I used to like a bit of chaos. Chaos was my state of choice. Chaos on my desk, in my bag, in my drawers and in my notebook. I found chaos conducive to work, especially for creative and innovative work… in a way I still do… the chaotic medley of thoughts… I trust them to organise themselves eventually… I trust them to come together… to create a coherent text.

The opposite is true of my house. I notice that I become less and less tolerant of a messy house. Perhaps it’s because since my son was born I spend more time at home than in the past and being, working and playing in the space that’s cluttered and covered with dust is just not fun and so I notice that the subject of a clean space appears more and more often in my conversations and my body starts leaning forward with interest when my friends and acquaintances report on their house cleaning adventures.

With the spring in its full strength, myriads of sun spells hit the surfaces in our house and all the negligence in house caring is exposed. This week therefore I am trying to use every possible minute to turn our house round and make it pleasant to be in. The windows and curtains have been washed, the surfaces, furniture, lamp shades and even ceilings have been freed from dust. The garden has also received its fair share of time and slowly space is being made for summer shrubs, herbs and flowers. This appearing neatness is making me quite happy and I hope that we’ll be able to do much more in the coming week. Our kitchen renovation project has made us slightly antisocial over the last few months and now when a significant part of it is done and many pieces of wood, screws, tools and boxes have disappeared I feel that our house can safely re-open to visitors. To me one of the main attractions of having your own space is that you can invite others to share it with you, to laugh, to talk, to eat there together. Guests play their part in turning our houses into homes, don’t they?