My house is a big mess!

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Cloud

because lived in is comfortable and slovenly is a health hazard.

Bah, those clean freaks never build up any resistance... the terrorists will wipe them out in the first wave.

[Aliantha]

That's why you get your kids to play in the dirt. It's just better if they don't have to live in it.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Clutter (mess) does not equal dirty/unhealthy... that's a connection too many people (my mother) incorrectly make.

[SteveDallas]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

That's why you get your kids to play in the dirt. It's just better if they don't have to live in it.

"Every kid should eat a certain amount of dirt." -- my paternal grandmother

[kerosene]

Unknown mother at a playground: "God made dirt so dirt don't hurt."
My former husband to mother at playground: "God also made cyanide."

[Aliantha]

But if you have clutter everywhere, how can you clean your carpets etc? The clutter collects dust and dead skin cells and pet hair etc etc etc...and you can't clean it. That's the sort of dirt I think of when I think about cluttered up houses.

[xoxoxoBruce]

That's what the terrorists want you to think.

[Aliantha]

lol...Oh right. I must have missed that.

[monster]

1) that sort of dirt won't kill you
2a) the clutter protects the carpet from the dirt....
2b) you move it, duh... (bulldozer-style, quick and efficient)
3) it doesn't get any worse after 7 years.....

[Undertoad]

NY Times: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You

In studies of what is called the hygiene hypothesis, researchers are concluding that organisms like the millions of bacteria, viruses and especially worms that enter the body along with “dirt” spur the development of a healthy immune system. Several continuing studies suggest that worms may help to redirect an immune system that has gone awry and resulted in autoimmune disorders, allergies and asthma.

These studies, along with epidemiological observations, seem to explain why immune system disorders like multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and allergies have risen significantly in the United States and other developed countries.

“What a child is doing when he puts things in his mouth is allowing his immune response to explore his environment,” Mary Ruebush, a microbiology and immunology instructor, wrote in her new book, “Why Dirt Is Good” (Kaplan). “Not only does this allow for ‘practice’ of immune responses, which will be necessary for protection, but it also plays a critical role in teaching the immature immune response what is best ignored.”

NUFF SAID

[jinx]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

NY Times: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You

NUFF SAID

Maybe it's just me... but I think long before we point to clean bathrooms as a cause of autoimmune disorders, we might consider the cluster fuck of toxic chemicals, genetically modified antigens, and heavy metals we inject into said immune systems under the guise of 'preventative medicine'. Just a though.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

NY Times: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You



NUFF SAID

Originally Posted by jinx

Maybe it's just me... but I think long before we point to clean bathrooms as a cause of autoimmune disorders, we might consider the cluster fuck of toxic chemicals, genetically modified antigens, and heavy metals we inject into said immune systems under the guise of 'preventative medicine'. Just a though.

We, humans, have lived, thrived even for thousands of generations before the concept of modern sanitation existed. It is possible to be too clean. The current mania over antibacterial *everything* is a symptom of this. Not all germs are harmful. And yet if we kill many many of them with these thougtless habits, but not all of them, which is impossible, we're only helping the strongest survive.

I don't relish that thought that I'm helping influence the natural selection for smarter tougher bacteria. I want some of them on my side too.

Where do you read about outbreaks of MRSA? Hospitals or Skid Row? Everything in moderation, including cleanliness.

[SteveDallas]

Looks like Grandma Dallas, born in 1899 on a farm in the foothills of North Carolina, and never educated past grade school, scores!

[Aliantha]

Hmmm...nowhere did I say kids shouldn't be exposed to dirt. Mine were and they're as healthy as horses...cept the ones with horse flu. They're not doing so well. I digress though.

Kids should get outside and do all that stuff kids do including stepping in dog shit etc. I don't agree with the trend these days to keep kids 'clean' all the time. I disagree with those antibacterial hand soap things you can get these days. I think too many mothers stop their kids from exploring their environment for fear of 'germs'.

That being said, I stand by my reasons for keeping a clean house. Outside is where kids should be exposed to dirt. Not inside.

[Pie]

Woo-hoo, just interviewed and hired a new cleaning service. Aaahhh. A clean house, and more dollars into the local economy.