Beyond Income: Hygiene, Habits, and Home Training

“Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which we must see the world-“ George Bernard Shaw.

For me, cleanliness goes beyond wearing good clothes, brushing twice a day or taking a bath every day. It’s also about being comfortable in your space. I take my personal hygiene seriously and I love it when I see people who also do the same. I formed this habit during my high school days. I attended a catholic boarding school. We had a very strict principal who often came unannounced for inspections. Whenever he was around, you dare not leave your bed unmade. Just seeing something as small as a piece of paper beside your bunk would get you in trouble. Our principal went as far as inspecting our clothes. So, yes, he made sure we took care of our bodies, belongings and environment. I used to think he was just being unnecessarily wicked. Yes, I tagged it “wickedness,” but with time, I realized he was doing it for our own good.

One thing I have realized about cleanliness is that your background plays an important role in shaping this habit in you. A child who grows up in an unclean environment would see nothing wrong in living in a dirty space. But when parents teach their children how to wash plates, clothes and keep their environment clean, it becomes a part of them as they grow. I have had ugly experiences with dirty people. During my Jupeb problem, the first roommate I ever had was dirty. He could go days wearing the same clothes. Sometimes, I would ask myself how he feels comfortable wearing the same clothes for days? Whenever he finished eating, he would leave the nylons on the ground. I was helping him clean up, but I spoke up when I got tired. I told him that we should take turns sweeping and cleaning the room. When it was his turn, he couldn’t even do the chores well and I figured he wasn’t raised properly. His parents probably had house help who did the chores for the children.

For today’s Hive Learners’ topic, the community asks us if cleanliness is dependent on income. Does how clean a person is depend on how much they have? Cleanliness is a choice. No matter your background or income, you can always choose to be clean or not. I agree that an individual’s background plays an important role in how clean they are. However, when a person becomes mature, they have a choice whether to be clean or not. An adult knows the difference between being clean and being dirty and they have a choice to choose between the two.

To answer the question of cleanliness is dependent on income. I’ll put my answer this way; Cleanliness is not dependent on income, but it plays a big role. One of my hostelmates is not too rich. His parents are not rich, but he takes his cleanliness to another level. He doesn’t have a lot of things in his room, but everything is always well arranged. His reading space is always tidy, the books are always well organized. I don’t know how it does it, but it seems he mops his room everyday because they always sparkle. His dressing is always sharp. This guy irons his clothes well. He doesn’t have many clothes, but with the little he has, you can never catch him unfresh.

On the other hand, I have also been with children of rich parents who are dirty. Money plays a significant role. A rich person will be able to get spacious and well furnitured apartments, get new clothes that they don’t have to repeat old ones, and whenever they want to do laundry, they pay people to do it. But all these still come back to background, training and personal choices. A person can be well paid and still decide not to take a bath everyday.

Thanks for reading through.

Image is generated using AI.