Oss! I'm joining the Cleanup Club.
Hello,
or perhaps, good evening.
This is Shosai.
Today, I have decided, with determination,
or perhaps reluctantly,
or rather, proudly—
I have come to submit my application to join the Cleanup Club.
<Cleanup Club Application Form>
What inspired you to join the Cleanup Club:
Seeing Ma-san's article, I felt inspired that I really need to do something about my own home.
What do you want to experience by cleaning up:
I want to drink tea in a tidy, calm living room.
What are you bad at when it comes to cleaning (putting things back, decluttering, tidying, etc.):Decluttering, I can't throw things away...
The place you most want to clean/tidy up this time:The living room (I can't show you that!)
What are you currently struggling with at home regarding cleaning, or which areas are problematic:Disposing of an electronic piano I no longer use,
organizing my overflowing bookshelf,
and the cluttered area around the router.
What would make you happy if it happened in a month:I want to aim for a home where, no matter who visits,
'Welcome... would you like some tea?'
I can act like an aristocrat.
◆ The inspiration was Ma-san's article
'I can't go on like this.'
There are articles that make you think that, aren't there?
When you encounter something like that,
you start noticing 'this' and 'that' which you've been pretending not to see.
your eyes are drawn to them.
When I read Ma-san's Cleanup Club article,
that was exactly it.
'...I need to do something about my place, too.'
Before I knew it,
the Miyazaki dialect had been triggered in my heart.
And so, I stood up quietly.
...I only stood up, I haven't done anything yet.
◆ What I want to experience through cleaning
A 'breeze of peace of mind.'
That feeling where just wiping the sink makes you feel a little lighter.
Even without going anywhere,
the world looks a little more orderly.
I hope to experience that small bit of order,
one step at a time, every day.
◆ I will confess what I am bad at
Decluttering.
That is the only one.
'Books I might read again'
'Materials I used for old work'
'Clothes I intend to wear when I lose weight'
—Yes, the problem of expecting too much from your future self.
That is precisely why
the current me needs to try just a little bit harder.
Decluttering
might just be the courage to part ways with hope.
◆ The place I want to work on the most
The living room.
Its current state is—"I can't show anyone this."
It is by no means a space where I could utter the words, "Would you like some tea?"
My goal is
a salon-style room that I can welcome anyone into
"a pseudo-aristocrat's parlor."
◆ List of things I'm struggling with
An electronic piano I no longer use:
It's huge. It's heavy. I can't move it. I only have sentimental attachment to it.
An overflowing bookshelf:
It's practically a tower. Babel.
Around the router:
The cables are tangled like vines,
it's like a little bit of nature.
◆ It would be amazing if it looked like this in a month!
"Welcome, would you... like some tea?"
And,
the composure and space to offer it with a smile.
A home where "leisure" is comfortably sitting in the corner of the room.
I want to reclaim
that kind of place once again.
So,
I am officially joining the "Cleanup Club."
Starting in June,
one minute a day, somewhere in the living room.
Now, for today's step toward becoming an aristocrat.
(Starting by throwing away one cardboard box)
Oss!
Click here for Shiina Otowa's Cleanup Club article:
Click here for Ma-san's Cleanup Club article:
From the study of Hibi Kojitsu
--and that's the end of the story.