“There seems to be a link between creativity and untidiness. Your creativity is your no.1 survival weapon. Let go of the routine stuff, and get on with solving problems like ‘how can I get to the stage where I never have to worry about dishes again?’ Recognise that you won’t have time to work on the problem of how to reduce housework if you’re too busy dusting the attic.”
– Tom Robinson
From the archives: The original post was posted on 11th December 2002
Random thoughts on housework:-
Use a tumble drier for drying clothes, one of the new condenser ones. (You empty out the water container when it’s full). Place it next to the washing machine to save transit time. you’ll never again have to worry about clothes pegs or whether it’s about to rain. Also, no more extra ultraviolet damage to fabrics from being in the sun, so your t-shirts will last longer. Yes, it’ll cost you a few extra $$$ in electricity, but the opportunity and stress costs of laundry are far higher IMO.
Don’t bother ironing clothes. I used to iron all my shirts and chinos with military precision. Total waste of time. the clothing pretty much looks the same after you’ve been wearing it for half an hour due to the body’s heat and moisture effects.
There is no moral value in having a tidy home. The moral hangover we have comes partly from the Victorians who thought that dirt bred germs. We now know that most infectious diseases come from breathing in droplets in air recently exhaled by an ill person, or from exchanging fluids (yuk).
The other component of pride in housework is more subtle. I think it’s similar to the way that animals like big cats in jungles keep their fur as clean and straight as possible. It attracts mates aesthetically and by showing that you are parasite-free. The ‘health’ signal also deters predators who might close in on a weak animal. Perhaps humans are extending this psychology from their appearance to the (more arbitrary) distribution and cleanliness of personal objects around the house. You still see older women in terraced houses in England scrubbing their concrete front door step every morning. It’s part of their civic pride, and they’re worried about what the neighbours might think if they don’t do it. Buts it’s all nonsense. The world has moved on. Your neighbours don’t care, they’re too busy arguing over the cable tv or moving to Chicago.
Ways of combating these ideas might be to (a) recognise they’re silly because (for example) your survival, salary or spouse aren’t really in the balance here (b) transfer all that ‘keeping up appearances’ pride into a more legitimate channel. e.g. you might take extreme pride in your personal appearance, fitness level or clothing style (which might be more relevant to reducing stress or getting that promotion) or, perhaps more fundamentally, you might take moral pride in the pursuit of sound ideas or in your choice of friends or in dealing fairly with others. i.e. taking pride in stuff that actually helps you with your social and economic goals. This sounds vague I know, but it helps me somewhat.
There seems to be a link between creativity and untidiness. Your creativity is your no.1 survival weapon. Let go of the routine stuff, and get on with solving problems like ‘how can I get to the stage where I never have to worry about dishes again?’ Recognise that you won’t have time to work on the problem of how to reduce housework if you’re too busy dusting the attic.
(I speak as a person who is still unreasonably tidy. I also used to have a severe stationery fetish, and still cover books occasionally).
See also:
- Creativity and untidiness
- Natural consequences and “enabling”
- Will a child not made to do chores ever develop a work ethic? And if not, how will they ever have a good life?
Tom Robinson, 2002, ‘Thoughts on the housework problem’, https://takingchildrenseriously.com/thoughts-on-the-housework-problem