serves as a clean space for visitors (eg extended family), as well as respect for visiting Spirits/Gods.

There are several guidelines on how to Oosouji:

• Start at the top. Dust, then windows and walls, and finally the floors.
• Start at the entrance and work clockwise. This method follows the Feng Shui map, and allows the energy to exit the house.
• Have several boxes prepared in each room to place items to discard. These can be sorted for donation.
• Involve the family so they have a say in what stays and goes, and individually take responsibility for their own banishing of old energy.

Before.

There were furniture sitting outside that needed to go, which took about 6 months to find someone willing to take it to the tip for us. It finally happened yesterday! In total the removal could be said it took 4 years, when the 2-seater couch got removed during the initial clean-out at the end of 2012.

After (yes I know there's still stuff on the little table).

As I used my Norwex dust mit and the window cloth yesterday at the cleaning job I washed it overnight, today's cleaning happened backwards. Floors first, while I waited for the items to dry. Windows and mirrors next, and then finally dusting using the freshly-dried mit.

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I endeavor to continue space clearing for year 2018. Happy New Year and thank you for reading!

Subcategory - Bathroom Creams and Gadgets

There is often a space under the basin that is used for storage space. Ours has three drawers, and one large area that includes access to the drain pipe. Aside from storing soap next to the pipe, the drawers have never been efficiently used. Additionally, it was constantly rearranged by the child 'getting into things'. There is only a small area of the basin where storage surface is available.

The heap, which was less than I thought it was going to be.

Creams and applications I inherited from mum, three First Aid Kits, random make-up (not all, just some), electronic personal care equipments, single-use bottles from hotels and sample packs from mlm parties, and unused razors, all had a place somewhere on the two shelves, stacked on top of each other. Along with two Sylvanian Family houses, the residents and contents I believe (I hope!!) are in the shed somewhere.

Unused shampoo bottles and feral soaps were disposed of by husband during our trip away 👍 He had also gathered hair pins and bands in one heap into the shelf 👎

There weren't much emotional processing for the tidying and releasing process, but rather acknowledging of getting frustrated at E for climbing onto the kitchen bench, getting into the creams, poking at the bottles, bringing stuffed animals to be hair brushed. (Nappy failing and pee leaking that had to be cleaned up and thanking it didn't get onto the STUFF).

Categories. Electronics, make-up, hygiene liquids, hair products, accessories.

No please don't climb onto the bench until everything is off... oh there's space available now? Fine. Just stop touching the stuff! Last few items she started to hand them to me and I was still paranoid she was going to open it or throw it or both.

The sample sachets I put where the night routine oils are kept so I see them and use them in conjunction with the other products and get used.

The total of discard products (!!!) minus actual rubbish like old hair-ties.

The bottom of the shelves are visible!

The biggest take-away from the process was the mindfulness during the sorting. To buy only items that will be used might be applicable in other instances, except there's an element of compatibility also with body care.

Subcategory - Plastic Containers

"Odd socks usually transform into spare tupperware lids" - Anonymous

With a few hours available in the afternoon, and as I wanted to leave tomorrow for last minute preparations for the trip, I tackled what seemed to be the easiest sub-category in the kitchen of the plastic containers.

It was okay for a while, to sort it every few months. Most items were accounted for with that method.  Then I didn't do it for a very long time, E pulled things out for herself, items got tossed in there where it fitted. Smaller containers got lost under bulkier items. Matching container and lid took longer than necessary.

Regular shelves with small containers as well as larger mixing bowls and strainers.

The 'too big to care' shelf, spare lids. Once this got pulled out I discovered a greasy frying pot hidden away.

I didn't have much of a plan other than pull everything out, put it together, and then fit it back in again.

Step 1.

Step 2.

The 'put everything back' was harder than I thought, and realised no wonder this section becomes easily disorganised. Even with several of the same brand containers fitting together, they don't necessarily stack well together with each other. I ended up sorting several smaller containers which had enough numbers to make a set, into containers big enough to fit them in. Tupperware brand that prides itself in being THE storage solution is of course meant to be used in the cupboards being containers, not stored away taking up extra space. Ice cube trays, all of them being odd shapes and not stacking well, got put away in the freezer and now we have abundance of ice cubes ready to be used. Just in time for summer.

Shelves 1 & 2 with containers of containers, as well as some cooking bowls and strainers.

Shelf 3 with bulkier items and Tupperware spares.

Does anyone know what to do with vintage Tupperware lids and moisture dividers?

Overall I only threw out one bag of broken and otherwise missing parts, and everything else was either in use or otherwise useful to keep. Most of the throw-out items came from the hidden area. Which I think is credit to my original method of keeping regular tabs on the more often used pieces, prior to the shelves going feral.

Konmari'd Paperwork

All. The. Papers.

The day started at 00.00 o'clock and since E was awake for a few hours I started to collect up all loose paper from around the house as well as known containers of documents.

When I woke up next time in the morning, I sorted them into categories. There were legal documents, study materials, loose art and notes, other artist's prints, paper for arts and crafts, notebooks, and certificates.

I started by shredding TAFE notes but I think I broke the shredder. The shredded paper to go into the compost or otherwise as bedding material. It was taking so much longer than I first thought but going to the bin got easier as well.

Even though the amount was a lot (bin almost filled), the only obvious paper that were removed were the immediate ones on the floor and shelve. Most were from files that already had designated location, or in the boxes inconspicuously stored in plain sight. So even when everything got finally put away, the room didn't look done at all from other boxes and furniture needing a place to be stored. Stones getting played with are till scattered all over the house.

Different categories in their piles, empty folders, empty boxes, a small space just for the pack of postage stamps.

I've been feeling it all day too. Why bother if it makes no difference? It took a lot of effort to recognise the empty boxes and files as 'job complete'. To acknowledge the bin filling up one item at a time. And then for M to comment 'It doesn't look done' would have stopped me all together in the past. Why bother if nobody recognises the efforts? As much as it is important to acknowledge the task is not yet complete, it is important to celebrate the small wins. So even though outwardly there is even more clutter, I see there is one empty shelf, another has been filled with neatly organised study materials, and the manuals and documents are now easily accessible.

At the end of paper-sorting...

One of the shelves - workbooks and materials from seminars and workshops attended.

Boxes stacked for now, to be sorted next time.

For this round, the ability to keep track of my finances (bills, taxes, accounting) will be the real test on whether this effort has made a lasting impact, rather than the state of the immediate space as that's another category all together.

Konmari'd Books

Just one of the bookshelves.

My attachment to books goes all the way back to childhood spent as a bookworm. As I still have books loved since then, this category was going to be an emotional one.

(Nevermind the shoulder pain that made it hard to move efficiently.)

Even with the many stops and starts I finished it before the end of the day, which I am proud to say.

Just to note, this session was about just my books and my child's books. Mum's books are still in the cupboards, mostly inaccessible because of boxes. And they would have added another emotional layer anyway having already gone through a cull of them to get them into that space.

Just one of the art storage space, including reference books.

I started with piling all the books onto the bed. It took a few goes as just as I started on a few books, I remembered some more from other locations.

Still not the entire collection...

Once I got them sorted into piles of keep, sell, donate, and bin, I took an interlude to do a Facebook Live, and also to plug Kylie Stretton's "Finding Kylie".

I will need to decide which secondhand bookshop I will approach, and whether to take just these or with mum's as well.

As books have now been lined up in the shelves not stacked on top of each other, there is space on the shelves, and I also have one free space which can be utilised!

Two girls in lonely space...

Shelves

Children's Books, including my old books.

As much as it is a dream to be surrounded by books, and what they may symbolise, ultimately I want to have an index of books that are this joyous, inside and out:

*full discretion that I have yet to read this one*

Computer Issues

When I said I want my personal belongings sorted, and part with items that no longer serve me, I did not invite the computer to have issues all day so I got nothing done at all yesterday.

It's these kinds of events that make me wonder, does Law of Attraction work at all? Is it a lottery of what could or could not go in flow?

So it was I did a raw Facebook Live in the video group. Mainly to ask if there are 11 people that will step up to take up my offer of Manifest 2018 Activation which includes a one on one call with Expansion Exploration.

Will be doing promotions for it in appropriate spaces this week.

Passing the Energy Through

As I get the push to promote my art and products more, and I part with my belongings one by one, the feeling of conflict surface more. Of how can I justify saying 'please buy my stuff'?

I can see in my mind, how once upon a time it took energy to make things, the inspiration to come up with it, the materials to create it, the energy of humans and chemicals and industrial machinery to manifest it. It gets passed on to be loved, and then loved somewhere else via donations or garage sale, and eventually disintegrate as rubbish or upcycled DIY or accidental breakage. And return to earth.

When my customer purchases as a gift to a friend, and that friend passes it along to the next person, this last person isn't going to care about my personal inspiration for manifesting the item.

So if in the end all becomes meaningless...

Why not love the moment.

Why not enjoy the moment.

Why not live in my own truth.

Why not feel into more YES's and less NO's.

I love this response I received from sharing my moment of existential crisis:

Deb Lahoud · 4:05 The meaning of things transform over time. once you sell it, you release it to the new owner and they get to decide its fate from that point on. It is never irrelevant in any way. Good grief. That line of thinking is exhausting! Create the art from your heart, gift it through sale and let it go. if you dont, it is like having an invisible string attached to everything you create. Dont you think that could get you tangled up? LOL

So yes to creating, speaking, moving, as the heart desires. And connect by being just that.

In the nothing-matters, is the oneness of everything-matters.