Tuesday, May 17, 2011

You gathered around, once upon a time, and beheld my greater theorems on housekeeping, the highlights of which illuminated the destructive nature of cleaning and the payoff of a good scrubbing delayed. I still attest to the validity of these claims, make no mistake, but I’d like to add to my body of work–a new reason, specifically, for tidying up your living space. It’s the idea of cleaning for the sake of other people.

This might not seem earthshaking to you, but for me, it’s revolutionary, much in the same way penicillin–which, frankly, was discovered because somebody didn’t bother to clean–changed the world. At a bare minimum, you keep your living arrangements tidy to maintain quality of life. I’ve been cultivating an appreciation for sociability recently, and part and parcel with this is a desire to rework my townhouse so I can entertain at a moment’s notice.

It’s a tall order, though, because I’m missing key components such as a television, standing supply of alcohol, and a speaker system (or “music holes,” as we country folk call them). And then, more importantly, there’s the question of corralling warm bodies into this place. Sure enough, after my three-, four-week people bender, I need to recharge. There just comes a point when I don’t want to shake hands or give a shit about opinions. But I’ll be back on the horse in another week or so, and all my efforts thus far haven’t gone to waste. My baseline for interaction has increased. I’ve got to stay the course, heed the mandate to expand beyond what I am, constantly.