I haven’t been making my bed.

This is the habit I’ve had since day one of this process. I read in How Not to be a Messy (one of the millions of books I’ve read about changing my slobbish ways) that if you don’t make your bed, you’re not actually serious about changing. If you keep up with all of the “why make it when I’m just going to get right back in and mess it up” excuses, you really don’t get it.

I think she was definitely right. There is something about having a made bed. It looks pretty and it feels nice when you get in at night.

And besides, it’s one of those things “normal” people think is a given.

There really is something about automatically making your bed as soon as you get up. It starts your day in a “I’m not a total slob” mode. It’s a lot more natural to go straight to the kitchen to empty the dishwasher after making your bed than it is after dragging yourself in there with your eyes still closed and a pillowcase stuck on the bottom of your foot.

But while good habits are hard to form, they are ever-so-easy to break. I thought it had become automatic to make my bed, but evidently it hadn’t. As the Christmas vacation loosi–goosiness went on and the house became more and more chaotic, I started to head for the coffee pot without ever thinking about comforters or pretty pillows. I was losing my focus.

So today is still vacation, but a little more normal than last week. I got up and made my bed. I emptied the dishwasher and cleaned the kitchen until it was actually pretty instead of just not-disgusting.

I did quite a few other cleaning tasks, and my house looks much better. I’m definitely not up to where I should be with the daily tasks, but I’m getting there.