There are many reasons to Clean one’s home:
- A Clean home is a healthy home
- Company will be here in less than an hour
- You’ve lost that important check that you meant to deposit last week
- Your mother is visiting tomorrow
- You’re tired of looking at it all
- You don’t have the energy to go in the studio
- Someone moved out
- You’re giving a party
- Only thing left to eat off is the good china
- You need some time to think about your artwork
“There was no need to do any housework at all. After the first four years the dirt doesn’t get any worse.”
~Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant, 1968
Of Course, many people, including myself, often need more motivation. For this I am using an i-tunes playlist, designed to provide the perfect mix of peppy beat, sing-along lyrics, guilt and pleasure wrapped into one.
“The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes”. ~Agatha Christie
I’ve tried, but can’t seem to get the i-mix feature to work, probably because most of these songs weren’t purchased from i-tunes, but were burned from CD. Here’s my eclectic list of musical motivation in text form… comments and suggestions always welcome:
Your Little Secret Melissa Etheridge Shame On You Indigo Girls White Room Sheryl Crow Feat. Eric Clapton Crazy As Me Alison Krauss & Union Station There Goes The Neighborhood Sheryl Crow If I Had $1000000 Barenaked Ladies I Get By W/a Little Help From My Friends The Beatles Wild Saxaphone Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Beautiful World Coldplay No Sunlight Death Cab For Cutie Beautiful Mess Diamond Rio There's Your Trouble Dixie Chicks Black Water Dooby Brothers I'm Here for the Party Gretchen Wilson Burn All The Letters Indigo Girls Fat Bottomed Girls Queen If You're Going Through Hell Rodney Atkins Days Like This Van Morrison Black Magic Woman Santana Honey, I'm Home Shania Twain When God-Fearin' Women Get The Blues Martina McBride Fishin' In The Dark Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Nightingale Norah Jones Shake the Sugar Tree Pam Tillis The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia Reba McEntire I'm Too Sexy Right Said Fred Everyday Is A Winding Road Sheryl Crow You're So Bad Tom Petty Bright Side Of The Road Van Morrison
“Dark Water” copyright Ruth Armitage 2011 Watercolor & Gouache 22×30″
I find all I need is one run through of the ‘Trainspotting’ soundtrack.
thanks Carrie, I will look that one up 🙂 It will take more than one cd to get this place whipped into shape 🙂
Thanks Ruthie, I need motivation today. I have such good intentions, but I wanna play with wax instead!
Love to you my friend and happy cleaning!
Jenny
I know what you mean sista!
I love your painting…I would rather paint than clean house but clean house I must…I’ve been busy with vacations, WSO, pinched nerve in my neck, but in the end it just has to be done. Maybe I’ll try the music.
It worked for me 🙂 Sometimes cleaning really gets in the way of artwork, doesn’t it?
Oh wow! I can relate…and great list of tunes for cleaning up the mess. Should work nicely for straightening up the studio as well.
Just did a copy and paste of your playlist cause I loved the music you played at the workshop this last weekend. Speaking of workshop, “Spark” was wonderful. Had so much fun, got some great ideas, help with my focus, fun painting, and connected with some really great artists too. As a direct result, I have reconfigured my day to make my art a priority. Today was day one, I’ll let you know if I can make this a regular practice – they say it takes 21 days.
Thanks Jennie 🙂 I hope we can do it again in a few months!