Clean House Equals Money in the Bank??

The other day, I was over at the home of one of my "cleanie" friends and it's really got me thinking. This lady had a gorgeous house that was beautiful and apparently effortlessly clean. I was in several different rooms and all of them were gorgeously decorated and looking wonderful even though she works and wasn't expecting visitors.

I used to feel really bad about myself when I would go into homes like this. Now I try to use people like this as an example and a way to get ideas. Obviously, I'll never manage to keep my home exactly like this because she has that "born organized" gene and I don't, but I think it's an opportunity to learn. The interesting thing is that people like this probably don't spend HALF the time cleaning that we do. Because they've got those naturally neat habits, they just sort of pick things up all the time as they are going about their day, so they never have a big mess to deal with like I do. And apparently this has rubbed off on her husband and children, which is wonderful. I've seen both her kids rooms and they are just as nice as the rest of the house.

I have several friends like this and there's one thing I've noticed. They all seem to be in the category, I would term as "well-to-do" or some of them are even quite wealthy. They certainly have beautiful homes in nice neighborhoods that are full of beautiful furniture and decor. This leads me to kind of a chicken or egg question. Are they doing well because they have neat habits, or do they have neat habits because they are well to do?

Personally, I kind of think it is the first one. I think they are doing well because of the neat habits they have developed. The good habits that make for a nice house are the same habits that make for a good worker and a good parent. What employer doesn't want an employee who is organized, meticulous, and self-disciplined? And these same skills come in very handy as a parent. I know that my kids struggle a lot in school, not because they aren't really, really smart, but because I don't do well in helping them keep organized.

Here's an interesting thought. What if we were to take like three months and really focus on building our routines and getting our house into this kind of shape? I'll bet that then we would have the confidence and the skills to go out and get a better job and do a much better job with managing our money. We'd probably be much better parents too.

I've heard of this before. Flylady has said many times that messy houses are often tied with other problems, such as weight issues, money problems, marital problems and low-self esteem. But it's kind of like a spider web. When you tighten up one thread in the web, the other ones just automatically tighten up as well. And what a great goal. Wouldn't it be just wonderful if we could all have a clean house, lots of money, great kids, AND a skinny body - whoohoo!