The Case Of The Missing Banana

My car is disgustingly messy.

I didn't type that to make you feel better about your messes. I typed that because it is true. It is so messy, in fact, that I lost an entire banana in it this morning.

An ENTIRE banana.

The guilty party, pictured in his or her complete shame...

You thought I would admit to guilt, right? No way! That banana was the criminal!

You'll notice that I insisted on search and rescue for the banana. Now, I am not some kind of crazy banana fan. But I am a fan of not vomiting, and a rotten banana plus the confines of a car...well, you see why I dug in and cleaned the front seat area of the car.

I didn't clean the entire car, though. Once I found the banana (and my prescription glasses, two hair bands, an umbrella, and my Garth Brooks CDs) and threw out two bags of trash, I vacuumed the front of the car and wiped down surfaces. The whole process took about a half hour. I still need to do the back seats, the trunk, and the outside of the car. (Fat chance of that happening, unless a kid drops an apple.)

Still, there is an organizing/cleaning lesson to be learned here. Finish the task so that the evidence of the task is all put away.

I finished the task of cleaning the front of the car. How? Well, I brought the vacuum cleaner back into the house, put it where it belongs, and wrapped up the cord and hose. I put the dirty rags in the hamper. I refilled the spray bottle with vinegar, water, and soap. I tossed the trash, relined the car trash can, and refilled the supply of trash bags in the car. I put the banana aside for lunch tomorrow.

If you start a task, finish it, even if that means doing less overall than you wanted to originally. You'll never regret putting away the dirty rags. If you just try to clean the whole car, or leave out the stuff so you can "do it later," you'll probably regret it.

Etcetera.