It's usually good. I cannot even begin to count how many times my mother told me to keep my room clean or to tidy my bathroom every day because it would be easier than cleaning it once a week. She also pointed out that I would feel better and be less stressed. It's only now, 5 and a half years after leaving her house, that I am finally heeding her advice and trying to keep my house in order every day instead of letting it get out of hand and then cleaning on Saturday for hours at a time. I've discovered that I sleep better, I'm happier, I have more energy, and I get more of everything (grading, reading, spending time with Bryant) done when I take the half hour to re-clean the kitchen after cooking or make the bed (even at 5 pm) or hang up my jacket instead of leaving it on a chair. This probably doesn't come as a surprise to any of you out there who have been neat freaks your whole life, but it is utterly amazing to me! I think I am a neat freak who has been wrapped in a decorative coating of laziness for the last 23 years.
So here goes: Mother, you were right all along. Oh, and you were also right when you told me that doing the dishes warms you up and keeps you from being bored. =)
Right? Now I turn off the lights when I leave a room, do the dishes after dinner, make my bed in the morning....and about a hundred things that I am now aware were such good ideas this whole time. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteOh yeah....mom knew.