You know, it costs nothing to be neat. But the payoff is massive.

There’s just something about a clean room that boosts your mood and improves your attitude. When you permit yourself the pleasure of living in an organized environment it sets the tone for everything you do. The simple practice of picking up your laundry, throwing out the trash, and straightening your books and papers every night does wonders for your productivity.

This isn’t about being an obsessive neat freak. It’s about how you feel inside and how you present yourself to the world.Both are critical to your quality of life.

By the way, if you’ve got a car, don’t let trash accumulate inside of it. And wash it every week or two. It just makes you feel better to have a clean ride.

Do some people take neatness to an extreme? Of course. Certain students actually clean and organize as a form of procrastination. They may be trying to exert control over their immediate surroundings because they feel out of control as they fall behind in their studies.

Five minutes of nightly cleaning for just a couple of minutes tends to ward off this kind of procrastination. If you want to take an hour on the weekend for more thorough cleaning and laundry duty, go for it. But don’t let this kind of sideline activity become the focus of your life. Let these tasks be quick and efficient. If you don’t have a timer, buy one and take control of the clock!

In your future career, you will want to reflect that you are a serious professional. You’ll want to show up to work in a clean car. And you’ll want to stride into your workplace with the confidence that only proper dress brings. Sorry folks, but image is important. Psychologists tell us that dressing like a professional actually improves your performance.

Fortunately, it’s easy to maintain a neat appearance. Why would you want to swim upstream by looking like a slob? (Or smelling like one.) This doesn’t mean you must have a pricey car or a fancy wardrobe. It just means you make the most of what you have. This kind of attitude says a great deal about where you are going in life and quietly inspires the respect of your colleagues and supervisors.

By the way, taking a nightly room maintenance break is actually part of my recommended pre-sleep regimen:

• Five minutes of room maintenance and clothes selection for tomorrow.
• Five minutes of nightly goal-writing for tomorrow (so you’ll have a jump-start the minute you wake up).
• Five minutes to floss your teeth (medical studies reveal this adds seven years to your life!).

Keeping it clean will help you create your best possible results in college and beyond.