Mondays & Memories of My Mom – To Clean Your Desk Or Not

As always, Thank God it’s Monday. I love Mondays, as they are my 52 Chances a year, in which I get to share Memories of My Mom with you. Therefore, happy Monday to everyone.

As the second Monday in January (for 2025), today is, among other things… National Clean Off Your Desk Day… One of those observances Mom would probably not embrace but Dad would – and I love it, too. You could say that cleaning and organizing are my “hobbies” and, as weird as that is, I own it because I know I’m not alone.

By the way, January is also National Hobby Month. Mom had a really good friend, from Marysville (MI), who moved to Arizona, named Linda Cobb (aka: “The Queen of Clean”). Linda has a very successful business and has wrote several books, all from her love for cleaning and organizing.

Getting MORE organized is always one of my New Year’s resolutions. Again, it wasn’t one of Mom’s. She would joke about her and Dad, being polar opposites like “The Odd Couple” – a popular comedy on TV from 1970 to 1975. When it came to cleaning, Dad would be “Felix” and Mom would be “Oscar”.

It was easily noticeable, when looking at their desks. Dad’s desk was always clean and organized. He lived by the “Cleaning Golden Rule” – a place for everything and everything in its place. Mom had her own chaotic system that suited her needs and, to her, that was organized because SHE knew where everything was. I actually found that out by accident.

Once, when she and Dad were gone for the day, I thought I’d surprise Mom, by cleaning and organizing her desk (like Dad’s). However, when they came home, she was far from happy. She appreciated my sentiment, of course, but she was quite upset with my surprise for her, as I messed up HER system, by inserting my own.

That’s when she got a sign for her desk (pictured above) – to remind me and to let everyone else know not to clean her desk. And, although Mom often made statements about wanting to get better organized, she really liked her own muddled system best. It worked for her. Some people just have different work styles than others and that’s all that matters.

A messy desk and a clean desk each indicate a variety of wonderful personality traits – such as being a risk-taker, creative, and/or busy, as in the case of the former, which accurately reflects Mom. In the case of the latter, it indicates traits of organization and efficiency, as well as being disciplined and detail oriented, which accurately reflects Dad.

“When asked about his messy desk, Einstein remarked, ‘If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, then what are we to think of an empty desk?’” – Canva.com

FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

Excerpts by Gloria Pitzer, as seen in…

My Cup Runneth Over – And I Can’t Find My Mop, (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; Dec. 1989)

WHILE SOME FOLKS claim to have been born under a sign related in some way to the stars and other heavenly bodies, I wish to establish, right here and now, the sign under which I must have been born. It reads: ‘DO NOT TOUCH THE MESS ON THIS DESK OR YOU’LL GOOF UP MY SYSTEM.’

From this, you can imagine how astonished I was when, one day, it occurred to me that Heaven had certainly poured me out a blessing and my cup was running over. But I couldn’t find my mop! That has more or less (actually MORE) been the story of my life…my cup runneth over and over and over. (pp. 14-15)

It is with appreciation that, in spite of my lack of organization, Mary Ellen Pinkham, the famous household hints author, took an interest in our recipes… I really should get together with Mary Ellen and learn exactly how to become better organized but, somehow, time keeps getting away from me. (p. 119)

NationalDayCalendar.com claims that “having your workspace uncluttered and organized will help you work more efficiently. A clean workspace improves productivity and inspires us, too. It often gives us a sense of serenity.” That’s true for most people but not all, such as Mom.

Any given Monday, I’m usually cleaning the previous week’s accumulated pile of “stuff” off of my own desk. Throughout the week, as I get busy with other things, my desk quickly becomes a convenient “catch-all” spot for everything because I don’t always TAKE the time to put them where they belong.

That’s the key! I can tell myself (and anyone else) that I don’t HAVE time for this or that but, the truth is, I’m in charge of my time. Therefore, I must admit that it’s simply because I don’t MAKE the time for this or that, which is another New Year’s resolution that I regularly make and fail. “Practice makes perfect”, as the old adage says.

#NationalMentoringMonth

Learning a new skill (like cleaning or organizing), is a very common resolution that people make. Under the right circumstances, learning a new skill can lead to a hobby; which, in turn, can lead to money-making opportunities and starting your own small business. I’ve thought about being a professional organizer, myself.

Writing is another hobby that I’ve loved since I was a young girl, when Mom first taught me how to write my name. Then, once I learned to spell and read, I was hooked even more – always in awe of the creative way words could be put together to tell a story, recite a poem, or sing a song.

Mom was my mentor in many things, including creative writing. Incidentally, January is also National Mentoring Month. Writing was never a hobby to Mom. It was a part of her. Something she did every day, like eating, sleeping, and breathing. She always said she “made a living with [her] writing but it was writing that made living worthwhile”.

MORE FROM MOM’S MEMORIES…

As seen in…

Gloria Pitzer’s Mixed Blessings – Recipes & Remedies (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; March 1984, p. 15)

[THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW TO LEARN]

I HAVE A DESK in the kitchen right next to the [glass] door-wall that overlooks the yard. Our daughter, Debbie, and our son-in-law, Jim, gave me a flowering Crab [Apple] tree last Mother’s Day, which they planted right in the middle of the yard.

I can enjoy it’s flowers each spring; also the very long bare, red branches during the autumn and it’s snow-covered limbs all winter. It’s my sundial, by which I observe the seasons and the changes involved with this natural wonder.

While the Scotch pines around this little tree never change, never go through the transition of bud to blossom to barren branches and then buds again, I can see the contrasts that are parallel to our own personal predicaments.

Some things, places – and yes, even people – never seem to change, while others go through budding and blossoming and withering away, only to come right back to life again in the sunshine of human kindness as does my tree in the sunshine of the seasons.

I’ve spent my entire life being a writer. It’s not what I do, but what I am. I love every minute of it, and by writing about what I have come to know best – cooking – it occurs to me that having a desk in my kitchen was awfully appropriate.

Mind you, not all that crazy about cooking, by default rather than decision, I have learned more about it than any other skill I’ve attempted… THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW TO LEARN, some new information, interesting discoveries to make cooking a positive pursuit.

There are many recognized benefits to cleaning and organizing. It’s commonly known that all activities burn calories. In addition, these particular activities can also help to improve moods, decrease stress levels, and increase creativity – especially when concentrated around one’s desk or workspace.

For most people, a clean desk is more efficient from which to work. In a perfect world, when there are less distractions around us, a clean work space improves our focus on the task at hand and, thus, also saves us time. Mom tried to learn this from her dear friend, Linda Cobb, but it just wouldn’t stick with her or she with it.

Dad cleaned off his desk regularly, at the end of each work day. On New Year’s Day, after preparing all their records that he needed for their yearly tax filings, he’d file all of the receipts and paperwork away, from that previous year’s work, in a special spot and start anew with empty desk files to re-fill with the new year’s business records.

Countless studies have shown that cleaning and having a clean desk/workspace can actually make you feel healthier, happier, and more productive. Additionally, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, cleaning also burns a lot of calories. That’s a win-win for a happier and healthier new year.

Cleaning off your desk, on a regular basis, has been proven to have many health benefits – helping you to declutter both mentally and physically. A clean workspace increases your efficiency, professionalism, and overall image. However, as Mom proved for over 40 years, being the Secret Recipes^TM Detective, that doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone.

For most people, cleaning your desk on a daily (or weekly) basis is an important habit to develop, for maintaining a positive work environment. A regular cleaning routine can help you reduce clutter and stay on top of messes. It’s commonly recommended to keep important items organized and within reach for better efficiency.

I like to write about the happiness I get from cleaning (and organizing). I’m sure I got it from Dad, as Mom was more apt to be in the “Joy-In-Not-Cleaning-Any-More-Than-I-Have-To” club. It’s not that she didn’t clean – she just didn’t enjoy it. Not everyone does. By the way, next week is Hunt for Happiness Week.

LAST THOUGHTS…

Thanks for visiting! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my memories of my mom, her memories, and other related things. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at [email protected]. You can also find me on Facebook: @TheRecipeDetective.

IN CLOSING…

In honor of TODAY, being National Peach Melba Day, here’s Mom’s copycat recipe for “Mock Peach Melba”; as seen in her self-published newsletter, Gloria Pitzer’s Secret Recipes Newsletter (Secret Recipes^TM, St. Clair, MI; Issue 120, May/June 1986; p. 8). As always, I’m asking only for proper credit if you care to re-share it.

#NationalPeachMelbaDay