When the scouts go camping, cleaning up isn’t optional. They have a saying:
"Leave the campsite cleaner than you found it."
They respect the environment and want to leave it beautiful for others.
They also take responsibility for the trash left by other people. Scouts clean up, no matter who caused the mess.
It’s a good rule to live by as a developer as well.
Leave the code cleaner than you found it
Code cleanliness isn’t optional. Quality should be non-negotiable. Don’t ship code that you aren’t proud of.
That means:
- Rename variables
- Clarify logic
- Reduce repetition
- Update documentation
- Delete unused code
Respect the code base and leave it better than you found it. Help others enjoy working in your code.
Even if you didn’t cause the mess, take responsibility for cleaning it up.