Cleanliness

I've come to realize over the years how important it is to me to have a clean house. I think it started in college. Having a small room that I had to share with a roommate made it essential that I be neat and organized. I had to fit all of my stuff in my half of the room- and be able to find what I needed when I needed it.

I haven't always been an extremely neat person. When I lived with my parents, we had quite a bit of clutter in our house, but it was a house that was lived in and loved. There were 3 kids and 2 dogs, so it was inevitable that the house was always a little messy and there was always dog hair to be found. It's not like I did a lot to try to help clean back then. My room was usually kind of messy- clothes on the floor, clutter on my desk, but I did have some organization to the chaos. My drawers were organized by type of clothing, and I had a specific place for everything in my closet. When I was finally in college and living on my own, it simply became more imperative that I have an organizational system in place. I HATE not being able to find something when I need it!

I also discovered that there were lots of people in college who didn't know how to clean (or didn't care). My first year at Liberty I lived in a suite where six girls had to share a kitchen and common room. Girls would leave tons of dishes in the sink, let food splatter in the microwave, drop crumbs on the floor and table, and generally make a mess. And it seemed like few people ever thought to vacuum, wipe down the counter, or throw out expired food! It was shocking to realize that people could live in such dirt and not seem to notice. I have seen bathroom sinks and tubs that made me want to throw up. The idea of brushing my teeth or taking a shower in those grime-covered surfaces was disgusting! I started to value cleanliness so much more after living in college dorms.

Now that I've lived in my own townhouse and my own apartment, it's clear that taking a few minutes to clean can make a world of difference! I absolutely LOVE having a clean house. It brings me peace of mind, lifts my spirits, and gives me a feeling of accomplishment. I think a clean house is so welcoming and cheerful and pretty. I don't necessarily like vacuuming, or doing dishes, or cleaning the toilets... but actually I do kind of like to do those things, because the end result makes me so happy! It may sound dumb to write an entire post on this, but it's important to me. I wish that my roommates valued a clean house just a little bit more.