Brush Up
I frequently need to brush up my desk and my online skills. Both take time, but both are worth the effort. If I don’t clean my desk, the clutter becomes unmanageable. If I fail to refresh or improve my online skills, my writing suffers.
To brush up has at least three meanings.
-
To clean with a brush.
This might include:
- Crumbs from a table
- Dirt off the floor
- Dust from a porch
-
To clean or improve something (with or without a brush).
In addition to my desk, I need to clean or update the rest of the house. I have no problem with getting the house clean as a whistle. However, I don’t like change, so I update only when necessary.
I also need to occasionally update my:
- Medical information
- Résumé
- Contacts
-
To improve personal knowledge or abilities.
I learn new information or review what I already know. That refreshes my memory and improves my abilities as a:
- Writer
- Caregiver
- Bible study leader for middle school girls
- And other roles
What about you? Where do you have to brush up? Please comment.
“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18 NIV).
Thanks to Melissa Bright for the suggestion.
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10 thoughts on “Brush Up”
We all need to brush up our skills and our homes from time to time, Diana. We should celebrate that as a fresh start.
Blessings!
Martha, I love your reframe of all that work as a fresh start. Thank you. Have a wonderful week!
Number 3 is the meaning I usually think of in connection with brushing up. In nursing, we had to do inservice training to brush up on our skills.
That’s the meaning I usually think of too, Tracy. We had inservice training when I was a social worker, and it made a tremendous difference in the quality of our services.
I spend a lot of time “brushing up” Ms. Diana. I brush up after the chickens visit the carport and sidewalks. I brush up on my tractor and equipment user manuals to ensure I remember how to bleed the fuel systems, verify oil capacity, etc., and like our other writing friends, I’m constantly brushing up on my skills and learning so I might one day become the skilled artisan of the written word you are, ma’am.
J.D., I imagine you have plenty of brushing up with chickens. I recall those days from my childhood. As manager of a farm equipment dealer, my husband and his staff had lots of manual information for customers. He also applied much of that knowledge on our baby farm. Thank you for the too-kind words about writing. We all need to brush up our skills on a regular basis, don’t we?
Oh, my, this one hits home today. I definitely need to “brush up” on removing clutter. I need to “brush up” on additional marketing skills. And (most importantly) I need to “brush up more quiet with our Father. Thank you, Diana.
I need to brush up on much the same as you, Katherine, especially that last one. Blessings as you work on those goals.
Thank you for the gentle reminder to brush up on a few things. It is amazing how when we neglect to do so, things can get out of control. Brushing up daily definitely keeps things way more manageable.
If only I did this daily, Joanne. I need the reminder too. Have a wonderful weekend!