Why Being A Clean & Organized Person Helps Your Ego

For those who know me personally, I'm a neat freak. And who better to know it best than the person that made me this way: my mom. My father will testify that when I was younger, I would always get mad at him when he took off his suit and tie and put it over the door, or took off his shoes and not put them back where they belonged. My mom will testify that NO ONE is allowed in my room when I'm gone, and when I'm away at college, I call to check up on how my room is looking. Yes people, it's a bit much. I'm sure I could pass for having OCD.

Though I may take it a bit far by always having a clean place, whether it being my apartment I habitat in for the duration of college or my own personal room back home in Boston, it helps me focus on other important things more acutely. For instance, school is very important to me. It puts me at ease knowing that my habitat is clean. I am able to focus on my work with a happy heart and clear mind. Work is also important for me. I work harder and more diligently knowing that I'm going back home to a clean place.

It may sound weird but I delight in cleaning. I find much more comfort waking up before everybody else in the house to clean. It's a trait brought down from my mother. On the weekends when she doesn't work, the house is clean and breakfast AND dinner is cooked by the time all of us wake up. I actually think it's a West-Indian thing based on testimonies from peers. Nevertheless, I prefer this way. For some reason, it always gives me life knowing that my room/apartment is clean, my laundry, my errands, are all finished by noon. It gives me the rest of the day to go the gym (see Inside Health: Tips On Taking Better Care Of Yourself for my obsession with the steam room/sauna), enjoy a day of shopping with mommy, or a lovely night out dining with friends. Whatever may be the case, I have the rest of the day to do what I want, and most importantly a clean place to come back and rest my head at night.

Organization is also key. You could also call me OCD with this one. When you look into my bag, it's organized. When you open my Mac, you see organized documents with to-do's I have ranging up to 2013. When you walk into my room, you see printed papers posted on my wall and things I'm determined to do by the end of whatever sector I may be in at the time (fall semester, spring semester, or summer), right now I'm in summer. The majority of the goals I write down for each sector are always executed, which ever ones I don't get to gets overlapped to the next sector. I wrote a post over a year ago called Inside Life: Finding Something To Do With Your Life. It's funny because the pictures and writing you see in that post are things I still do to this very day. That goes to show how much those tactics work. I suggest you to check that post out for advice. Albeit, organization is important. Whether it's how your shoes are lined up in your closet, a school folder organized with graded work on one side and ungraded work on the other, or having a manicured to-do list -- organization causes much less of a headache. 

Now this is just my crazy self giving advice. Being a clean, organized person is beneficial in many ways. One, I'm doing this for one and one person only, me. It benefits my every day work performance in school, football, work, or whatever commitments I take up. Now as a secondary effect, it also benefits those around me. My mother doesn't complain to having such a clean daughter, my brother surely doesn't when he has friends come over. My roommates back at college never have a complaint about me, in fact I think I may have an effect on them keeping up with their place also. And I sure as hell know my future husband will not be complaining. Learning to be clean in one place aids you in learning how to be clean in other places of your life, the domino effect. Of course, no one is perfect. There are days when I come home tired, create a mess and don't get back to it until weeks later. Sometimes you just don't have the time. There are life crisis' that I've gone through where I fell off my boat months at a time. One thing I learned through these hardships is that mustering up the energy to start cleaning your space after such a crisis, gives you hope, reminds you of who you truly are, and makes you feel much better. Not to mention, being this type of person gives me the ego and confidence the fellas can sniff from a mile away. ;)

More posts on 'Inside Health':

Inside Health: My Tips On Dental Care

Inside Health: I Cut My Hair!

Inside Health: Tips On Taking Better Care Of Yourself