The Broken Window

*** THE PICTURE SHOULD BE ON NOW, I HAVE PUT IT IN TWICE AND THEN THE NEXT DAY IT IS GONE. LET ME KNOW.***



I read this book a few months back and really enjoyed it. In one particular chapter, the author explained a theory called "The Broken Window Theory".

"...originally identified by New York City Police Department. This theory claims that any sign of social of physical neglect or breakdown in a neighborhood invites further neglect or breakdown because it indicated that no one cares, that no one is in charge. Therefore the first broken window or street sign. . . can lead to deterioration if not attended to promptly."

So, the example the author uses is a dining room table. It goes for awhile clean and fine and then in a hurry someone sets their keys down along with their purse. Then the next person sets their stack of papers down and by the end of the day the poor dining room table has become the family "catch-all."

I have a confession to make-- we have a "broken window" in our house.
Here it is:
*This is embarrassing, please don't tell anybody our dirty little secret.

This lovely little counter is in our kitchen, between the pantry and the frig. Here are some of the items one might find hiding on said counter: keys, bills, primary stuff, recent Old Navy purchases, cell phones (and lots of chargers), camera, family scripture chart, kids homework, receipts, etc. The list goes on and on. In my defense, this is the only area of our house that looks like this. Now, I hate clutter, I really do. So this counter is a constant struggle of mine. I clean it off regularly, distributing papers to file cabinets, putting away chargers, organizing receipts, etc. But for some reason, by the end of the day it's back to being "broken." It's so frustrating! I'm not implying that I'm blameless in this whole process, in fact, I'm just as guilty as the next guy (um, Aaron) or kid. We all do it- but how do I fix my "broken window?"

I have come up with one solution: it's going to take daily intervention. I know that sounds dramatic (and it kind of is.) I am going to try something new-- each evening after picking up and straightening up around the house, I will spend a couple minutes organizing this counter. I will set my kitchen timer for 3 minutes and put away all the things I can in that amount of time. Will it work? Seriously, no idea- but I'll give it a try and I'll let you know! Wish me luck!

Now off to the General Relief Society Dinner and Broadcast. I am so looking forward to this. I feel like it's very rare that I get to go sit and listen to a church meeting- let alone sit with my girlfriends and enjoy a nice dinner. It's going to be a good night, I can tell.