The Importance of Being Neat (or not)

I recently read an article in the New York Times about a woman who inherited her mother’s germaphobia. The pandemic amplified her phobia, and she became obsessed with the variety of disinfectants available and how to use and not use them.

Bleach shouldn’t be mixed with anything except water. This lesson I learned the hard way when I tried to clean an ancient and yellowed bathtub years ago. I wanted it clean, so I mixed bleach, ammonia, and a little TSP in a bucket. I nearly asphyxiated myself.

The woman described in the article confessed that her newfound germaphobia had not translated into keeping things tidy. I, on the other hand, have the opposite standard. I want things neat, tidy, and organized. A few hidden dust bunnies don’t bother me until I see them. I’m an “out of sight, out of mind” person. Please, don’t peak into my closets or under the bed.

I usually organize my desk before I start work. I’ve heard a clean desk helps clear your mind, so I try to keep mine neat. When papers accumulate that I don’t need at that moment, I throw them on the bed behind me. If I don’t see them, they can’t distract me.

Unless I get up to find something, I get distracted, stop what I’m doing, and start rummaging through the papers covering the bed, thinking it’s an excellent time to organize. As one of my tennis coaches noted about my tennis game: “Easily distracted, loses focus.” He hit the nail on the head.

This disorganized, distracted system also applies to my garden. I plant seeds and remind myself to write down what I planted and where. But I get distracted, and I don’t. I planted about six tomato plants and put the empty labeled containers beside them. Then came the rain, and now it’s anyone’s guess which tomato is planted where.

As I plan to weed a particular garden area, I may get distracted by a neighbor, client phone call, or Mugsy demanding a walk. I may even notice weeds somewhere else and start working on them, leaving the original area half done.

Now and then, I get ambitious and start a massive project to organize. Everything gets put away and out of sight, which creates a different problem. I can’t find things when I need them. The other day, I spent two hours looking for my new stapler when I finally remembered that I had made a new space in the bedroom for office supplies—organized but hidden.

Last year, Daniel constructed a box with a sliding cover to house small containers for our seed collection. First, I don’t know where that box is, and second, I have purchased more seeds dumped in a bucket in the shed, or a bowl in the living room, or perhaps, just loose in a bucket with my gardening tools. Seed storage is on the ever-growing project list. Winter will come long before I organize a seed catalog.

Today we had a few neighbors drop by bearing birthday gifts and wishes for Daniel. I felt almost embarrassed by our messy house when hail started falling; I figure if Mother Nature can’t keep her seasons straight, my little mess is minor in comparison.