It seemed an impossible task.

Tottering piles of books, papers, cables, coffee cups. Half-finished knitting. Unopened boxes from our move 14 months ago. I knew I had to clean my office before undertaking my next project, but I deeply did not want to. So deeply that even though I forbade myself to start anything major until after, I sat in my chair for three days doing busywork (but actually just actively not cleaning my office).

It seemed hopeless. There would be no end to this monumental task and no reward, and nothing I did would make a difference against the scope of the problem.

It reminded me of Venus mixing up a mound of various grains and lentils and ordering Psyche to sort it back into separate piles by sunrise. Psyche made an attempt, but it was clearly impossible. I think, at that point, she cried.

Idly, I wondered just what Venus put into that mound. I looked up a translation of Apuleius. Huh. I did not know that there was a specific list.

Wheat, barley, millet, poppy seed, chickpeas, lentils, beans.

That sounded delicious, actually.

I wondered if it had some ritual significance or if it just sounded nice or seemed like reasonable things to have around.

Wheat. Barley. Millet. Poppy seed. Chickpeas. Lentils. Beans.

Seven heaps, sorted one grain or seed at a time. What if I did that? After all, sorting piles of mess also has to be done one item at a time. What if I gave myself seven days and on each day, I did a real but small amount of cleaning so I didn’t get overwhelmed? Would things be appreciably better after a week?

I briefly considered going with the theme for each day, but it was hard enough to get myself to do this chore. No need to complicate things further. I was tempted to include each in a meal for the corresponding day. Fortunately, I got a grip.

On Day 1, the Day of Wheat, I cleared all soft things from my office. Clothing, towels, knitting, fabric.

On Day 2, the Day of Barley, I cleared away books.

On Day 3, the Day of Millet, I identified a file cabinet and two bookshelves that needed repair.

On Day 4, the Day of Poppy Seed, I repaired them.

On Day 5, the Day of Chickpeas, I took a break to cook instead.

On Day 6, the Day of Lentils, I cleared piles of mess and took things up to the attic.

On Day 7, the Day of Beans, I cleared off the surfaces of two desks.

The initiative is over now. The office isn’t neat or organized by any measure, but it’s much, much better than before. It made a difference to do a little at a time so I could make progress, any modest amount of progress, without feeling overwhelmed. More importantly, I have become unstuck and am moving ahead on projects.

The goddess is appeased and smiling upon me.