From the pictures, most of the peoples’ problem is too much junk. The one attached to this BB post has a lava lamp on the kitchen counter. WTF? Why do they even have a lava lamp at all? They need to have a yard sale, not devote a large chunk of their life to bailing water.

Letting the bedclothes lie isn’t really an option, that’s why we have a rack for them. The pillows go over the woodframe, so the mattress can air nicely. 

Which reminds me that we need to turn them.

Some people do not mind at all and not even societal pressure (good for them!) can make them feel about living in a mess.  Some of those do not even lose productivity, since they uncannily know where everything  is and they can get it literally with one hand movement.   Many, in my observation, severely overestimate their ability in this matter and lose a lot of time. More importantly: They often waster others’ time as well.

Also, one needs to substract all the people who have a mess everywhere, but outsource the tidying up. They are either a burden on their parents and partners or they pay for it. Granted, since they often make more money than their cleaners in the same time, they come up ahead.

More importantly, though: Lots of people do not *want* to live in such a mess. It hinders the enjoyment of their living space and they get in a cycle of frustration, similar to people who have become fat mostly due to bad eating habits and no physical work/sports.

Telling them “Just don’t worry” is about as helpful as “Don’t worry, be happy” to a depressed person. 

20 minutes doing housework every evening x 75-year lifespan=9125 hours or 380 days or 54.3 weeks or 1.04 years.

I wonder, how many people die wishing they’d done more housework? Studies show people who spend their time and money on experiences rather than stuff are happier.

Some counter-advice: fuck “unfucking your habitat”–which is Sisyphean–and use the YEAR of your life you would’ve wasted to DO something. 

Take a class in pottery or archery or ballroom dancing. Mentor a troubled kid. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Coach a youth soccer team. See Europe or Asia. Write a novel. Watch that movie you keep bumping down your Netflix queue. Call or visit your grandparents or parents or children. Learn to program. Take a walk on Sunday mornings. Make a nice dinner. Make love.

So far we’ve managed to keep the dining room, library, pantry, movie room, and the guest bedrooms clean and mostly clutter free over the long term.  We still have some trouble with the family room, our bedroom (mostly making the bed and some stuff on the dresser tops) and one particular counter in the kitchen that’s located right in from the garage.  By and large though, isolating spaces for their purposes makes it a lot easier to keep things neat.

I think you can be neat and thoughtful, but I think when you more concerned with the space than the minds you really focusing your energy on control rather than creativity.  All well and good if you are a factory manager.

For me, the best use of my time is getting rid of things (which can mean recycling, gifting, etc.).  It feels good, and leaves a lot more space….more space to mess ratio makes everything look better.

My response is: don’t knock it until you try it. I used to be messy, and I knew where everything was. Putting things away is annoying, right – why not just leave it out so it’s easier to access when you need it?

But I also have a compulsion to keep things tidy, and have had it since I was a kid. It’s a lazy compulsion, though… I let things get to the point of no return before deciding to tidy up, and then it never gets done because it’s too much work.

I have pretty much been following the same system this blog advocates, which is doing a little bit at a time. Basically, you just want to avoid getting to that point of no return. That doesn’t mean keeping things perfect at all times – it’s a middle ground. If I showed you a photo of my living space right now, you would not call it tidy. But there’s almost nothing on the floor besides my shoes, all my clothes are hanging up or in a laundry bin, and most of my desk surface is clear. Never mind that I have shelves all around piled high with overflowing stuff, it’s off the floor and off my desk and other surfaces and that’s what counts.

It’s just so nice to not have piles of stuff all over the place. No more digging around looking for things, and no more pushing things aside in order to put something down. It sometimes feels like wasted space, but it’s very pleasant to have a lot of empty floor space to walk around in, and empty space on your surfaces without things getting in the way (that goes for bathroom and kitchen counters and your desk especially, but every surface is a good candidate for keeping generally clear).

As for making your bed, well… I think it helps some people to get into the tidiness mindset. I don’t need that and I don’t bother. I also don’t typically sleep with top sheets or even a blanket though.