Why I make my bed

I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently about motivation and why people are motivated by different things. It really got me thinking about why I do the things that I do.

It is no secret that I am motivated by setting goals and making lists. I am much more likely to do something if it is written out in front of me. Accountability is also important to me, but I don't need it for everything. For financial goals I like to have an accountability partner (thanks Jack's mom!) to keep me on track. But for cleaning, I am fine being accountable to myself.

It seems that I am in the minority for my love of having a clean and tidy house. It is not difficult for me to keep up my motivation for this.

My friend asked me why I make my bed every day. I took a little while to think about this and the best answer I could come up with is that it makes me happy and starts my day off right. Yes, I could absolutely survive without making my bed every morning. However, I find that when I start my day with an act of organization such as making my bed, I am committing to continue my day in an organized and purposeful way.

You may remember what happens when I don't follow my schedule. It is bad. Could I get through life with a messy house and disorganized life? Absolutely. But I would probably end up wasting money, wasting time, and in general not having as much fun.

To some it may seem silly that the simple act of making my bed can make all the difference in how my day goes, but for me it makes perfect sense. Maybe I'm in the minority on this one but it works for me and that's all that matters!

Declutter motivation

I stumbled upon this quote recently by William Morris:

"If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

First off I have no idea who William Morris is and I believe that in order to fully appreciate a quote you need to understand a little bit about the person who spoke it.

Best I can tell, William Morris was an artist and a poet in the 1800's. He is credited with being a central figure in the Arts and Crafts movement which advocated the use of traditional craftsmanship. Pretty interesting stuff.

Another quote: "The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life."

Both these quotes got me thinking about the decluttering I have been doing and what else I could be doing to live a life that is both minimal and enjoyable. Why would I keep something in my house that is neither useful nor beautiful? What purpose are these items serving other than to create clutter and give me something else to clean. As we work on decluttering our lives I think it is important to look at every item in our homes and ask ourselves what purpose the item is serving.

Is it useful?
Is it useful to me right now or in the near future?
Is it beautiful?
Do I enjoy having it in my home?

I aim to have pretty much everything in my home to be useful (currently or in the near future) or beautiful.

His second quote is also interesting. "The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life."

This is so true! When I lose sight of the details of daily life my schedule gets messed up, I become more disorganized, I don't eat as healthfully as I would like, I waste more time, and in general I don't enjoy life as much as I do when I am on top of everything.

While it is difficult to manage sometimes, I think it is important that we all remember how important all the small details are in maintaining a healthy and happy home.

So there is some food for thought on this Friday evening!