User:Doug/Orderliness: Difference between revisions
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add notes on "leave no trace", expand specifics table |
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== General == | == General == | ||
The | The general advice remains "leave things as good as you found them". This fails when people have different perceptions of "better" and "how they found them", which is often. <blockquote>'''Philosophical side-note''' | ||
In wild places, the general advice is "leave no trace" or "leave only footprints" - the idea being that if you don't leave trash and don't take anything, the place will be conserved. But you still shed hair and skin and leave footprints: the weather and countless organisms clean up and reset things after you. This is not the case in human structures, like buildings, where we specifically keep out the weather and non-humans, so the humans responsible for all dirt and chaos inside them. Further, the structures themselves age and degrade thanks to weather and entropy. Therefore, it really is necessary to not only clean up after yourself, but do more. I have heard it formulated as "leave better trace" and "leave it (3%) better than you found it". </blockquote> | |||
== Specific == | == Specific == | ||
The following table aims to capture more specifically capture the state things should be left in and when. | |||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|+ | |+ | ||
| Line 21: | Line 24: | ||
|before leaving room | |before leaving room | ||
|items temporarily left for community benefit: festive decoration, important information, etc | |items temporarily left for community benefit: festive decoration, important information, etc | ||
|- | |||
|toilets | |||
|clean; seat dry; used towelets in bucket; refill towelets, toilet paper or menstrual products if empty | |||
|before leaving room | |||
| | |||
|- | |- | ||
|hallways | |hallways | ||
| Line 26: | Line 34: | ||
|A.S.A.P. | |A.S.A.P. | ||
|big arrivals of communal stuff, temporary storage of private things (marked with name and date) | |big arrivals of communal stuff, temporary storage of private things (marked with name and date) | ||
|- | |||
|private rooms | |||
|free of personal items, surfaces clean | |||
|before reservation ends | |||
| | |||
|- | |- | ||
|beds | |beds | ||
|covered with usable sheets, free of debris and presentable | |covered with usable sheets, free of debris and presentable | ||
|before | |before claim ends | ||
| | | | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | |personal desks | ||
| | |personal items stored on or under, other people able to temporarily use | ||
|before | |before claim ends | ||
| | |very small desks need not be usable by others | ||
|} | |} | ||
Revision as of 10:48, 11 December 2025
On Tuesday 11th November 2025 I hosted a session on "Cleanliness and orderliness" in response to perceived drop in standards. It was useful, interesting and the dining room table has been a lot cleaner since then. (Also, Lena starting "general responsibilities" and "weekly tasks" boards may have helped.) This page is for me to publicly organized my thoughts for cementing those gains.
General
The general advice remains "leave things as good as you found them". This fails when people have different perceptions of "better" and "how they found them", which is often.
Philosophical side-note In wild places, the general advice is "leave no trace" or "leave only footprints" - the idea being that if you don't leave trash and don't take anything, the place will be conserved. But you still shed hair and skin and leave footprints: the weather and countless organisms clean up and reset things after you. This is not the case in human structures, like buildings, where we specifically keep out the weather and non-humans, so the humans responsible for all dirt and chaos inside them. Further, the structures themselves age and degrade thanks to weather and entropy. Therefore, it really is necessary to not only clean up after yourself, but do more. I have heard it formulated as "leave better trace" and "leave it (3%) better than you found it".
Specific
The following table aims to capture more specifically capture the state things should be left in and when.
| Thing | Default state | When | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| sinks | clear, clean, sieve empty | before leaving room | |
| dining table | clear and clean | before leaving room | items temporarily left for community benefit: festive decoration, important information, etc |
| toilets | clean; seat dry; used towelets in bucket; refill towelets, toilet paper or menstrual products if empty | before leaving room | |
| hallways | clear | A.S.A.P. | big arrivals of communal stuff, temporary storage of private things (marked with name and date) |
| private rooms | free of personal items, surfaces clean | before reservation ends | |
| beds | covered with usable sheets, free of debris and presentable | before claim ends | |
| personal desks | personal items stored on or under, other people able to temporarily use | before claim ends | very small desks need not be usable by others |