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Chapter 48

PICKING UP AFTER YOURSELF

You may think that, once you’re an adult, you won’t have to clean up after yourself. You may assume that nobody will care if you throw your socks on the floor, or that it will be all right for you to leave your dirty dishes in the sink for as long as you like, or that it will be Okay if you don’t clean up until somebody writes, “Clean me,” in the dust on the coffee table.

Once you are out on your own, you will get to choose how often you straighten up and how often you clean the place where you live. That may sound like fun right now—but it won’t be fun when your apartment starts to smell and your landlord threatens to kick you out. And it will be even less fun when your friends stop coming to your house because they’re tired of tripping over your dirty clothes.

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Right now, your parents probably expect you to do your part in keeping your house or apartment clean. And they are right. If you get used to being messy and tossing leftover food under your bed, you will have a much harder time breaking that habit when you get out on your own.

YOU DO

Hang up your wet towels after you’ve finished your shower.

YOU DON’T

Throw them on the bathroom floor.

Why

After a while, wet towels begin to smell. If you let them sit around long enough, unhealthy stuff will start growing in them and they will turn green.

YOU DO

Put your dirty dishes in the sink after you’ve finished eating. Better yet, you wash them, or rinse them and put them in the dishwasher.

YOU DON’T

Just leave a dirty plate or a half-eaten sandwich sitting around, even in the kitchen.

Why

Your mom and dad aren’t your servants. Maybe one day you will be able to pay somebody to clean up after you. But until that day comes around, it’s your responsibility to do your part to help keep your house clean.

A gentleman does not leave his shoes and jacket lying around in the place where he dropped them when he took them off. He knows that his shoes and his coat have a place and he puts them there, without having to be told to do so.

A gentleman cleans up his room without waiting for somebody to tell him to do so. He recognizes when things are getting out of hand and does his part on his own.

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A gentleman knows that old food smells bad and can attract bugs or rodents. He disposes of uneaten food by dropping it in the garbage can or putting it down the disposal.

When the garbage can is getting full, a gentleman takes out the trash, without having to be asked to do so.