Meaning
Cleanliness refers to the healthy practice of keeping yourself and your environment free of dirt, germs, dust, mud, and unwanted matter. Cleanliness is thus as much about hygiene as it is about tidiness.
Cleanliness is the habit of maintaining a hygienic surrounding free from contamination, pollution, that helps in sustaining and improving bodily health and preventing diseases.
Metaphorically, cleanliness also, sometimes, refers to a state of mind that is characterized by pure, ethical, virtuous, just, noble, upstanding and moral well-being. For this reason, it is often said that, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness“.
Different levels of cleanliness is required for different environments: a hospital needs to be extra clean compared to the front room of your house, for example.
Importance
Cleanliness is important because of the following reasons.
- It protects our physical health from illness, keeping harmful bacteria and other germs at bay.
- It helps in sustaining strong body and sharp mind.
- The habit of cleanliness includes the practice of filtering and cleaning the drinking water, and keeping the place clean.
- A good sewage system (including sewage treatment facilities) for clearing the waste water is important for a healthy surrounding.
- Living in a clean environment is also better for our psychological health as removing clutter and dirt has been shown to reduce stress.
- It gives you a wholesome feeling of well-being.
- Cleanliness is a way of taking care of ourselves and our surroundings. If we want to be people who take care of ourselves and the things around us, keeping things clean and neat is a good way to practice this skill.
- Cleanliness can also be thought of in a moral, metaphorical way: keeping our hearts and minds clear of evil thoughts and plans.
Also read: Short Paragraph on Cleanliness