Saying Yes to Mess
One of my roomates (JL) sent me a link to a nytimes article called Saying Yes to Mess. The accompanying text..."thought of you...". ouch. My room is often apparently in a state of disarray. When I actually read the article, i really appreciated Jon's sending it to me and realized it wasn't meant as a shot at all. Here is a bit on the intro:
IT is a truism of American life that we’re too darn messy, or we think we are, and we feel really bad about it. Our desks and dining room tables are awash with paper; our closets are bursting with clothes and sports equipment and old files; our laundry areas boil; our basements and garages seethe. And so do our partners — or our parents, if we happen to be teenagers....Great stuff! It makes the case that messy desks are a sign of creative, high-achieving people. Clearly there is a degree of mess where it is bad because one loses things and a degree of neatness which is silly because of the time invested having a minute payoff. moreover, whichever pole one tends towards it is important to chill out about it, nervousness and anxiousness about these things doesn't help anyone. so, for the time being i'll err on the side of a messy room and a neater house and hope it works out.
But contrarian voices can be heard in the wilderness. An anti-anticlutter movement is afoot, one that says yes to mess and urges you to embrace your disorder. Studies are piling up that show that messy desks are the vivid signatures of people with creative, limber minds (who reap higher salaries than those with neat “office landscapes”) and that messy closet owners are probably better parents and nicer and cooler than their tidier counterparts. It’s a movement that confirms what you have known, deep down, all along: really neat people are not avatars of the good life; they are humorless and inflexible prigs, and have way too much time on their hands.
posted by ZT @ 12/21/2006
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Personally, when I last saw your room I didn't strike me as too messy, but I don't doubt your creativity or genius. The new movement intrigues me as well. It is validating. I find that during my most creative moments I am the messiest, and when my brain is fried after too much creative output or work, I clean. I stand with you. Oh, and I have also enjoyed being a reader of your blog. Chag Sameach!
It's almost impossible to keep up with the stuff that flows into our american households, much of it uninvited.
Here's a great way to cut off junkmail at the pass:
www.greendimes.com
They will contact all your lists, master lists, credit card offers, et all (you pick from a list) and in about 6-8 weeks most of it disappears. I think it is a brilliant concept. They are a for-profit, but will even plant a tree for you each month!
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