Years ago, at a staff meeting we were discussing how to improve employee’s housekeeping habits. A manufacturing unit manager said, “Take a walk in our parking lot and peer into people’s cars. It’s not surprising our employees are housekeeping challenged at work, they treat their own cars as garbage cans.”
I walked the parking lot and was amazed… he was right… many of the cars had trash everywhere. Soda cans, fast food cups, wrappers, magazines,newspaper, articles of clothing, towels… trash cans on wheels.
Then I looked at my car. Uh oh, a newspaper, a few wrappers, a fast food cup, a sweat shirt. And it could have been worse, I had cleaned my car the week before. His comment shamed me into always keeping my car trash free. Ever since, for all these years, nothing was left in my car. So much nicer not driving with trash (thank you, Dan Morton).
Now if only he would have seen a few of my drawers at home. I needed some shaming there. I cleaned out a few yesterday. Almost everything went into the trash. A trash bag full. Only two small items to donate.
Year after year, it was always easier to toss things into drawers… maybe some day I will need it? We should have been brutal and disciplined in tossing the extras, the directions no one reads, old cell phones, the magazine saved to maybe one day reference.
And then there is the walk-in closet full of clothes not worn in years….