The Gentle Art of Puttering…

Do you putter?

Alexandra Stoddard says that puttering is "..really a time to be alone, to dream and to get in touch with yourself.", and to me this is the perfect description for the type of little joyful tasks I undertake when the house has been scrubbed from top to bottom: a perfect blank canvas for satisfying my creative urge, a perfect blank canvas for my dreams…

10 Lovely Puttery Tasks…

Decant your soap powder, washing up liquid and dishwasher tablets into pretty glass jars. Your home does not have to be an advertisement for Persil.

Handwash your underwear (only yours!) in Woolite. Think of it as a meditation to your sensual self.

Create a Home Fragrance Caddy. Gather ribbon tied candles, aromatherapy oils, room fragrances and linen sprays, in a little basket with beeswax polish and some dusters and wander from room to room opening windows and making your entire house smell divine.

Choose lavender scented beeswax for a fragrant patina and really put your heart into polishing a favorite piece of furniture.

Line your drawers with flowery vintage paper to raise a smile whenever you look inside…

Step outside and gather whatever little buds, twigs or flowers you can find and put them next to your bed…

Take yourself to the supermarket and putter there. Forget bleach and sausages. Instead look for Green and Black’s Hot Chocolate flakes, a lovely bottle of wine, the strongest french cheese you can find and all the other little treats you never even see when you are whizzing round with a trolley.

Iron your tea towels. I know you’ve got a mile high pile of laundry to do, but there is nothing nicer than a crisply pressed tea towel, especially if you spritz it with orange blossom linen water…

Make yourself an alter to the seasons: gather seasonal objects like pebbles, shells, bulbs, fruit, flowers, postcards, and make a little arrangement in a place you don’t often notice in your house. When you have finished, light tiny candles and admire your handiwork, remembering all the time that this isn’t a contest and you only have to please yourself.

Arrange a little treats tray in the kitchen. Place your favorite cup and saucer on it, Aveda Comforting tea (very very calming), hot chocolate, those little italian sweets, a tiny little bud vase and a pretty napkin, and use it as a reward whenever you have completed a yukky job.

Remember that puttering isn’t a necessity. Choose only tasks that do not strain you physically or emotionally. Often the most mindless task are the very best ones for encouraging the kind of moodling mind essential for dreaming…