living with rules

I grew up living with rules. My parents had always told me what to do, or whats right and whats wrong.

I can't remember when I started making up rules for myself. But these rules have given me a sense of familiarity no matter which part of the world I am at:

•  make the bed every morning.  Despite the fact no one else enters my room or sleeps on my single bed, making the bed gives me a fresh feeling for the start of the day. Well, that, as well as it curbs my urge to crawl back into bed for a quick nap after getting all dressed up for work.
•  morning stretches.  This was just something I picked up during my days in New Zealand. I found that doing a quick five minutes of light stretches in the morning helps me wake up to face the day. Also, improving your flexibility is a very useful thing (especially when you need to reach that jar of raspberry jam on the top shelf at the supermarket).
•  washing the dishes after every meal.  Some might argue that it is more efficient to do the dishes right before the stack of dishes seem to look a little wobbly (and possibly topple if you place anything else like a spork on top of it). I however have very little kitchenware: one small bowl, one big bowl, two cups, two bread plates and countless pairs of hand-me-down cutlery -- hardly anything to stack.

Do you stand by any simple rules that has served you well through all these years?

just curious, xo