We like clean!

I entered a subway car in NYC several months ago and it was spotless. Clean as a whistle, as they say, and ready for passengers.

It was the first stop the subway would make on its long journey south through the Bronx to the southern tip of Manhattan. Along the route, with passengers coming and going, the subway cars likely would become messier. Maybe, much messier. But, it still felt wonderful to enter that car and ride in it for a while.

Which got me thinking about how it's pretty much a universal sentiment that we appreciate things more when they're clean.

There's something deeply satisfying about a clean, decluttered desk, a freshly-washed car, or a well-vacuumed and dusted home, not to mention clean clothes spilling out from the dryer.

Pig-Pen, the beloved character in Peanuts who was always surrounded by a cloud of dust and dirt, would be a notable exception.

Of course, there is the saying that "a clean house is a sign of a wasted life." Some reading this may relate to this sentiment more. You can let us know!

In the meantime, it might be worth observing how much you viscerally react to things when they're clean. For example, do you feel more energized when walking into a crisp marble lobby of a big office building, accented with beautiful flowers?  Does energy ebb when you see, once again, that coffee-stained stack of papers in your office?

If worth a discussion, connect with me on LinkedIn or at [email protected]