--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At a certain level housekeeping is a…" description: "\"“At a certain level housekeeping is a regime of small kindnesses, which, taken together, make the world salubrious, savory, and warm.”\" — Marilynne Rob..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marilynne-robinson-602_housekeeping_at-a-certain-level-housekeeping-is-a-reg_199844.png" --- # At a certain level housekeeping is a regime of small… ![“At a certain level housekeeping is a regime of small kindnesses, which, taken together, make the world salubrious, savory, and warm.” quote by Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marilynne-robinson-602_housekeeping_at-a-certain-level-housekeeping-is-a-reg_199844.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marilynne-robinson-602_housekeeping_at-a-certain-level-housekeeping-is-a-reg_199844.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marilynne-robinson-602_housekeeping_at-a-certain-level-housekeeping-is-a-reg_199844.png) > ““At a certain level housekeeping is a regime of small kindnesses, which, taken together, make the world salubrious, savory, and warm.”” [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Small, consistent acts of kindness create a healthier, more pleasant environment for everyone. **In simple terms:** Kindness builds a better world. Key Takeaway Practice daily small kindnesses. Themes kindness community wellbeing Mood warm hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - home life - workplace - ne interactions Key Concepts social cohesion habit formation Questions to Reflect On - How can you incorporate small kindnesses into a busy day? - What impact do tiny acts have on community morale? A Different Perspective Kindness alone may not fix systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Housekeeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/housekeeping/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) ## Related quotes > [The magic in this world seems to work in whispers and small kindnesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/the-magic-in-this-world-seems-to-work-in-whispers-and-small-kindnesses/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [It is the history of our kindnesses that alone make this world tolerable. If it were not for that, for the effect of kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-history-of-our-kindnesses-that-alone-make-this-world/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Small kindnesses win the hearts of wounded people”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-j-mccarthy/small-kindnesses-win-the-hearts-of-wounded-people/) Kevin J. McCarthy > [Every spirit passing through the world fingers the tangible and mars the mutable and finally has come to look and not to buy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/every-spirit-passing-through-the-world-fingers-the-tangible-and-mars-2/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Many readers know my work first through 'Housekeeping,' simply because it was my only novel for a pretty long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/many-readers-know-my-work-first-through-housekeeping-simply-because/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [My first novel, 'Housekeeping,' was accepted by the first agent who read it, and bought by the first editor who read it. In general,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-first-novel-housekeeping-was-accepted-by-the-first-agent-who-read/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“They hurt me, these small, brutal kindnesses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-helene-bertino/they-hurt-me-these-small-brutal-kindnesses/) [Marie-Helene Bertino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-helene-bertino/) > [“Kindnesses win over harsh judgments EVERY time!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-parr/kindnesses-win-over-harsh-judgments-every-time/) [Trish Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-parr/) > [Kindnesses are easily forgotten; but injuries! what worthy man does not keep those in mind?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/kindnesses-are-easily-forgotten-but-injuries-what-worthy-man-does-not/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [If you set out to do a good deed, you may do a hundred small kindnesses on the way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-doudney/if-you-set-out-to-do-a-good-deed-you-may-do-a-hundred-small/) [Sarah Doudney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-doudney/) > [Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/forget-injuries-never-forget-kindnesses/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [I am reminded of the importance of small kindnesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-am-reminded-of-the-importance-of-small-kindnesses/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [“expressing gratitude for even the smallest kindnesses shown to me;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/expressing-gratitude-for-even-the-smallest-kindnesses-shown-to-me/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [Verily God hath one hundred loving kindnesses; one of which he hath sent down amongst man, quadrupeds, and every moving thing upon the face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad/verily-god-hath-one-hundred-loving-kindnesses-one-of-which-he-hath/) [Muhammad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad/) > [Being Kind Not in some great deed of heroism; not in some great speech or act that may be pointed to with pride-but rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-cayce/being-kind-not-in-some-great-deed-of-heroism-not-in-some-great-speech/) [Edgar Cayce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-cayce/) ## More by Marilynne Robinson > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“I think sometimes there might be an advantage in making people aware how worn and stale these old transgressions are. It might take some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-think-sometimes-there-might-be-an-advantage-in-making-people-aware/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [There are two occasions when the sacred beauty of Creation becomes dazzlingly apparent, and they occur together. One is when we feel our mortal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/there-are-two-occasions-when-the-sacred-beauty-of-creation-becomes/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [My Calvinism persuades me that we are open to God, in the sense that we are not delimited, not organisms with fixed attributes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-calvinism-persuades-me-that-we-are-open-to-god-in-the-sense-that/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“You can know a thing to death and be for all purposes completely ignorant of it. A man can know his father, or his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/you-can-know-a-thing-to-death-and-be-for-all-purposes-completely/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I listen to Bach a great deal. In general I like to listen to hymns and liturgical music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-listen-to-bach-a-great-deal-in-general-i-like-to-listen-to-hymns/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Every writer I know, when asked how to become a writer, responds with one word:Read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/every-writer-i-know-when-asked-how-to-become-a-writer-responds-with/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Faith for her was habit and family loyalty, a reverence for the Bible which was also literary, admiration for her mother and father. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/faith-for-her-was-habit-and-family-loyalty-a-reverence-for-the-bible/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Prayer is a discipline in truthfulness, in honesty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/prayer-is-a-discipline-in-truthfulness-in-honesty/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.’ There are pleasures to be found where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/the-full-soul-loatheth-an-honeycomb-but-to-the-hungry-soul-every/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I sometimes am discouraged by what seems to be a sort of conventional disparagement of humankind. I think often people feel that they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-sometimes-am-discouraged-by-what-seems-to-be-a-sort-of-conventional/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Now that I look back, it seems to me that in all that deep darkness a miracle was preparing. So I am right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/now-that-i-look-back-it-seems-to-me-that-in-all-that-deep-darkness-a/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“My grandfather once told her if you couldn't read with cold feet, there wouldn't be a literate soul in the state of Maine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-grandfather-once-told-her-if-you-couldn-t-read-with-cold-feet/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Cranky old Leviticus gave us—gave Christ—not only “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” but also the rather forgotten “Thou shalt love the stranger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/cranky-old-leviticus-gave-us-gave-christ-not-only-thou-shalt-love-thy/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Explore all 450 Marilynne Robinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) ## More Housekeeping quotes > [Either the rest of the world can't live like the developed world or we need, as a society, to think more about the technology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-graedel/either-the-rest-of-the-world-can-t-live-like-the-developed-world-or/) Thomas Graedel > [Real optimism is not the pep talk you give yourself. It is earned through the labor involved in emotional housekeeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/real-optimism-is-not-the-pep-talk-you-give-yourself-it-is-earned/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I'm an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zsa-zsa-gabo/i-m-an-excellent-housekeeper-every-time-i-get-a-divorce-i-keep-the/) Zsa Zsa Gabo > [I don't let housekeeping in when I stay in hotels. It cuts down on all the caustic cleaning products and aggressive water usage, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/i-don-t-let-housekeeping-in-when-i-stay-in-hotels-it-cuts-down-on-all/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [In regards to those other franchises that are being remade, we must take pains to mention that we're the only one where the original…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/in-regards-to-those-other-franchises-that-are-being-remade-we-must/) [David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/) > [It is a woman's business to be interested in the environment. It's an extended form of housekeeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjory-stoneman-douglas/it-is-a-woman-s-business-to-be-interested-in-the-environment-it-s-an/) [Marjory Stoneman Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjory-stoneman-douglas/) > [“She helped the hunter with the cooking as a husband helps his wife: when he had gone out to hunt and left something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/she-helped-the-hunter-with-the-cooking-as-a-husband-helps-his-wife/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [A certain amount of housekeeping also goes on in my poems. I wash doorknobs, do dishes, mop floors, patch carpets, cook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/a-certain-amount-of-housekeeping-also-goes-on-in-my-poems-i-wash/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Our housekeeping is mendicant, our arts, our occupations, our marriages, our religion we have not chosen but society has chosen for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/our-housekeeping-is-mendicant-our-arts-our-occupations-our-marriages/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Not a change for the better in our human housekeeping has ever taken place that wise and good men have not opposed it-have not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/not-a-change-for-the-better-in-our-human-housekeeping-has-ever-taken/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [My idea of superwoman is someone who scrubs her own floors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/my-idea-of-superwoman-is-someone-who-scrubs-her-own-floors/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [My father was a general manager with Hyatt, so we lived in the hotel so he would be close by if there were any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-agron/my-father-was-a-general-manager-with-hyatt-so-we-lived-in-the-hotel/) [Dianna Agron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-agron/) > [I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/i-m-not-going-to-vacuum-til-sears-makes-one-you-can-ride-on/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [If a woman is not fit to manage the internal matters of a house, she is fit for nothing, and should never be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-elizabeth-prescott-spofford/if-a-woman-is-not-fit-to-manage-the-internal-matters-of-a-house-she/) [Harriet Elizabeth Prescott Spofford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-elizabeth-prescott-spofford/) > [But housekeeping is fun. It is one job where you enjoy the results right along as you work. You may work all day washing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-taber/but-housekeeping-is-fun-it-is-one-job-where-you-enjoy-the-results/) [Gladys Taber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-taber/) [Browse all 127 Housekeeping quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/housekeeping/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At a certain level housekeeping is a regime of small kindnesses, which, taken together, make the world salubrious, savory, and warm.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marilynne Robinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/at-a-certain-level-housekeeping-is-a-regime-of-small-kindnesses-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Housekeeping" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/at-a-certain-level-housekeeping-is-a-regime-of-small-kindnesses-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marilynne-robinson-602_housekeeping_at-a-certain-level-housekeeping-is-a-reg_199844.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marilynne-robinson-602_housekeeping_at-a-certain-level-housekeeping-is-a-reg_199844.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/marilynne-robinson-602_housekeeping_at-a-certain-level-housekeeping-is-a-reg_199844.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At a certain level housekeeping is a regime of small kindnesses, which, taken together, make the world…” — Marilynne Robinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Marilynne Robinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“At a certain level housekeeping is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/at-a-certain-level-housekeeping-is-a-regime-of-small-kindnesses-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/at-a-certain-level-housekeeping-is-a-regime-of-small-kindnesses-which/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```