On clean houses...

As a grown up I realize that through the course of life I have learned many valuable lessons. some of them were taught to me by my mom and dad. Some of them I learned in school and through experience. Many of them were taught to me by my aunts. Now, I am an aunt and my oldest niece recently started kindergarten. I know that they say everything you need to know you learn in kindergarten. I disagree. I believe that there are some things that one cannot learn in a classroom. These are lessons that can only be learned by living. So, here it is. A year's worth of tiny words of wisdom for all the nieces and nephews out there, or really for anyone who will listen. You may not agree with all of them and they may not work for everybody, but each is a rule that I either try to live by or wish I did.

# 43 A clean house makes for a better working environment

I recently had the opportunity to attend a workshop taught by Broadway's own Alice Ripley. Among her many talents, she is also an excellent speaker. One of the things that she said that stuck with me was this: "A clean house makes for a better working environment. You wake up in the morning and clean your stove. Then the next day you do something else that really needs to get done. Then eventually, you wake up and there is nothing left to clean so you work."
She was so right. I find it extremely hard to work at home. I want to check my email, or see what's on TV, or call my mom, and them after I have done all of the fun distractions, then I start cleaning just so I don't actually have to do what it is that I am supposed to do, even though it is for more enjoyable than cleaning. Now, in trying to be just a little more like Alice Ripley, if I have writer's block or can't seem to focus, I will clean something while I try to figure it out. I clean the stove with a notepad next to me. I put my laundry away in a creative fashion, just trying to find a new character or quirk. Whenever I feel the pangs of distraction coming on, I clean something, anything, and eventually the kinks work themselves out. It isn't rocket science, nor even fool proof, but it works for me and Alice Ripley.
When you wake up in the morning  and start cleaning, it will open up new mental channels that you didn't even know were there.
Recommended Read: The Clean House by Sarah Rhul
Recommended Listen: Next to Normal Soundtrack