Often I've run into the belief that in order not to be stressed, I ought to not be worried about cleaning. "It's okay if the house gets messy, you won't be stressed!"
Recently, I haven't been feeling that well, and my room went to pieces, and it wasn't the only place. The kitchen had a monster growing out of the sink because I hadn't done the daily dishes. Hum, and where did my jacket, shoes, purse and hair brush go? That's the problem. If you let a place get messy and chaotic, you start losing track of your belongings, and that's one sure recipe for stress! And guess what, having my room looking like a bombed out section of London during the blitz sure wasn't helping me feel any better. And not being able to find clean dishes because they were all in the sink didn't help anyone: in fact, it makes people grumpy, as far as I can tell. And who likes having to nag just so that they have a clean, matching pair of socks?
Really, considering that doing the dishes isn't too terribly hard of a chore to accomplish in a half hour or so, I wasn't feeling so bad as to not do them. And you know what? The kitchen looked a lot nicer when there wasn't that hideous monster coming out onto the counters. And time spent straightening up a messy bedroom isn't wasted. You can actually relax in there, and you exactly where you left things. Plus, it shouldn't take too long if you daily straighten things up... trust me, I'm still working on that one!
I for one am not able to allow everything to get chaotic simply because I'm busy. Actually, I feel that I have to keep on cleaning because I am busy. It may be the opposite of what most people think sensical, but it's the truth. Allowing your surroundings to get messy can stress you more than the actually cleaning would - and that stress could weaken your immune system and make you sick. It looks to me like keeping clean should definitely be more of a priority than it is.
And now you can see what Lewis book I'm working my way through!
Dang. Now I feel guilty about how messy my room is. >_>
ReplyDeleteDon't feel guilty. I understand when your room gets out of your control.
ReplyDelete-Laura
Hmmm! Is some of Gramma rubbing off? I certainly hope so. I get stressed when things are out of sorts too.
ReplyDeleteGramma
Haha... and to think I spent my birthday sleeping while you were cleaning your house.
ReplyDeleteCome to think of it, my room could use a very good tidying up. I shuld -- no, I am -- off to do that now.
-Kat
I agree with you about this attitude. I don't think kids really thrive, mentally and emotionally, in too much clutter. It is very good for them to be neat and tidy and to care about the home. It builds character in them and makes them careful with other people's posessions. I think what the foster care system intends is for the children to be looked after and not to take a back seat to a clean house, but I think the two can go hand in hand and it doesn't harm anyone. Food left out and filth, on the other hand, does not create a healthy environment for these kids. Often they are taken from homes that are just so full of trash and smell so bad, etc. and they hope to put them somewhere better. So, you shouldn't let down your housekeeping because it also can create worry and confusion. That's my opinion! My house is not as organized as I would like, but at least it bothers me and I know what needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if Gramma's rubbing off... perhaps! According to some books I found at the library, stress incurred by clutter is common to all humans, but most ignore it.
ReplyDeleteKat - I'm still working on your present... it's slightly delayed, you see. I hope you had a wonderful birthday though! And I think I actually spent your birthday at a wedding reception - it was the seventh, right?
To Lady Lydia - I agree with you. Because of the situation that our foster children have been through (I've seen the house they came from), my mother and I agreed that to help nurture the children and hopefully aid in their healing, keeping a clean, beautiful house where one can relax was very important. The girls love the fact that during the summer, we have flowers everywhere.
Thank you!
-Laura
Ooh, my room needs a cleaning. That's actually what I started doing today--I guess we've all been hit with a cleaning bug!
ReplyDeleteIt shouldn't be too hard to tidy . . . mostly just various books everywhere. . . you guys'll know what that's like . . .
-Jhaniel