A little under two months ago my flatmate suddenly decided to move out, leaving me the sole master of the house. I rejoiced! No more would I have to rinse beer cans and liqueur bottles after her late nights or wipe crumbs from bread I had not eaten. No more would I find dirty plates two weeks old in the washing machine, or have to endure fallen hairs sticking to my feet from the bathroom floor. As an extra bonus there would be no more endless arguments over cleaning chores either. My euphoria lasted for about a week, until slowly I found my apartment deteriorating into chaos. Unread papers pile up on the kitchen table, the vacuum seems to have disappeared into the cleaning closet and what used to be a sofa is now simply a pile of used and unused clothes. The closer I get to exams and the deadline for my BA thesis, the worse my apartment gets. As there is no one who my dirty dishes could bother anymore though, why should I bother to clean up? So instead of stressing over how I should get my act together and clean my apartment, I decided to get comfortable and take some inspiration from Buzzfeed: I give you my ”Top ten list”!
Ten good reasons why cleanliness is simply over-rated
1 Well, let’s face it, a little mess is only comfortable. No one really lives in a house ripped from the page of an interior decoration magazine. The pile of books on the table simply shows that this is a home not a house. And that mountain of clothes on the couch simply shows that your place REALLY is not a picture from a magazine.
2 Another obvious bonus is the energy you save by not wasting it on keeping your apartment looking fresh. All that scrubbing, dusting, picking up and washing, why not simply leave it and do it all at the same time, when you really do have the energy to clean all 50m2 from bottom to top. If you ever find the floor under the mess of things on top that is...
3 Not only do you save energy, but time as well!! That time, which you should put into cleaning is obviously more needed elsewhere. And even if you end up putting in hours and hours searching for things you can’t find anymore, I assure you that keeping things in order would still require more time and energy than not caring.
4 People of course say you can't find anything if you don’t keep things where they belong. NOOOT true! I mean you always have a vague feeling about what each pile of stuff holds in it and if you started cleaning and moving things about, how could you ever find what you need?
5 Storage space is no problem, as you have no need for closets, drawers, boxes, shelves or the like! You may have to stop buying new things when you run out of floor space, though.
6 You know that annoying feeling when you’re really tired, but your friends just won’t leave you alone? I can guarantee that when surprise visitors can’t find places to sit, as you occupy the only available seat in the house and have trouble just finding a path into the house, the bother of having people over will quickly diminish. Who likes company anyways?
7 When you decide you don’t need to keep your place clean, you also don't have to argue over who does the dishes and who vacuums. A good alternative for washing your clothes or dishes is buying new ones, until you feel you have the energy to wash the exploding clothes basket or empty the overflowing kitchen counters.
8 As your wardrobe empties of clean clothes to wear, you make all kinds of new discoveries in the back of the closet! I would never have guessed that I still fit into the t-shirts I wore in 6th grade! As an added bonus your clothes won’t wear out in the wash, when you only wash them a few times a year.
9 Allergies are often treated with immunotherapy, but this can cost quite a bit of money. When you let the dust settle thickly on your furniture, before wiping it clean, you treat yourself to a more student budget friendly allergen immunotherapy.
10 As a student I don't have money to upkeep any real pets, so I was super excited to noticed that I now have new friends in the corners: dustbunnies! My new pets don’t need any food, don’t need to be taken out and never bark when they aren’t suppose to. They are also very fuzzy and like to move about the house. On the downside, they aren’t much company either. But then again, who need friends, clean clothes, floor space, sitting places or dishes anyway?
