The broken-window theory of urban crime asserts that maintaining buildings in good condition -- repairing broken windows and removing graffiti -- helps keep vandalism and other offenses from escalating.David Galloway at the
between household clutter that leads to chaos and the
lead to a rise in crime:
Just as a broken window can lead to a rise in vandalism, small things like running out of laundry detergent, throwing a shirt on your bedroom floor, and not immediately throwing away an empty beer bottle soon become big piles of clutter. Knowing this can prevent disorder.
Erin Doland of the organisation blog Unclutterer calls this Keystone Demise. A keystone is the centre stone of an arch that supports the entire structure; if you remove it the arch will fall apart.
One of the tips "to avoid breaking a window" is especially pertinent:
Create a "closing list" of daily household tasks; restaurants and shops often have a list of chores to accomplish before closing for the day. It might seem superfluous to have a printed list of tasks to check-off, but at the end of the day it is easy to forget one or two small things and start down the road to Keystone Demise. Better to take care of it now and wake up to an organized home.
You can find Doland's observations at
She also has written a book, optimistically titled
Here's a taste from her blog:
In my house, receipts on the top of our bedroom dresser are our broken keystone. If we empty our pockets and just set the receipts down on the top of the dresser, within a week we have absolute chaos in the house.
In my own home, finding each room's keystone (which I think of as the power spot, thanks to
influence at an impressionable age) is essential to keeping the place from spiraling into clutter. In my kitchen, that spot is the slice of countertop between the sink and the stove. The location makes it the natural food-prep area, and keeping it cleared for action makes a huge difference, both increasing the urge to cook and curbing pesky little mishaps.
Another tricky spot is the collection zone near the door for things going out of the house and things coming in. If those two streams intersect, or if the piles slop over onto each other, chaos results. Firmly establishing two distinct spots or baskets or bins -- clearly labeled "IN" and "OUT" so you don't have to think too hard -- helps prevent confusion.
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