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homes and the state of cleanliness


saturn

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My wife and I just baby sat overnight for our nephew and his wife. A girl and two boys ages 4-7. Good kids, but a little wild and it's obvious they are raised in a different house than ours.

 

When we visit their house we're amazed (appalled) at the conditions they live in. There are clothes, toys, dirty dishes, dirty ash trays, you name it, strewn all about. They have several dogs and cats and it looks like they never vacuum. We wonder how anyone could live this way.

 

On the other side of the spectrum, we have some friends who's house is so neat, you would think it's a model home. Everything is pristine and nothing is out of place. It's obviously very nice, but whenever we visit, I'm afraid I will do something to mess up their perfect house.

 

My house is somewhere in between. I'd like to think we strike a balance between keeping our house clean and being obsessive/compulsive about it. We vacuum, mop, wipe down and scrub what needs it. But we have some clutter piled here and there, have a few stains in the carpet that haven't come out. Have some places where paint or dry wall could be fixed. You know, signs of habitation. Same with the yard. I keep it trimmed and relatively neat, but I'm nowhere as anal as my neighbor who spends every spare minute piddling in his perfect yard/lawn. I'm fine with all this. My wife would prefer to be more like our friends with the sterile house but that will never happen.

 

Where do you guys fall along the neat spectrum?

 

To expand on the same idea, I have the same attitude with my vehicles and guitars. I do my best to take care of them, but realize they will get some dings and scratches. I'm not going to get all worked up when they happen or bother to fix every blemish.

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I'm in the middle but closer to the clean end of the spectrum than my wife is.

Not quite the Odd Couple but I couldn't live with piles uh crap everywhere like she does.

 

I try to keep my important possessions in good shape: that would be motorcycles, guitars, stereo equipment, riding gear, tools, knives, the guy stuff.

 

My reptiles, on the other hand, just don't seem to care about anything other than where's the next meal coming from.

The tortoises eat the yard but they're not much on edge trimming.

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90% clean and tidy, and 10% not so much.

 

My wife is more of a cleaner, and I'm Mister Tidy & Organized, so we work it all out just about right.

Our two dogs keep up sweeping and Swiffering more often than not.

 

My music room is more cramped than I like for it to be, so I HAVE to have it squared-away and neat.

I HATE stepping on cables.

:unsure:

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That's a good question, and a good observation.

 

Me, I tend to go through the extremes rather quickly. My house can be at the extreme you first describe, (which is on the edge of embarrassment for me), and then I clean it to a state of analization. Often that in-between state you describe, I can make the house that way from really bad in about 10 minutes. But when I clean, I go all the way, but it doesn't take as long as one might think.

 

Back when I had 2 cars, a work truck and a caddy, the caddy would be either messy or perfect, but never very dirty, The work truck was often dirty AND messy. Now that I am just down to the work truck, it if often REALLY messy AND dirty, but when I clean it twice a year or so, it gets detailed to perfection.

 

I always been kinda that way, when you come over, you never know what you will get. But a long time ago, I realized the important thing is to be comfortable, and to feel welcome. While there are some states that I will admit to being embarrassed about, I kinda think if I am feeling embarrassed, I am probably feeling judgmental and making others feel uncomfortable. A home is a home, and we are all humans.

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I don't call myself a neat freak... everyone else does for some reason though. :rolleyes:

 

I can't stand clutter. A place for everything... I do have a few piles though... books and magazines on deck mostly.

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I guess I am on the strange side then as I have been told more times than I can count that I am WAY to picky and clean.

I can not stand when things get even the slightest dusty or dirty, or out of place.

Used to drive my ex wife crazy.

I change my bed sheets at least twice a week, and while I do that I change the comforter

I never use the same towel twice, never wear any type of clothing unless it's washed, ( meaning I won't wear the same pants two days in a row). Constantly going through the house dusting and cleaning. While we had a cleaning service for our house, I would clean the house before the cleaning people would arrive. Some times for some thing to do, I will clean the refrigerator, or go through my double stack tool chest and take every thing out and clean the tools . Hell, some times it drives Me crazy.

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I guess I am on the strange side then as I have been told more times than I can count that I am WAY to picky and clean.

I can not stand when things get even the slightest dusty or dirty, or out of place.

Used to drive my ex wife crazy.

I change my bed sheets at least twice a week, and while I do that I change the comforter

I never use the same towel twice, never wear any type of clothing unless it's washed, ( meaning I won't wear the same pants two days in a row). Constantly going through the house dusting and cleaning. While we had a cleaning service for our house, I would clean the house before the cleaning people would arrive. Some times for some thing to do, I will clean the refrigerator, or go through my double stack tool chest and take every thing out and clean the tools . Hell, some times it drives Me crazy.

 

You must have a sick mind. [unsure]

 

Just kidding. :) Better that extreme than the other.

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I'm pretty much so so about it. My friend was, and probably still is, horrified at my standards. Her's are way different. I attempt to point out one can clean all you like but the dust it will still come back so why worry? That said I don't consider I am grotty. While I may wear the same pair of pants for a couple of days, I won't if I have been doing any dirty work and I always have clean shirts.

 

And have I seen some people with OCD! Went for lunch with a couple. Splendid house. However, the husband's woodshed! All the timber both big and small, and most of it only useful for lighting a fire, was stacked according to size. The only way I describe it is as a work of art

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The house is tidy and probably to some tastes "minimalist". We don't have lots of things hanging around. knick-knacks, decorations etc. We only have window coverings in the bedrooms because we can't bear to block out the lovely country views from all windows. So yes "minimalist" is the word.

 

The floors get dirty easy with walking from paddocks outside onto quarry tiles, and the dog is a dirt magnet and messes the place all on her own!

 

However it's the dust here that is impossible to control and unless you wipe with a damp cloth rather than a duster, it's back very quickly. Wood fires add to that.

 

I am a fanatic when it comes to kitchen cleanliness though, also storage and handling of food.

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I tend to be on the neat side of the coin, the Mrs. well, not so much (it's tolerable, just a bit irritating) but I'm guessing I'm not the only lone male here...

 

Back on topic, several years ago I did some house "flipping". You wouldn't (or maybe you would) believe the way some people live. I csn remember walking through more than one house where you actually had to hold your breath or gag. And people LIVED there!

 

I'm not embarased to have anyone stop by unanounced because of the way the house looks at any given time, other than maybe the few odd dirty dishes in the sink (till I get a dishwasher load).

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I was told long ago that wherever I live tended to look like a Marine Corps barracks. Did not take the observation as a compliment. Since then my take on living quarters has become far more comfort oriented. I'm organized, dislike filth, find things piled in heaps to be inefficient and - hence - uncomfortable, accept child/grandchild clutter as a fact of living, absolutely DESPISE prolonged cleaning episodes and have adopted a method of keeping up with things as I go along which becomes second nature and conveys to me no actual sense of effort. Things look good to me, I have no need to fear that disease may be breeding in the kitchen sink, I do not plan to eat off the floor or drink from the commode - but should the need arise I would expect to survive. I'd consider myself middle ground, essentially. Ups and downs both happen sometimes - no big production.

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I'm somewhere in the middle. I can deal with clutter for a while but will deal with it eventually. Supper dishes cleaned after supper. Sometime the next morning. Can't deal with stink so food mess is dealt with asap. Although my wife don't like my onion leftovers on the counter over night but I'm ok with it.

So ya, not obsessed but not a slob either.

A clean freak I'm not!

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Shortly after I married, I found out I married a female Oscar Madison on the Odd Couple! She can live with a mess and never bother her. She does clean, or use to more but she has so many clothes and shoes they fill up 7 closets and piles of clothes on two chairs and the upstairs tub and bedroom floor. I keep after her to get rid of what she doesn't wear or fit into anymore. I use to clean the house all the time, do the laundry, vacuum and dust. My mother got after me a lot. Told me that was Women's Work! I'm supposed to do just the outside stuff. Guess that was the older generations way of doing it. However, when she does clean; she does it throughout and real good. If she knows someone is coming over, the house will be clean. My son gets after her way more then I do so I don't have to say anything. He's the Felix Unger of the Odd Couple! And to listen to them both go at it is priceless. Only wish he'd come over more often as she gets upset if I touch her stuff.

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90% clean and tidy, and 10% not so much.

 

My wife is more of a cleaner, and I'm Mister Tidy & Organized, so we work it all out just about right.

Our two dogs keep up sweeping and Swiffering more often than not.

 

My music room is more cramped than I like for it to be, so I HAVE to have it squared-away and neat.

I HATE stepping on cables.

:unsure:

 

I hear you! I have three Siberian Huskies that necessitate constant floor sweeping/vacuuming. I don't like anything to be dirty or cluttered. My guitar room is a tiny alcove in my second bedroom, so organization is critical. What was a 144 square foot room for guitars/amps in my old house is now only 24 square feet!

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If one were to consider dirty to the left and clean to the right of the middle then I am just to the right of center.

 

No political metaphor implied or inferred.

 

 

None taken. [thumbup]

Although the placement of your non political analogy of dirty left and clean right may influence some sort of biased

interpretation.

hehe...

 

Ok I've had some wine,, sue me!

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not anal, or ocd, but I have to have things in order, and some resemblance of organization, my wife is the same way.

 

houses are meant to be lived in, but I see the squalor that some people live with, I just can't understand why

 

When I'm embarrassed for them to see it, it has to be bad.

 

My Daughter is a prime example... she can live in a stye, and it would not seem to bother her. Problem is, she has three kids, (my grandkids) who are following along and.. I'm providing their "home" by means of the upstairs apartment, (or as across the ponders would say - Flat) in our two family.

 

we don't charge her rent, and we pay the heat and elect/water.. the least she can do, is keep the place orderly,,, yes, this is a problem...

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Hello.

 

I am being OCD about being organized and clean. But at the same time, I am very puritan about my appearance and my homeplace. One of the biggest pains in my life that I can't afford to restore my house.

 

Bence.

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My wife and I just baby sat overnight for our nephew and his wife. A girl and two boys ages 4-7. Good kids, but a little wild and it's obvious they are raised in a different house than ours.

 

When we visit their house we're amazed (appalled) at the conditions they live in. There are clothes, toys, dirty dishes, dirty ash trays, you name it, strewn all about. They have several dogs and cats and it looks like they never vacuum. We wonder how anyone could live this way.

 

On the other side of the spectrum, we have some friends who's house is so neat, you would think it's a model home. Everything is pristine and nothing is out of place. It's obviously very nice, but whenever we visit, I'm afraid I will do something to mess up their perfect house.

 

My house is somewhere in between. I'd like to think we strike a balance between keeping our house clean and being obsessive/compulsive about it. We vacuum, mop, wipe down and scrub what needs it. But we have some clutter piled here and there, have a few stains in the carpet that haven't come out. Have some places where paint or dry wall could be fixed. You know, signs of habitation. Same with the yard. I keep it trimmed and relatively neat, but I'm nowhere as anal as my neighbor who spends every spare minute piddling in his perfect yard/lawn. I'm fine with all this. My wife would prefer to be more like our friends with the sterile house but that will never happen.

 

Where do you guys fall along the neat spectrum?

 

To expand on the same idea, I have the same attitude with my vehicles and guitars. I do my best to take care of them, but realize they will get some dings and scratches. I'm not going to get all worked up when they happen or bother to fix every blemish.

 

 

Hello, Fellow Babies.

Embarrassing, I can only honestly discuss this under an assumed name. --- since Ladybug and Foxy chewed my leather sofa and barrel chair, on it's best days, my house is sort of cowboy bunkhouse. Like a lot of others, The economy hit hard,and I had to refinance my house --- which I had finally paid off in 2004! The place could use some fixing beyond survival repairs. But ya gotta love that duct tape…

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My wife and I just baby sat overnight for our nephew and his wife. A girl and two boys ages 4-7. Good kids, but a little wild and it's obvious they are raised in a different house than ours.

 

When we visit their house we're amazed (appalled) at the conditions they live in. There are clothes, toys, dirty dishes, dirty ash trays, you name it, strewn all about. They have several dogs and cats and it looks like they never vacuum. We wonder how anyone could live this way.

 

On the other side of the spectrum, we have some friends who's house is so neat, you would think it's a model home. Everything is pristine and nothing is out of place. It's obviously very nice, but whenever we visit, I'm afraid I will do something to mess up their perfect house.

 

My house is somewhere in between. I'd like to think we strike a balance between keeping our house clean and being obsessive/compulsive about it. We vacuum, mop, wipe down and scrub what needs it. But we have some clutter piled here and there, have a few stains in the carpet that haven't come out. Have some places where paint or dry wall could be fixed. You know, signs of habitation. Same with the yard. I keep it trimmed and relatively neat, but I'm nowhere as anal as my neighbor who spends every spare minute piddling in his perfect yard/lawn. I'm fine with all this. My wife would prefer to be more like our friends with the sterile house but that will never happen.

 

Where do you guys fall along the neat spectrum?

 

To expand on the same idea, I have the same attitude with my vehicles and guitars. I do my best to take care of them, but realize they will get some dings and scratches. I'm not going to get all worked up when they happen or bother to fix every blemish.

 

Yeah, there's no excuse for living in a dump as you described above.

 

I am not a neat freak, but I am not a slob either... I fall in that in-between area. I don't care if a pair of shoes has been sitting in a random corner of the apartment for three days... but I do care if there are dirty dishes in the sink for three days(!). Yuck!

 

My wife comes from a family where their home was, as you stated your friends' house is like: A model home showroom. She is way more of a "neat freak" than I am, as a result. Some things just stay with you, I guess. When we visit her parents, she becomes slightly more obsessive, as she knows her mom will flip out if there's anything out of place.

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My shxt is tight. Pristine. I can't live any other way which is why I sent a couple of women on their way in the past. It might be the military upbringing I had. I was the eldest of 5 kids and the Colonel was having nothing to do with a messy house. I remember getting cuffed one Sat. morning when after an inspection it was remarked that there was dust under the bed. My reply was basically so what? Nobody goes under the bed..wrong answer. Not to say my stuff doesn't get behind now and again but never out of hand. Can't abide by a messy crib.

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1464044246[/url]' post='1772059']

My shxt is tight. Pristine. I can't live any other way which is why I sent a couple of women on their way in the past. It might be the military upbringing I had. I was the eldest of 5 kids and the Colonel was having nothing to do with a messy house. I remember getting cuffed one Sat. morning when after an inspection it was remarked that there was dust under the bed. My reply was basically so what? Nobody goes under the bed..wrong answer. Not to say my stuff doesn't get behind now and again but never out of hand. Can't abide by a messy crib.

 

I bet that was the wrong answer, lol I remember we had this one General Foreman, and the entire Havelock shops was shut down one week for cleanup. They were getting it ready for family days and everything was to be in ship shape and painted. My partner and I took pride in our station and had everything perfect, wiped down and painted like new. We were told everyone was going to get the white glove test. Well, sure enough here came Dr. Dennis Quinn, we called him, and he had a white gove on and he was hitting stuff way up high and everywhere and couldn't find anything wrong or out of place. Then he left. Great we thought, now we can sit down. He came back with another foreman and they moved two tall lockers away from the wall and it was dusty on the back side with a few cobwebs. We didn't get in trouble, he just wanted to point out that we weren't perfect. msp_crying.gif

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