丹尼斯·斯科菲爾德/Deniece Schofield
Obviously,organization is my favorite subject.How could such a bor ing subject be so satisfying?Let me explain.
At our house,we work on a system of negative rewards.By that I mea n,I don't hear too much about it when I do things right,but I hear pl enty when I mess up!Sound familiar?
After spending hours on all fours cleaning the refrigerator,I can't remember ever hearing anyone say,"Gee,Mom,the refrigerator looks g reat!" And no one ever says,"I'm so glad all the buttons are on my s hirt this morning." Or,"Aw.shucks,dear,you made the bed!" But,bo y,do I hear about it if there's a button missing,a sticky floor,or a n unmade bed.Sometimes it seems there's a universal misconception that I have exclusive rights to the sewing box,the mop,and the linen closet.(I'm doing my best to reconceive that idea!)
You too have noticed that doing housework is like fining a sieve wit h water.Phyllis Diller sums it up nicely:"Cleaning the house while th e children are growing is like shoveling snow before it stops snowing."
Negative rewards.We face them daily.Do it right and no one remembe rs,but do it wrong and no one forgets.Maybe you've noticed that there's not a lot of glory at home.We don't often receive accolades or pat s on the back (with the obvious exception of Mother's Day or Father's Day).And where are my loyal supporters the rest of the year?Why,they're spilling milk in my clean refrigerator,throwing gum wrappers in th eir sock drawers,and volunteering four hundred cupcakes for the next PT A meeting (which is usually held this evening).No wonder we conclude th at organized living is best left to the childless,the single,or to inc redibly stouthearted parents!
All this leads me to why getting things in order is exciting!When y ou have a closet,a cupboard,or a drawer in perfect order,that one lit tle area seems to say,"You're doing a wonderful job!Keep up the good work!" What motivation!It's terrific to feel those words,because cha nces are ten to one you'll never hear them.
Every day I get letters from people all over the country.Invariable I get one that says,"Today I cleaned out my closet.Every five minutes I go in there-just to look at it!"
Organization feels good,and that good feeling spills over into your disposition.It can improve your entire outlook on life.Organized livin g sets you free from feelings of despair,and stress is greatly reduced.You experience a feeling akin to relief.
I remember when I first observed a savings and loan promoting the "good feeling" that banking with them gave their customers.Since then I've noticed a lot of similar claims wafting through the airways:"We've got it and we've got it good." "We bring good things to life." "Milk has it." "Make the world your oyster with Master Card." Even the dog is running around the yard with the Hi-Pro glow.
These days everyone is cashing in on the good feeling.I,too,am of fering it to you-free of charge.All it takes is some forethought,a li ttle time,and some good old-fashioned work.
Christopher Robin (from A.A.Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh) said it best:"Organizing is what you do before you do something,so that when you do it,it's not all mixed up."
If you want organized living with kids,you can have it.Stick with me and we'll work together-gradually,smoothly,and systematically-do wn the road to emancipation.
“條理”是我最喜歡討論的話題，這是顯而易見的事情。但是，我為什麽會對這樣一個無聊的話題感興趣呢？讓我解釋給大家聽。
在我們家，做什麽事的回報往往是消極的，也就是說，當我把事情做得很完美時，幾乎聽不到讚揚；然而，一旦事情沒做好，就會聽到很多抱怨！這聽起來是不是很熟悉呢？
我蹲在地上，花了幾個小時把冰箱清理幹淨，卻從不記得聽到有任何一個人說：“哎呀，媽媽，冰箱可真幹淨呀！”我也從來沒聽人說過：“我今天早上真高興，襯衫上的扣子沒掉一顆！”或者，“噢，親愛的，你把床鋪好了！”然而，如果衣服上丟了一顆扣子，地板黏糊糊的，或者沒把床鋪好，我就會聽到抱怨的話。有時，大家似乎有一個錯誤的共識：縫紉機、拖把和衣櫥是專屬於我的。（現在，我正在努力改變這種觀念。）
或許，你已經注意到了，做家務活就像是把水注進篩子——菲利斯·迪勒作了一個恰到好處的概括：“在孩子小的時候，打掃房間就像下雪的時候掃雪。”
沒有人會記住你做得好的時候，然而每個人都會記住你做得不好的時候，我們每天都要麵對這些負麵回報。也許你已經注意到了，人們在家中享受不到多少榮耀，我們在家中很少能夠得到讚賞或鼓勵（母親節和父親節除外）。一年中，在母親節和父親節以外的日子，我忠實的擁護者們都到哪裏去了？哎呀，我擦幹淨的冰箱被他們濺上了牛奶，他們把口香糖包裝紙丟進了自己放襪子的抽屜，此外，他們還自願為下次家長會（常常就是在當天晚上舉行）提供400個紙托蛋糕。所以，我們會得出這樣的結論：“有條理的生活最好留給那些沒有孩子、單身或者心髒承受能力強的父母！”
所有這些促使我要向大家說一說，為什麽把事情做得有條有理會令人感到興奮。當你把壁櫥、碗櫥或者抽屜整理得很整齊時，那些整整齊齊的地方似乎會對你說：“幹得好！堅持下去！”這是多麽大的動力呀！能夠聽到那些稱讚的話語，感覺真是好極了，因為在家中你隻有十分之一的機會聽到這樣的讚揚。
我每天都能夠收到來自全國各個地方的來信，而且每天都會收到一封這樣的信：“我今天收拾了自己的壁櫥，沒過五分鍾我就會走到它跟前，隻是為了看看它！”
條理會讓人產生美好的感覺，這種感覺會流淌到你的性格中，從而改善你對生活的整體看法。你會從有條理的生活中獲得寬慰感，它能大大地減輕你的壓力，把你從絕望中拯救出來。
我仍然記得自己第一次注意到“美妙感覺”這個詞，那是一家銀行為了吸收儲蓄和貸款客戶而作的宣傳。從那以後，我注意到了廣播中有許多相似的宣傳：“我們擁有了，我們完全擁有了美好的感覺”，“我們將美好的事物賦予生活”，“有一種美妙的感覺蘊藏於牛奶之中”，“萬事達信用卡會員組織讓你的世界變得更美好”。甚至，當一隻狗吃了高蛋白食物，都會興高采烈地在院子裏跑來跑去。
現在，“美妙感覺”為每個人帶來了好處，我也正在免費為你提供這種感覺，你需要的隻是一些思考的時間和一些循規蹈矩的工作。
克裏斯多夫·羅賓（來自艾倫·亞曆山大·米爾恩的《小熊維尼》）作出了最恰當的評價：“在你做事情之前，你就應該做到有條理。這樣一來，你在做事情的時候，才不會把事情搞得亂糟糟的。”
如果你希望與孩子們一起過有條理的生活，你就能夠做到。請大家緊緊地跟隨我，我們一起努力，平穩、係統地向著解放的道路緩緩前行。
1.At our house,we____on a system of negative rewards.By that I____,I don't hear too much about it____I do things right,but I hear plenty when I mess up!____familiar?
2.We face them____.Do it right and no one remembers,but do it____and no one forgets.Maybe you've noticed that there's not a____of glory at home.We don't often receive accolades or pats on the____(with the obvious exception of Mother's Day or Father's Day).
3.I remember____I first observed a savings and loan promotin g the "good feeling" that banking with____gave their customers.
1.在孩子小的時候，打掃房間就像下雪的時候掃雪。
2.有條理的生活最好留給那些沒有孩子、單身或者心髒承受能力強的父母！
3.在你做事情之前，你就應該做到有條理。這樣一來，你在做事情的時候，才不會把事情搞得亂糟糟的。
1....but I hear plenty when I mess up！
mess up：搞糟；陷入困境
2.Today I cleaned out my closet.
clean out：把（某物）騰空；清除；打掃