A Clean Start

It's amazing what a difference a clean house makes. When I moved into my loft shortly after my last relationship ended, I was determined to keep a very neat, clean, organized space. Quite the opposite of what I'd learned to live with. I did a really good job until I had a bout of depression.

I have battled major depression my entire life. While I am medicated and see a therapist regularly, there isn't really a "cure". It's still a daily battle, the meds just make it a little easier. So, every now and then I will still hit a rough patch. This happened last month. The upkeep fell apart and the loft became a black hole.

While depressed, I have no motivation to do anything, including throw away trash (not food trash - that's just too nasty), pick up, do laundry, etc. So, after a couple of weeks of it, the place was a wreck. Once I resurfaced I had a new problem. I had no idea where to start. Thank Dog for Mark. He was my savior.

Mark is one of those crazy people that loves cleaning and organizing (his own place he pointed out). He was kind enough to rescue me from the hole. Yesterday after working out we went straight back to my place and started cleaning. By the time he left at 10pm, the place looked like it did before the depression - still not 100% unpacked from moving, hardly decorated, but clean! I felt like I could breathe again.

We got a few more boxes unpacked and cleaned out the closet (yes, that's singular). I tossed out all of my XL and XXL clothes. It was hard because some had only been worn once, but I refuse to keep them anymore. The cool thing about living in the ghetto is that I can put the clothes out by the dumpster and they're gone within an hour. The homeless love it when I clean my closets!

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and happy again. It's amazing what kind of effect a clean place has on a person. I feel human again and for that I am more grateful than I will ever be able to express.