Clean Nest, Happy Nester

After I had my home's windows replaced with fine new vinyl jobbers, the family-owned window company sent over their dad (the company founder) to pick up the last payment. He was long retired and this was something he enjoyed doing after a job was complete.

He looked around with interest as I was writing the check. At one point he said: "Is anything in here ever out of place?"

I burst out laughing in delight. Nevahhhh! I answered in my best faux-British accent. And nothing in my house is ever out of place. Or at least not for long.

I'm a firm believer that one of the finest gifts you can give yourself is a clean, well-organized and comfortable home. I do not consider it to be an enhancement, nor just a potentially nice thing to have someday. For me, it's a requirement. And non-negotiable at that.

Naturally, over the years I have acquired any number of habits and techniques for keeping my home spit-spot clean 24/7. But that's not what I want to talk about today. Today my topic is those specific times of day during which one's home management is most important—and they are also times during which a bit of proactive spit-spot can work miracles.

Arising

The day must begin in a clean, uncluttered bedroom, in sheets with no trace of a musty closet smell or the slightest hint of staleness. Obviously for this to happen, Bedtime has have been taken care of—and that's the last item on the list for today.

Morning Getting-Up Routine

I never leave my master bedroom suite in the morning without ensuring that I've left it clean and tidy with the bed made. It doesn't matter whether I'm heading out to work or it's a stay-at-home day. That includes the bathroom since it's part of the master suite. This might sound like a lot of work but actually we're talking about 10 minutes or so here. I keep a goodly supply of cleaning materials in the master-suite bathroom. I need them.

Leaving for Work

Three days a week I leave the house by 5:30 AM to commute into San Francisco. It's an article of faith that I will never, ever, leave any trace of breakfast behind—no dirty dishes, no box of cereal sitting on the counter, etc. The kitchen counters are quickly wiped down, ditto the cute round Shaker-style table in my dinette.

Thus I never return to a messy house.

After Meals

So simple. So basic. I clean up thoroughly after cooking any meal, and leave the kitchen and dining area spit-spot. I take out any potentially troublesome garbage, store leftovers as needed.

Bedtime

Another article of faith: I never, ever leave any chaos before going to bed. That doesn't mean some full-bore scrub-up all over everywhere. What it means is that I leave nothing out; there are no clothes left on chairs, etc. The kitchen is clean and the garbage is taken out. The master bedroom is spit-spot clean. That way I get back to Arising and it's all nice & clean.

How difficult is it? Not at all. Once you keep at it regularly the daily cleaning doesn't take long. For other areas of the house I maintain a weekly schedule. It's just part of my regular daily life. I neither resent nor dislike it. Cleaning is just something I do as part of my routine life—because I'm acutely aware of how much that routine daily life impacts my overall emotional health.

In general I try to follow a simple mantra that's aspirational but not impractical: if it looks like it needs cleaning, I've waited too long.

Am I just an anal-retentive type? Maybe. But I don't think so. What I am is a proud member of the community of nesters. We are people who form deep emotional attachments to our homes—rather extreme in my case, I'll allow—and for whom the condition of our home not only mirrors but also causes well-being and contentment. I can no more ignore a problem with my home than I could ignore a looming health issue.

So no matter what life might throw at me, I'll face it in my immaculately-clean, comfortable house where absolutely nothing whatsoever is ever out of place.