The hidden purpose in daily cleaning

March 23, 2025

It's been one of those weeks where I'm feeling the weight of maintaining our small apartment. The endless cycle of dishes, laundry, sweeping up pet hair (so much pet hair!), and wiping little fingerprints off basically every surface. Sometimes I just want to throw my hands up and declare, "What's the point? It's just going to get messy again!"

And then I read this week's parasha, Pikudei, which concludes the Book of Exodus with the completion and assembly of the Mishkan* (the Tabernacle). What strikes me is that after all the glorious, detailed construction – the gold, the precious stones, the elaborate textiles – comes the mundane reality: this sacred space would need to be maintained. Disassembled when they traveled, reassembled when they camped, cleaned, cared for, day after day, year after year.

The most profound line comes at the end: "When the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the Israelites would set out... but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out until the day it lifted." Their sacred responsibility wasn't just building the sacred space – it was maintaining their relationship with it, responding to its rhythms, remaining attentive to the divine presence within.

Isn't that precisely what maintaining our homes is about? Not just a never-ending to-do list, but a daily practice of creating space where something greater than ourselves can dwell.

Lunar Cycles

The waning crescent moon is nearly invisible now, a whisper of light before the new moon. Like the Israelites waiting for the cloud to lift, this is a time of patient anticipation – the darkness before renewal. In this liminal space between cycles, we're invited to see our most routine tasks through fresh eyes. What might emerge if we approach our household maintenance not as burden but as preparation? The nearly invisible moon reminds us that sometimes the most powerful work happens when no one's watching – including the quiet tending of our spaces.

Room of the Week: Maintenance Stations

Let's focus on what might be the least glamorous part of your home – wherever you store your cleaning supplies, tools, and household maintenance items. In feng shui, these practical spaces are often overlooked, yet they hold tremendous power as the headquarters for your home's care operations.

Your maintenance spaces directly influence how you relate to the ongoing care of your home. A chaotic, stuffed cleaning closet reflects and reinforces the feeling that home maintenance is overwhelming. A thoughtfully organized space with tools you actually enjoy using transforms maintenance from burden to ritual.

Like the detailed accounting of materials in Pikudei (the name literally means "countings"), knowing what you have and being intentional about your tools creates order from potential chaos.

Daily Energy Focus

Sunday (Yang/Sun)

Bring your cleaning cabinet into the light. Take everything out, see what you actually have, what's expired, what's nearly empty. The detailed accounting in Pikudei reminds us that sometimes we need to really see what we're working with.

Monday (Yin/Moon)

Notice how you feel about your maintenance routine. The receptive energy of moon asks: What emotions arise when you clean your home? Is there resistance? Resentment? Or can you find a sense of care?

Tuesday (Fire/Joy)

Infuse your maintenance tools with intention. The fire energy asks: How can you bring more joy to routine tasks? Perhaps add essential oils to your cleaning solutions or play music that energizes you during chores.

Wednesday (Water/Flow)

Check the flow of your cleaning routine. Are there unnecessary steps? Is your maintenance closet in a convenient location? Just as the Mishkan was designed for both beauty and function, your cleaning flow should work with you, not against you.

Thursday (Wood/Growth)

Add something living to your maintenance area – even a small plant on a nearby shelf. This reminds us that cleaning is not about sterility but about nurturing life. The structured energy of wood asks: How does your maintenance routine support growth in your home?

Friday (Metal/Structure)

Organize your tools thoughtfully. The structuring energy of metal asks: What systems could make maintenance more seamless? Perhaps a checklist, a family chore wheel, or a simple caddy for carrying supplies between rooms.

Saturday (Earth/Grounding)

Rest. In the tradition of Shabbat, allow one day where you simply inhabit your space without trying to perfect it. The Israelites waited when the cloud remained; sometimes the most sacred act is patience.

Bagua Map by Room

Where does your maintenance closet or area fall on the bagua map? Its position reveals another layer of how maintenance energy influences different aspects of your life:

Knowledge Corner: A maintenance center here connects cleaning with learning. Consider: How does maintaining your home teach you about yourself? Add a small notebook to record insights that arise during routine tasks.

Family Corner: Here, your maintenance center influences family dynamics and growth. Are tools accessible for all family members to participate? How do maintenance routines help or hinder family harmony?

Wealth Corner: Maintenance supplies in this area connect care with abundance. Are you investing in quality tools that make work easier? The detailed accounting of gold and silver in Pikudei reminds us that what we value, we count and care for.

Fame Corner: A maintenance center here connects home care with reputation and self-expression. How does your approach to maintenance reflect your values? Consider selecting products that align with your principles, whether ecological, aesthetic, or practical.

Relationship Corner: Cleaning supplies here influence partnership dynamics. Are maintenance responsibilities shared fairly? The collaborative building of the Mishkan offers a model of communal care.

Children Corner: Here, maintenance tools affect creativity and future projects. How might you make maintenance more playful? Consider involving children in age-appropriate tasks, transforming chores into creativity.

Helpful People Corner: A maintenance center here connects with support systems. Who helps you maintain your home? From family members to occasionally hired help to the inventors of labor-saving devices – maintenance is never truly solo work.

Career Corner: Cleaning supplies here influence your life path and how you move through the world. Consider how the skills of maintenance – attention to detail, regular rhythms, care – might be supporting you beyond your home.

Center: A centrally located maintenance area affects overall balance. Like the cloud that filled the Mishkan, the energy of maintenance radiates outward from here to all areas of life.

In Pikudei, after all materials were accounted for and everything was assembled exactly as instructed, "the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle." The divine presence didn't arrive because the space was perfect – it arrived because the space was prepared with attention and devotion.

Our homes are no different. The divine – whether you experience that as peace, love, creativity, or connection – dwells where it is welcomed through our consistent, mindful care.

*The Mishkan (Tabernacle) was the portable sanctuary built by the Israelites in the wilderness. It served as the dwelling place for the divine presence and the center of worship before the construction of the permanent Temple in Jerusalem. Its detailed design and careful maintenance established a model for creating sacred space that continues to inspire.

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