Salute Mr Messy!

I read a review on Friday of a book called "a Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder - How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Officies, and on-the Fly Planning make the World a Better Place"

The authors have trawled through the principles of pyschology, management studies, biology and physics to show why Mr Messy should be our real role model for the year of 2007.

Let me share some of their insights:

- ever spent hours searching for that missing pen or elusive and vital piece of paper and been told that you would save time if you were that bit better organised and tidy? Remind the tidy police that they forget all the time spent in filing things neatly, the indexing, cross referencing and colour coding, and then you cannot always find what you want because the index is wrong!

- a clear desk means an empty mind. Disorder stimulates creativity. A bit of mess works wonders for new ideas. Music and art depend on mess. You just have to see what it is like when Teapot is painting!

- we would not have penicillin if Alexander Fleming had cleaned his petri dish and not allowed the mould to grow. The next medical breakthrough is just waiting to happen in that mouldy piece of bread in the bread bin or that left over supper treat in the fridge.

I always felt that Mr Neat and Mr Tidy were villains. So let us celebrate Mr Messy the champion of chaos theory. Rid yourself of the guilt trips driven by your unmade bed, discarded clothes, sink full of unwashed pots, junk filled garage, overgrown garden, and car full of empty haribo packets.

....and campaign for a national day of mess!