Cleanliness is Next to Godliness...?

Anyone who has known me for any real length of time, or who has been to my house, could tell you that I am by nature a very neat and organized person. This was not always the case; as often occurs, I believe, I was quite messy as a child, but as I have grown into my teenage years, I have become more and more clean. I believe this is a good thing and that organization is, in general, an admirable trait, though I do not take any credit for this trait in myself, as it comes naturally to me and is not something I have in any way worked on or earned.

One thing I have learned, however, in recent months, is that there is a point where "clean" crosses a line and becomes "sterile". In my own mind, I have often unconsciously considered the best-looking and neatest rooms to be guest rooms or those rooms that are uninhabited by either person or furniture, yet clean and bright. Yet when this thought occurred to me in full form recently, I realized that those rooms, though they truly are probably the cleanest and most organized of rooms, are lacking in personality and character...and life. And that is when another thought occurred to me: We must not become so clean that we wipe the color out of life. This is not in any way denouncing cleanliness or organization, since as I said before, I consider both to be good traits. I do not plan on trashing my room or even loosening my habits in the way of picking up after myself or dusting my room. What I am saying, what it is that occurred to me, is that there is a point when this can become extreme. The few nick-nacks, the books, the jewelry, the collectables, etc. that lay around my room are what make it "my room"; they are what give it character and personality, like myself. To a certain extent, I must restrain my organization so that my room does not become like a hotel room - clean and neat, but at the same time, sterile and empty.

Anyway, these are just some random thoughts of mine. I probably am "preaching" to myself here, as I am not sure if these thoughts of mine are applicable to anyone else, but I thought I would write them out regardless in the hope that you would get something out of them.