HANNAH BAGNALL

Drawers.

There are lots of ways that drawers can be in a mess. People often think that mess is just mess but like I said there are different ways that a thing can be in a mess. When people talk about a thing being in a mess they are really thinking of general disarray and really have no clear idea in their minds of exactly how the thing is in a mess.

There are obvious kinds of mess. Most people will recognise that unfolded clothes make a drawer a mess. They will accept that empty food wrappers or crumpled pieces of paper create a mess. If a drawer’s contents will not allow the drawer to be closed, most people would agree, that drawer is in a mess.

Most people will think that they know how to remedy these kinds of mess in their drawers. They will be satisfied with their efforts if their drawers are filled with folded clothes, or if they are free from what should rightly belong in the bin, or if their drawers can easily be closed. Although these people have cleared up some kinds of mess, unfortunately, they have not cleared up all kinds of mess.

There is one kind of mess that most people do not understand. This is unfortunate because it is the most important thing to understand about things being in a mess. They may think to themselves that something is amiss but they will not be able to discover exactly what. A clear system of categorisation is needed. Folded garments are necessary to prevent a mess but really they are the very beginning and not the end.

There are broad categories of garment that might go in a drawer: tops, bottoms, underwear. These can be further broken down into daywear and nightwear then broken down further into sleeve-length, neck shape, leg-length, tight-fitting or loose-fitting, patterned or plain, colours, type of fabric, old or new, casual or formal. Each category should have its own folded pile. You must be careful not to cross-contaminate between categories. That will create a mess. If you find that you have an item of clothing that does not belong to one distinct category but could belong to a number of categories all at once, then you must look again at your categories because there must be a flaw in your system. It is important to be distinct with your categories but not too specific. There is a risk of creating a category for each individual item of clothing if you are not sensible. Your categories should be neither too broad nor too narrow. If no flaw can be found in your categorisation, it might be that you need to create a new category. If, however, this one item of clothing is the only member of the new category, it will be better to dispose of the item of clothing altogether. You might be tempted to create a category that you will label miscellaneous.  Do not. With a category labelled miscellaneous there can only be a mess.  Really this is only the start but I think from my example you will see how to categorise clearly and simply.

The same rules apply for other types of contents in drawers. Kitchen utensils, for example, must be divided into categories: slicing, mixing, baking, roasting, frying, etc. Then, handle shape and colour, frequency of use, etc. Again, if you find that one item does not fit easily into any one category, it is better to dispose of it altogether.

Windows.

Most people do not think of windows as being parts of a house that can be a mess. You will see that as soon as you really come to think of windows you can see that it is obvious that windows can be a mess.

Carpets.

People tend to imagine that a carpet that is free of stains and dirt is a carpet that is not in a mess. This is a common conception and one which is easily forgiven. Rarely are people shown the many ways that a carpet can be made a mess.

One thing that can often be seen in the pile of a carpet is footprints. You may have gone to the trouble of hoovering your carpet only then to walk upon it afterwards. It should be obvious where you have made your mistake.

This brings me to another error that can commonly be seen and that is when the strokes of the hoover which should be administered in such a way as to create a clear pattern in the pile of the carpet are in fact administered haphazardly. This, it is clear, will only leave a mess where you have intended for there to be order.

Bed Linen.

Be careful not to sit on your bed once it is made until you go to bed that evening. If you are living your life tidily then you will find that sitting on your bed between sleeping times should not be necessary.