Clean Up

“Make sure to clean up after yourself”, Mom would say, but somehow those words never hit the intended home run with me. I would make a mess, remember Mom’s words, then decide to wait until later to clean up after myself. Once I had kids and my own house it felt like I was cleaning constantly “a little later” and I wondered how things could get so messy so fast. The house would seem to untidy itself no matter how often I cleaned. So on a visit to Kansas City I decided to observe a person who has a consistently clean house (aka my sister-in-law Jodi Inkenbrandt) to discover her secret, making mental notes along the way. First note: As soon as she feeds the boys she cleans their dishes and wipes up the table and floor. Second note: After the kids play in the yard she coils the hose, empties out the pool and picks up the toys out of the yard. Third note: She cleans up every mess right after it’s made. Fourth note: Duh! Clean up after yourself = clean up immediately after you make the mess. Oh my word. I can never let anyone know I’m just now catching on. When I came home  from my visit I immediately put into practice my new cleaning revelation – and, believe it or not, it’s working (for the most part)! I’m still having to think hard about it (okay, i just made a mess making a sandwich, so before i eat my sandwich i need to put all the sandwich stuff away) in order to retrain the habit center of my brain. A slow process, but one day soon I won’t have to think about it and I’ll be cleaning up after myself like a pro, and setting a good example for my kids. You know, as embarrassing as it is to admit it took me 26 years to understand a simple phrase like “clean up after yourself”, I owe many thanks to Jodi and Mom (and, of course, my stealthy observation skills) for this new way of life. Three cheers for a clean house!