"I am how I clean."

Have you ever heard the common saying, "I am what I eat"?

For those of you who don't know, I have a background in math.  In analyzing life, I look through bifocals combining a psychological and mathematical lens.  In mathematical proofs, there are three potential relationships between components A and B in a given theorem:
1) If A then B
2) If B then A
3) If A then B AND If B then A (written A if and only if B)

For the saying, "I am what I eat," people usually refer to the causal relationship "If I eat something healthy then I will be healthy," or conversely, "If I eat something unhealthy, then I will be unhealthy."

I instead look at this relationship as an "if and only if" relationship (#3).  If I eat something healthy, I will be a healthy person.  If I am a healthy person then I will make healthy eating choices.  Conversely, if I eat something unhealthy, then I will be unhealthy - AND - If I am an unhealthy person then I will make poor eating choices.

This post is actually not about eating choices at all.

I wanted to demonstrate how this relationship can work in various areas of life.

As those of you close with me know, my family is approaching a highly stressful stage in life.  In one week, my husband leaves for a six month deployment.  As we prepare - both physically and emotionally - for his departure, I have felt a strong urge to keep my house as clean and organized as possible. 

As I start to understand myself better, I realize that my house is put together well when I am in a good place emotionally.  If I am floating on cloud 9, I get sudden urges to clean out all of my closets, scrub the refrigerator and organize the arts and crafts cabinet - just for fun!  Right now, I definitely don't have the emotional energy to tackle those projects.  However, I feel very strongly that if I force myself to create a clean, organized living environment then spending all day in these surroundings will positively affect my emotions and coping ability.

Do you notice a correlation between the tidiness of your home and your emotional state?

(P.S.  A number of people have written me emails in response to their reading this blog, but I would love to see some comments and conversation about the topics I bring up.  Please feel free to comment if you feel comfortable)