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I am wondering if I have OCD in that I really can't stand to see messes. We keep the dishes washed up ( those that do not go in the Dishwasher) and the house straightened up as I can't stand piles of stuff laying around. I really get physically uptight and can't relax because of the stuff laying around or not put back in its place. Perhaps I just think that a couple of minutes everyday saves having to spend hours cleaning up mountains worth of junk. JMHO
OH NO, YOU DI-INT!
Seriously, I totally agree. And I don't think our reaction and thought process is any less desirable than the ones expressed on this thread about feeling uptight and unable to relax if someone in the house is a "neat freak."
You know, I come by this honest (not that I'm complaining). My dad can come visit my house and stay a month, and literally he messes NOTHING up. He brings in one bag, puts it in the guest room, and just doesn't make a mess anywhere. He drinks his coffee, rinses the cup, dries it and puts it back in the cupboard. When he takes his clothes off, he folds them and lays them on his little bag. When he gets up in the morning, he immediately makes the bed, before he even comes out for a cup of coffee. I'm the same way - it's like we're both very self contained, if that makes sense.
My husband is the same way - I did not marry my opposite, I married someone very much like myself. (Works great, by the way.)
It's in our DNA, I think - part of our personalities.
As for relaxing, that part of what you wrote really resonates with me. My husband and I LOVE relaxing at home - in a clean and orderly home. If we come in and have a lot of stuff with us, we will put it all away and clean up everything before we sit down and go "Ahhhhhhh!"
In fact, if we come in from a trip, big or small, I won't sit down and relax, or go to bed, or whatever, until I've unpacked and put away everything, and started the dishwasher. I can't stand looking at piles of luggage and bags and dirty clothes, etc. from a trip!
I'm looking around my house today and I'm thinking that I fall into the "slob" category. BUT, it's not usually like that, I promise! It's just that I've been gone so much this week that the whole house has fallen into disarray. (And to be honest, it's worse than just disarray! There might be goats living in my guest room, I dunno. Little scared to look. Although, I really like goats, so if they are in there, I suppose we can work something out.)
On Wednesday I spent the day with the industrial Shop Vac... sucking up all the flotsam. Wednesday night, I opened the back door and every leaf and piece of crap from the yard blew into my living room, so that was time well spent, obviously!
But, I spent the day at the beach today and that was better for my psyche than doing dishes and dusting, so nooooooo regrets! Woooot!
Eww, you posted a foot pic! That is gross, even with the pedicure!
I was trying to get a point across.
When your feet look like mine do in that picture, you're obviously house bound - with lots of time on your hands!
Sorry you find clean, pedicured feet gross though. I didn't mean to offend your sensibilities! (Maybe it was the iodine on the right foot, I don't know...)
Oh my, this discussion took a lot of turns along the way, lets come back to the Original Post - question was about FRIDGE and KITCHEN (even bathroom was spared for another rant)
And while some are labeling OP as judgemental, lets go back to the fridge discussion.
Do you know that 40% of food Americans buy gets waisted? (I initially thought it's 30%, but looked it up to be sure and was shocked it's that much)
Here are a couple of links:
Now, the preceding discussion was quite entertaining, but somehow it all went on and on and on about clean HOUSES vs messy houses, and why one is better than the other (or not)
I have a feeling that clean house and clean fridge are different beasts.
See, if you have extra stuff at home, some people may call it clutter, and other people may call it collectibles and antiques, that one can sell some day, or Good Stuff one can use some day. Plus, we all have different comfort level as of what is just enough and what is excess.
With food it's different. It is meant to be consumed. Some foods are highly perishable, and others keep quite long, but they all still have to be eaten. So a messy fridge may just mean, that a person (or a family) is overestimating how much food they should buy, how much they cook and eat. Once the fridge is fully stocked, it's hard to clean. Plus you don't want to damage it by
keeping the doors open and wiping shelves for too long. (even the neatest folks I know only clean fridge when it's at least half empty).
Here's a life story:
the neatest and cleanest fridge I had in my life was when I lived with 5 other roommates. They were not the most organized people. They were not truly messy, but not particularly clean either. since we all had tight budgets and only few things each, we kept clutter at bay. Otherwise the excess could have spilled over...
Apartment was "broom clean" at it's best (we were striving to clean the bathroom 1 a week, and it happened about twice a month), but fridge was immaculate. Why? Because we ate every little bit of food. See, we decided to grocery shop and cook together (taking turns, sharing expenses). We would go to the store once a week with a big list, and before next shopping trip all was eaten. We had literally absolutely empty shelves. One time a lonely jar of pizza sauce was hanging around for a few weeks, but then a hungry visitor polished it off with some chips.
Since the fridge was completely empty, it needed one paper towel and 2 minutes time to wipe the shelves.
As I observe, cooking - and keeping up with groceries, food preservation etc - is becoming a lost art. There are families that seldom cook, and live off cereal in the morning and take outs for the rest of the day. There are families who hire someone to cook for them.
And in general, people are just buying too much food.
Even in this thread, many times clutter in houses was mentioned. But one can clutter up fridge with food just as well.
Besides, there is not enough respect for food, IMHO. I come from East Europe, and in my childhood it was unheard of to do crafts with food. Noodle necklaces and rice ornaments? That would be a big no no. I remember a time when it was hard to get quality noodles to eat, believe it or not.
So if kids play with food in preschool and kindergarten, it's much easier to overbuy and throw away something that should not be taken for granted. Hence fridge overflow.
Tikaram, I think you make a very interesting point in your post. Since striving for a no-trash kitchen, it's amazing how much easier it is to maintain a clean & organized fridge. I purchase the vast majority of our family's food from bulk containers in reusable glass jars I bring from home. Even raw meat from the butcher counter is placed directly in a jar. Any leftovers from meals are stored in glass jelly jars and kept in the very front of the fridge. Nothing is hidden inside an opaque container to spoil. I can see exactly how much I have at all times and plan my meals accordingly, so food gets eaten in a timely manner. For most of the year, excluding winter when having a little extra on hand is prudent, I try to have a mostly empty fridge on shopping day.
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