12 February 2009

Order vs Disorder

Do you ever get sick and tired of cleaning up the house?  After all it will only get messy in minutes or hours anyway.
Well, a new study reported in The Economist shows that disorder leads to more disorder and crime.
AHI reports on the story and it is fascinating.
When the researchers had graffiti on the nearby wall, petty crime and littering increased dramatically.  I suspect this study can also be applied to homeschooling.  Although you can be too over the top in having a spotless home, an organised home is much more efficient for work, study and play.  At last you can find your things easier!

6 comments:

Rick said...

As the saying goes, "Keep order & order will keep you."

Contessa Kris said...

Crud. I knew you were going to say we should be keeping it all clean. I was hoping for a 'studies show that keeping your house organized in no way affected children's future.' ha It's always an uphill battle. Especially with all the school stuff. I look forward to summers when I can reorganize all the books we use during the year and weed out what we don't.

DavidofOz said...

Actually I was referring to order, rather than just cleanliness. Order is more aligned to having everything in it's place and a place for everything. Keeping things clean is good as it relates to order, but not so much keeping things spotless and avoiding the low level of disorder that a life filled with activity and children inevitably brings.
As usual, it is all about balance.

karisma said...

And then there is the fact that cleaning the house gives the children a new canvas "to paint" on!

Rachel May said...

I've heard this referred to as the broken window effect. Maybe in Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell?

Bretta said...

Hey! We miss you guys! How's it going??

:o)