"Oiling and Lotioning, Lotioning and Oiling. I can't take this no more!"

 10 points for whoever can name the movie the title of this blog comes from. This week I worked on conditioning the leather seats in my car. I found a product that would both clean and hydrate the material which is not real leather but "Softex", a synthetic composite. I learned that this material is more resistant to cracking and fading than leather but still needs to be maintained to keep it looking at its best. The supplies I needed this week were Gold Class Leather Cleaner and Conditioner (another Meguiars product) and a rag.  

I knew my seats needed to be vacuumed but since they're black and didn't look dirty I was surprised by how much came off on the rag after cleaning them. Again, this project was straightforward, I sprayed the product on the rag and coated all the leather surfaces. I did put some muscle behind it since I was cleaning the seats as well. My only complaint about Meguiar's products is the fragrance. Artificial fragrances give me a head ache and I don't think they're needed. Most people prefer to buy air fresheners for their car with the fragrance they want. 

Before

After

It's difficult to see the results in the pictures but I can tell that consistently using a conditioning agent for my seats is going to keep them from looking dull and will protect them from being as susceptible to rips and tears as my vehicle ages. 

Wendy Peffercorn would be so proud. 

This week I let stress get the best of me. I prioritized family and school and everything else slipped a little....my car included. I still worked on it and took it to discount tire when the notification light came on that my tire pressure was low but it didn't stay as clean this week. My sense of occupational well-being wasn't as strong as it has been previously when I was proud of the progress I had made and maintained. 

However, I do think it's important to recognize what we prioritize in life. I get to choose when certain occupations take the back burner and others are given more time. It's most important to me to give my best to school and my kids right now. If we think about the hours we have in a day and the occupations we engage in, we can rank them in order of importance to make sure we are giving the most time and effort to what we value most. As we do, some occupations may be neglected or forgotten at least for a time, which may shift our identity. What's important is recognizing when our well-being is affected and adjustments can be made to realign our priorities. While car cleaning and organization is great, part of me is wishing I had picked something active like boxing or yoga so that an occupation that is part of my identity could also be homework. I guess this tells me where I need to shift my occupations to make time for activities that improve my well-being!

Reference 

Hasselkus, B. R., & Murray, B. J. (2007). Everyday occupation, well-being, and identity: The experience of caregivers in families with dementia. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 61, 9–20.