If there is one thing that I hate the very most, it is when people do not clean up after themselves. I have never really considered myself an extremely tidy person, but I noticed that when people leave out their messes for others to clean up, it literally makes me want to scream. It is so lazy to leave dirty dishes in the sink, when putting them in the dishwasher would literally take two more seconds out of the day. Leaving clothes on the floor or shoving them under the bed makes absolutely no sense to me when putting them into the appropriate drawer doesn’t take any longer than finding a place under the bed to shove them. I am glad that my roommate here at BYU is just as tidy as me, because if she wasn’t I would get along with her nearly as well.
Although I have always been a pretty tidy person, I never really realized it until I came to BYU, and most people around me are not tidy. It seems like in this day and age, students come to college, not knowing how to clean the bathroom, do their own dishes or laundry, or mop the floor because their mother did it all for them back home. If you ask me that is really bad parenting on the mother’s part, because doing everything for their own child isn’t going to teach the child how they can be independent and succeed on their own. It is really hard to tell a person to change their own behavior’s to match yours, because it usually comes out as being selfish and “nit-picky.” But I think that, sometimes, a polite conversation with somebody about their habits can most definitely be worth it in the end. I know that I am not perfect, so I hope that if I do anything that irritates others, they would tell just as readily as I would tell them.
Fortunately, learning to be neat and tidy is something that is fairly easy to learn. Even children who have been spoiled by their parents their entire lives can still learn how to clean their own bedroom, and wash their own dishes. As long as there is some motivation for learning how to stay tidy, it can be easily learned and engrained into a person’s own habits and lifestyle. It is just getting to that point that can sometimes be the problem.
I know exactly what you mean when you say people should be more tidy. Personally I can't function very well if I have a mess in my room when I need to study. I guess I just relate my studying to being clean and straight forward and if I have papers all over the place my mind cannot focus. It really isn't something you should be ashamed of, just don't let it pull you down, there are worse events that could happen.
ReplyDeleteThis definitely sounds like me! I used to hate when my mom would get after me for not cleaning up my dishes, but now I see how annoying it is. In my apartment it seems like its not just the dishes that are left out but it's also food! I am working at finding ways to give subtle hints to my roommates to clean up after themselves.
ReplyDeleteWell I happen to be one of those people that their mother did everything for them. But that was only when I was at home and knew that my mom would be helping me out. And I quite enjoyed it haha. But I am not the type of person that will sit back and wait for someone to clean up after me when it's not expected of them. In my apartment, me and my roommate keep our room fairly clean, clean enough for both of us to live in, and when we make dishes, we clean them up. And I cannot stand the fact that none of our other roommates clean up after themselves, there are always dirty dishes in the sink and I find it really annoying when I have to do them when I didn't make the mess. So I definitely know what you are saying.
ReplyDeleteI have definitely seen this happening since I have come to BYU. Unfortunately, I am probably more guilty of being on the side of people that doesn't clean up their messes when they should. However, I am working on trying to become a tidier person, because the apartment really does feel better when it is clean! And plus, who wants a slob for a roommate? I know I don't, so I guess I better not be one. Your post has inspired me to become a cleaner, even if it is solely for the sake and sanity of my roommates :).
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Audrey. I'm so grateful that my roommate and the other girls in my dorm are similarly tidy and neat. It's a relief to know that we won't have to stress when it comes to Cleaning Checks. Plus, I think cleanliness invites the Spirit and learning to clean up after oneself and others in an invaluable life skill. Also, I just want to say that your title definitely made me smile :)
ReplyDeleteAudrey, I think you have a pretty convincing argument that putting something in the dishwasher or back in a drawer really doesn't take much longer than leaving it somewhere else. I also think you raise a good point that these are skills that can be learned by anyone; you just have to get in the habit. One thing I would be careful about is accusing parents who do things for their children of bad parenting; this is a generalized statement that most of us agree with, but is in actually so different from person to person (i.e., each parent has a different way of parenting according to personalities of children and their needs, etc.). I also think you raise a good point about the responsibilities of living with others; it's not just you that suffers from a mess, but everyone. This is also good to think about with many of the things/bad habits we do that we think only affect us; when in reality, how can ANYTHING we do not affect anyone else? It's a good reminder to be aware of others.
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