Cleanliness, tidiness and idleness

I don't like being idle; I try not to waste time. Reading, listening, learning, walking, thinking, exercising – growing spiritually. This is what I should be doing. Bad habits – if anything, I can catch myself doom-scrolling down Twitter or Facebook for far too long rather than Getting On With It, which is what I should be doing (and indeed we all should be doing). 

But how, in the grand scheme of things, would I assess the importance of cleanliness and tidiness? In general, I place less store on this than most folk (and men are generally less fastidious than women). Much as I appreciate a clean and tidy house - is it worth getting all obsessive about it? 

Since getting walloped by Covid in mid-December, I took a conscious decision to rest, to take it easy up to Christmas and the New Year. Indulge in a bit of laziness. Do little, recover. But on New Year's Day – I bounce back into action. Yesterday it rained persistently the entire day, so no walk; I did a deep clean of my bedroom and kitchen. Vacuuming, swabbing the floors, wiping windows, books off the bookshelves, dusting etc. And a full set of exercises to beat 1 January 2023 in every category. And to bed for 22:00.

I wake up this morning a little before 6am; I lie in bed in meditative contemplation, wishing good wishes upon the world. Finally, at around half past six I get up. Make my bed, and enter the kitchen to make coffee, after doing five pull-ups to the bar.

My gaze is met by a superbly clean and tidy kitchen! Wow! No dead flies on the windowsill! No muddy footprints in the floor! No pile of papers on the table! No sink-full of dirty dishes! No clutter – everything is spotless.

And how do I feel?

Elated!

So here's the answer to my rhetorical question - "what's the point of cleaning up when it's just going to get dirty again?" Do it to feel good, do it to get a dopamine rush. Wow! 

But without the reference point of a grubby house where I'd not lifted a finger in over two weeks – would I still have felt that same sense of elation? If cleanliness and tidiness were the default rather than a one-off phenomenon – would I even notice it? How often, then, should I clean the place?

The cottagecore aesthetic and lifestyle is one that eschews the suburban consumerist mindset, placing greater value on rough-edged rural authenticity than on the conventions of civility.

Personal hygiene is important when meeting people and mingling; a smart suit, shiny shoes… but shirts, I do not iron. If I'm on the działka and not intending to go out, I won't shower for the sake of showering. (Maybe in the sweaty dog-days of summer, but no great need in winter.) Finding that balance is all important. Setting the sliders – not too far over in terms of obsessive cleanliness, but neither letting go into indolent grubbiness either.

So - I shall maintain a tidy house, but the deep-clean will be carried out less frequently – at least so infrequently that when I do it, it's powerful enough to give me that dash of elation. Or before guests come to visit.

This time last year:
The Search for Perfection

This time two years ago:
Grabów, Krasnowola and Jeziorki Północne

This time six years ago:
1929-1939; 2008-2018?

This time eight years ago:
Track works between W-wa Okęcie and W-wa Dawidy

This time ten years ago:
The benefits of extending the human lifespan 

This time 13 years ago:
New Year's stocktaking

This time last 14 years ago:
A walk in the wild winter woods

This time 15 years ago:
Now that's what I call winter vol. 12

This time 16 years ago:
When the day starts getting longer