Right before Christmas break, I get a bit of a second wind. I don’t know what it is, but I have this inner need to get things organized and cleaned up so I can come back to work without any mess. There is something in me that makes me want to have a calm beginning to the new year.

So, I write some long-range, skeletal lesson plans. I run copies I will need. I clean cabinets and my desk. I dust off things, pitch things and make a few lists. As I switch off the lights and head to my car with gifts from my students, I take a deep breath and know that 2016 will begin with an orderly classroom.

We did the same thing at home. We cleaned cabinets and got the kitchen in order. We purged closets and drawers, tidied nooks and crannies, straightened up the chilly garage and gave the cars a bit of a “neatening up.” All of it wasn’t fun, but it sure is nice to look at a job well done. We can relax a little more when things are in order.

So the age old questions always go like this: Why do things get in such a mess?  Didn’t we just clean that up?  Why are we purging this again?

It is my feeling that we have to “check in” with a space from time to time. We have to straighten and maintain. We can’t let something get to such a state that it has to be completely pulled out and gone through.

So, in adding to the “life changes” I wrote about a few weeks ago, we plan to do a little periodic maintenance. We may even go so far as to write it on the calendar. One day, once or twice a month, spend a little time straightening drawers.  Next week, closets. Go through bills and file things that need to be filed. Pay a little attention to things every so often and you won’t have to do the whole “giant clean out.”

Then, of course, we would have to mention our bodies.  How do we start from scratch with those? Don’t you wish there was some type of a reset button on our bodies?

I told you about a “procedure” a few years ago that I had.  A lot of men my age start to have this procedure from time to time, just to make sure things are OK.

Getting yourself ready for this procedure involves flushing out the system, which sounds worse than it really is.

I made sure I was just around the house on that day, and it worked great, as a matter of fact. I had no terrible stories to tell. In the end, my system was all cleaned out and ready to go.  I actually felt great. There were no aches and pains or acid reflux or stomach issues. It made me wonder what I’d been eating.

So, I guess the flushing of the system would be the “reset” button I have been looking for.  My doctor hasn’t asked me to take such measures, and I’m wondering if people ever do it without following through with the procedure. OK, thinking aloud here and probably bordering on inappropriate. Sorry about that.

Maybe I’ll just stick with filing and cleaning.