Prime
Does it matter that one is neat and organised?
Min Atek
What you need to know:
As a neat freak, one of the things I struggle with and have had to train myself out of, is to come to terms with the fact that everyone is not cut out to be organised or neat.
Back in high school, I needed to help a friend. When I opened her locker, I found a dirty plate with leftover food that had probably been there for a few days. The plate was on the top shelf, which also had her vaseline and a few personal grooming items.
I was shocked. How was it even possible? As a neat freak, one of the things I struggle with and have had to train myself out of, is to come to terms with the fact that everyone is not cut out to be organised or neat.
I am learning to be less agitated that my children are not necessarily organised. There was a time I almost felt like I would run crazy from my expectations that their rooms were supposed to be a certain way.
I used to think everyone understood that it was essential to live in a clean, organised and neat space. I struggled to understand how someone would use a plate and cup and dump them in the kitchen sink with leftover rice and bones from their meal, without feeling the need to wash them first.
I would cringe every time I found the bathroom full of soapy water after someone took a shower and did not bother to clean it up. I was not only deeply stressing myself but everyone in my surroundings and most especially the children.
Over time, I am learning not to necessarily be agreeable with disorganised spaces and people, but to understand that it does not really bother everyone. That it is possible for someone to live in the messiest environment and be fine with it.
Although there is some improvement here and there, children still find me completely different from their own views about being neat and organised.
In fact, I once heard one child telling someone that I had an eye for dirt. That I am always noticing and seeing all the dirt, however insignificant it might be.
Does it matter that we maintain a clean and sanitised environment? What is the big deal with sleeping in a messy bed with dirty clothes thrown all over the room?
Why should children be encouraged to clean themselves and their surroundings? Why should they care about grooming and personal hygiene? Does it matter that when you appear in public, you are neat, even though your room looks like a pig’s play area?
As many as the colours of the rainbow, so is the diversity of individuals. I hold strong views on how tidiness, but I am learning to let people be. Perhaps what is disorganised in my eyes is organised at their level? Do my views make sense?
