I am a private person and don’t share all of my life with you, as is my prerogative. However, for this to make sense I need to share a little behind the scenes. My partner and I moved house this past spring. A fresh start together, a space to really call our own.*
Moving is hands down one of the top five most stressful things you can put yourself through, and this move was no exception. Working out where your entire life is going to fit, whilst taking trips to Ikea, signing up for council tax (robbing bastards), trying not to row too much, and also fitting work around it all was possibly my least favourite thing EVER.
One of the ways I think I coped, and in turn meant we had some peace in this process, was the black hole. The black hole, being the cupboard under the stairs (CUTS), anytime we came to something we didn't know immediately where to put or didn't want to deal with, I shoved it in the CUTS. It got fuller, and fuller, to the point we could squeeze the hoover and the steam mop in, and behind was a six-foot dense sloped wall of stuff.
If you have seen Friends, and The One With the Secret Closet (S08, Ep14) then you can pretty much picture what the CUTS looked like. I came to think that the things in there were lost to time, a time capsule of our moving lives, that we would only have to deal with when we moved out.
Except, things we needed would be in there. Like the shopping bags (buried at the back) and all of the coat hangers, who does that? It became the elephant under the stairs. It was the one thing that I purposefully put off every time it could have been done. I used the deadline of time off, it had to be done before I took holiday - how could I possibly relax before that was put to bed?
Today before I sat to work, I did my weekly cleaning, and before I finished and was about to squeeze the hoover back, I decided it had to be done.
Do you know what is so annoying?
It took me no more than twenty minutes, start to finish, and I could kick myself for letting this hang over me for so long. This is akin to how I used to feel about doing my Tax Return before I found my accountant (thank you SW). This was top-tier angst, the thing that flashed across my brain as I was trying to sleep, we’re talking roller coaster stomach lurches. Why oh why did I put it off for so long?
Basically, I am very cross with myself, but also thrilled because it is over! I want to use the Cupboard under the stairs to remind you how healthy it is to do the thing that you have been putting off, it will make you feel so much better.
That's it, end of the message.
*As much as a rental can, when it takes the landlord for (4) months to fix a locked window, get it together Paul.
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