“To quietly work away at disposing of your own excess is actually the best way of dealing with a family that doesn’t tidy. As if drawn into your wake, they will begin weeding out unnecessary belongings and tidying without your having to utter a single complaint . . . Cleaning quietly on one’s own generates another interesting change—the ability to tolerate a certain level of untidiness among your family members.”
“When he’s finished giving himself a trim, he’ll want a broom to sweep it up. He’ll start sweeping. He might get carried away and sweep every room in the house. He may even end up washing the floors as well!”
“She looked at her list again. Dust the furniture. ‘did you ever hear tell of such a silly thing. At my house we undust the furniture. But to each his own way.’ ”
“I asked you what you were doing,” said Lotta. The dog sat down in the grass and began to lick his front right paw. He wrinkled up his nose and cleaned especially carefully between his toes, which were crusted with lumps of thick dry earth. He behaved as though he hadn’t heard a thing.