[Lifestyle] Cleanliness can be a healing "gesture": how is Oosouji, the Japanese discipline that seeks well-being

[Inkriql]

 

In general, undertaking a large house cleaning takes several hours, and it can be exhausting just thinking about it. The current, tight and overloaded times leave less space to fulfill domestic obligations. But cleaning not only implies leaving the house tidy and free of dirt, it also invites you to achieve serenity, eliminate ties and clutter that bother you.

This is the ultimate goal of Oosouji, an ancient Japanese discipline that proposes letting go of the past to look to the future and that understands cleanliness as a healing and spiritual component.

To begin with, you have to prepare as well as possible, since one of the fundamental points of this method is to concentrate on what you are about to do. It is not cleaning for cleaning's sake, you have to release the agenda, have the necessary cleaning products and open the windows. Fresh air is essential for this method, as it invites calm.

But what is Oosouji? it is a deep cleansing ritual that the Japanese perform once a year. In addition to removing dust, germs, and bacteria, cleaning has a liberating power associated with new beginnings. For this reason, many Japanese celebrate it on December 28, seeking to start the new year free from physical and mental burdens.
The Oosouji goes beyond an afternoon of deep cleaning, it is essential to thoroughly clean the spaces, check cabinets, say goodbye to everything that no longer serves us, is broken or you no longer like, settle payments and bills, and forget nostalgia and Throw away everything that has no use. (Pexels)
The Oosouji goes beyond an afternoon of deep cleaning, it is essential to thoroughly clean the spaces, check cabinets, say goodbye to everything that no longer serves us, is broken or you no longer like, settle payments and bills, and forget nostalgia and Throw away everything that has no use. (Pexels)

"When we talk about Oosouji, the first thing that comes to mind is that Japanese custom of doing a deep cleaning of the home before the end of the year: discard everything that no longer works, clear, clean," Malena Higashi explained to Infobae , practitioner of Chadō (Japanese tea ceremony), journalist and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Buenos Aires. “When I went to live in Japan for a year, I understood that cleaning is part of everyday life for Japanese people. I went to Kyoto to study Tea Ceremony at the Urasenke School. There was no cleaning staff there: the same students were in charge of cleaning each corner in rotating shifts.”

Something similar happened to Mimi Goda, a doctor of art, who told Infobae that she lived in Tokyo until university, and "in December we all did a day together, where the whole school dedicated itself to doing a great cleaning of the classrooms."

“Make a great cleaning, remove all the dust, dirt, stains of daily life to receive the pure new year, that is, purified. And after the cleaning is finished, each house begins to adorn itself, to prepare, "explained Goda.

For example, “in a tea ceremony, cleaning is prior to a meeting. The first thing that is cleaned is the tatami, and all the elements that are going to be used are also reviewed, checked. The tea room is a space that must be clean and during the ceremony the hostess will be in charge of purifying some of her elements in front of the guests, then she will clean what is dirty with tea. In a full tea ceremony, which also includes a meal, the same guests return the used lacquerware, clean”, Higashi detailed, adding that “cleanliness is a gesture of consideration towards the other”. As Javier Sinay wrote in Camino al Este, in this ceremony "the dirty is cleaned and the clean is purified."
In a full tea ceremony, which also includes a meal, the same guests return the used lacquerware, clean, since cleanliness is a gesture of consideration for the other. (Pexels)
In a full tea ceremony, which also includes a meal, the same guests return the used lacquerware, clean, since cleanliness is a gesture of consideration for the other. (Pexels)

Steps to carry out Oosouji cleaning

The first step to perform the Oosouji is to set a specific day in which all those who live in the house are available. According to the experts, it is important to take into account that a single day is probably not enough, that is why they recommend reserving an entire weekend, just as it is important to do it without interruptions and consciously. In addition to having everything planned, it is important to know the tasks that are going to be carried out and follow the recommendations to achieve the best result.

Before starting to clean it is necessary to purify the environment, opening all the windows so that the air can circulate. During the process the phones have to be turned off to ensure total concentration and a disconnection from the rest of the world.

-from above ab

Garlic. Start cleaning from the top: cover ceilings, clean walls, clean furniture. Then sweep and mop.

-Follow the clockwise path when cleaning a room. Cleaning begins and ends at the same point, a way to close the circle and leave behind the old chaos or dirt.

-Save in boxes for those objects that are no longer useful. It is important to get rid of things that are no longer used.

-Use garbage bags. Having garbage bags in the room to dump out all that dirt in the room makes it easier to get rid of it once the cleaning is finished.

-Fix the home. Removing stains from armchairs, repairing furniture or replacing burned-out light bulbs or other appliances that don't work is necessary. Malfunctions recall the past in a negative way and affect behavior.

-Every member of the family has to be involved. If you want to do a comprehensive cleaning of the entire home, all family members should participate in this activity. Each of them must have decision-making power over their belongings and make for themselves the selection of the old to welcome the new.

-Pay debts and bills. The Oosouji also includes paying debts and bills to close everything that is pending.
To carry out a comprehensive cleaning of the entire house, each of the family members has to participate in the activity and have decision-making power over their belongings and make the selection of the old for themselves to welcome the new. (Pexels)
To carry out a comprehensive cleaning of the entire house, each of the family members has to participate in the activity and have decision-making power over their belongings and make the selection of the old for themselves to welcome the new. (Pexels)

Well-being as a goal

Oosouji seems like a cleaning method like any other, where the goal is to clean the house and get rid of everything that is no longer of use, but in reality this method has a much deeper meaning where general well-being is the main objective. This cleaning method helps to eliminate bad feelings or bad energies in the home, so when doing this cleaning you have to take the opportunity to get rid of the objects that bring any negative feeling and in this way sad memories are eliminated.

 

https://www.infobae.com/tendencias/2022/03/16/la-limpieza-puede-ser-un-gesto-sanador-como-es-el-oosouji-la-disciplina-japonesa-que-busca-el-bienestar/