Home Notes for Today

The lilacs are in full color and we are having our own lilac festival. Lilacs on a tree, in a basket, in a vase, and even digging out any lilac-themed items we might have.

I was thinking today about the relation between clutter and frugality. Someone had written a supposedly witty saying that claimed that a clean house was a wasted life. They didn't think that one through. Does it mean the opposite is true? I've found a cluttered house to be a great source of misery and expense. If you can't find anything because the clutter is so disorganized, you end up in a store searching for it from their neatly stacked shelves, where things that are alike are stored next to each other: thread with zippers, vac. bags with the vacuume cleaners, soap with the tissue paper, dishes with the cutlery, books with the papers and pencils, etc.

Everyone has, at one time or another or maybe more than one time, wished a great big team of professional cleaners would come in and do her organizing and cleaning. It would be a nice big surprise and we would cry when we came in the door to see the transformation.

However, the best way to keep from having such a cluttered house is to first and foremost, get it cleaned up. Do it methodically by picking up things that are alike: books, then papers, pencils and crayons, then toys, then clothing, dishes, food, etc. Do that, one room at a time. Then, clean the floors and dust and decorate a little. When I wash dishes I clean up the perimeters of the place first: the stove, the little table, the center island, the cabinet top. I neatly stack everything to the right and clear off everything on the left. I sweep the floor. Then I fill up the sink with the hottest water and put in a stack of dishes. I might go put in a load of laundry while that soaks a minute.

After the major cleaning is done, the best way to maintain it is not to letter clutter accumulate. Everyone has to dispose of anything he has used, after he is finished. No one can leave anything in any part of the house to give a clue he has been there. It is that simple. Throw away wrappings and such, from take out foods. Clean up the bedroom as soon as you wake up. Clean up the bathroom while you are in there by wiping the sink and folding things. In the living area, pick up things when you are in that room. I've talked about this before in previous posts.

There is no need to have a disaster area if things are picked up, not passed up. You might think, "But it is not a housecleaning day," and walk down the hall, tripping over towels and toys. You never really have to have a housecleaning day if you clean as you go. Things won't accumulate so badly if you get in an automatic habit of cleaning as you go. The good manners of neatness will accompany you everywhere, from your car, to other people's places, to public places. It costs you less, because things do not get stepped on or broken, or put in places to be forgotten about and gone to waste.

We have a rule in our house that the floors have to be bare, to prevent accidents, but also because it prevents mold and disease. A clean house, rather than being a sign of a wasted life, is a sign of a busy, industrious person and a diligent family who cares enough to be good stewards of their property.