MDBCs 10 May 2024

May 10 is Clean Your Room Day - an unofficial holiday that is bound to be any parent's or roommate's favorite holiday and perhaps every child's, teenager's and lazy person's nightmare.

Trash the Trash

Also sometimes called the National Clean Up Your Room Day, this holiday of unknown origins aims at keeping the dust bunnies where they belong - the trash. The holiday promotes clean rooms and homes and encourages people to collect their cleaning supplies, don their cleaning clothes and gloves, and spend the day spring cleaning.

Spring Cleaning

Spring cleaning is a practice in many cultures where people clean their homes thoroughly once a year on the first warm day of spring. It is thought that this practice dates back to the days when people lit fires to keep warm during cold winter months. The first warm day of spring allowed people to open their windows and doors and to get rid of all the soot and ash that collected over the winter.

Even though Clean Your Room Day falls towards the end of the Spring season in the Northern Hemisphere, and Fall (Autumn) in the Southern Hemisphere, it is a good day as any to get cracking on the dusting, scrubbing, and organizing. And who knows, you may just find that thing you were looking for forever hiding in some dusty corner of your room.

How to Celebrate?

Clean up your room and resolve to keep it clean every day.
Give away or throw any unwanted items or pieces of clothing that you no longer use.
If you have children, teach them about the virtues of a clean room. Help them organize their toys and books and reward them for keeping their room clean.
Get the family together and make cleaning a fun chore. Put on some fun music and dance while you clean. Give out rewards for milestones crossed - fastest time taken to clean, best organizer, and room with the least amount of dust.

Did You Know…

...that many cultures have a day assigned to cleaning during a year? In Iran, people clean their houses in preparation for the Persian New Year called Norooz, while in India people clean up their homes before the festivals of lights, Diwali.

***

I returned home from my ninth business trip of the year with a severe bout of jet lag–induced foot-in-mouth disease. As we prepared to go to sleep that night, I wrapped my arms around my better half, gave her a kiss, and announced,

"It's good to be in my own bed, with my own wife!"

***

Having grown up in a small Alabama town, my friend James couldn't wait to tell us all about life in California, where he was stationed.

"The malls are massive, and the restaurants are great," he said. Then he grinned. "I even went to a topless bar."

"Really?" said his mother, surprised.

"What do they do if it starts to rain?"

***

Recently I sat in a restaurant watching two older men go at it. It quickly grew heated as one of them declared,

"I'm so mad, I'm taking you off my pallbearer list!"

***

Scene: A conversation between two of my friends.

Friend #1: Are you visiting us tomorrow? Do you need directions?

Friend #2: I'm all set. I have the address, a GPS, and a GPS override.

Friend #1: What's a GPS override?

Friend #2: My wife.