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I'm not offended. I'm not a slob, so I have nothing to be offended about. I don't see the need to keep harping on how clean and orderly your house is and how easy it is to keep it that way, if not to try to convince other people that they should do it too. The op said he doesn't understand how people can feel good about them selves if their houses aren't clean and tidy. Some people don't derive their happiness or self worth from the cleanliness of their house. The end.
So by saying that you are not a slob you imply that some people are slobs. And I'm assuming that you have a definition in your head of what a slob is, and you could probably identify people who would fit your own personal definition. I guess you figure it's within your right to hold that opinion.
Some people see their homes, where they live and raise their families, as deeply personal and a reflection of their personalities and even their values. The end.
So by saying that you are not a slob you imply that some people are slobs. And I'm assuming that you have a definition in your head of what a slob is, and you could probably identify people who would fit your own personal definition. I guess you figure it's within your right to hold that opinion.
Some people see their homes, where they live and raise their families, as deeply personal and a reflection of their personalities and even their values. The end.
Interesting, what values would those be?
I'm just not convinced that you can judge a person's worth by how often they clean the rug.
Just so you know, keeping the average house neat and clean is NOT all that time consuming. Picking up in the evening should really only take each person about ten minutes. Doing the dishes after each meal - ten to twenty minutes max if you have a dishwasher. Making up a bed and picking up your clothes - five minutes. Cleaning a tub or shower after use - 2-3 minutes. Once a week deep cleaning - about an hour IF you stay on top of things and only have to mop, sweep, vacuum, dust and empty small trash cans - that sort of thing. About once a month, you can clean blinds, ceiling fans, under furniture, etc. and this may take an hour or two.
In other words, if you're not a slob every day, and pick up or clean smaller things as you go along, which takes just a few minutes each day, your house will STAY pretty clean and neat, and it's not a life altering, earth shaking event to do your weekly "deep cleaning."
there's that word "slob" too.
You wrote this today:
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
I didn't say I spend an hour every day cleaning my house. What I said was,
A typical day entails:
Making up the bed - 3 minutes max
Cleaning the tub/shower after use - 2 minutes
Cleaning the toilet with the toilet brush - 15 seconds
Wiping the bathroom counter - 30 seconds
Cleaning up after meals - 30 minutes max, often less
That's about 35 minutes a day, more or less. My gosh, houses take SOME upkeep!
Every few days I will mop or sweep or vacuum - that takes about 15 minutes
Once a week I dust - that takes about 15 minutes
Laundry - about 30 minutes a week
Usually about once a month I take on a big cleaning project, like cleaning all the blinds, or going through a closet to give stuff to Goodwill, or deep cleaning my pantry or refrigerator or garage. This can take a couple of hours.
It's just not that hard if you stay on top of things.
And I'm an avid reader by the way. Just polished off an 800 page book myself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon
So by saying that you are not a slob you imply that some people are slobs. And I'm assuming that you have a definition in your head of what a slob is, and you could probably identify people who would fit your own personal definition. I guess you figure it's within your right to hold that opinion.
Some people see their homes, where they live and raise their families, as deeply personal and a reflection of their personalities and even their values. The end.
I only used the word slob because the OP did.
You seem to have a system that works for you and the time to implement it. Good for you. I can't help but feel like you are trying to convince everyone reading that your way is the right way.
My home probably does reflect my personality and my values, which may not be your personality and values, and that's fine.
You seem to have a system that works for you and the time to implement it. Good for you. I can't help but feel like you are trying to convince everyone reading that your way is the right way.
My home probably does reflect my personality and my values, which may not be your personality and values, and that's fine.
Methinks thou doth protest too much. I'm saying what works for ME and why I do what I do and how. Aren't you doing the same thing?
you pretty much did say such a thing. you said you only have tidy friends and went into quite a long disertation about a neighbor who didn't keep a clean house and what a mess she was. you were sure to mention that you didn't consider her a friend.
I was always envious of those who keep such clean organized homes....I could never quite "get there". Then I had to help a friend dig her way out of one hell of a mess. She's not a hoarder tho - in fact we are getting rid of a lot of stuff I would have deemed worthy to save. She finally sought therapy to hopefully never backslide again. Turns out she has "squalor syndrome" brought on by traumatic life events. She isn't one to accept the psychological reasons behind this - she'd rather just be done with it....but wow have my eyes been opened.
There's levels of clean just like there are levels of messy. I'm not envious of the neat peeps anymore - and I feel for the slobs who don't want to be that way. As for the majority that are somewhere in between? That life is good...is all that matters.
We have very little clutter and it takes me about 1 hour each day to tidy up a 4500 sq/ft house. In that hour I make 3 beds, dustmop 2500 sq/ft of hardwood (3 indoor cats require daily floor attention!) straighten the kitchen (empty dishwasher, wipe counters, quickly wipe out fridge and microwave) lightly dust all surfaces with a Swiffer duster and touch up 3.5 bathrooms with Lysol wipes. By about 9am every morning I am done cleaning and ready to enjoy my day. I do have a service come in 1x/month to deep clean the bathrooms since that is one chore I can not stand to do. Laundry is done 2x week for our family of 4 and I just work it in around my home-based business.
In my experience, having enough living space so that everything has a place makes a HUGE difference in being able to keep a house clean. Our former house was a cramped and cluttered space with practically zero storage and it was extremely difficult to motivate myself to clean around all the crap. I had a tendency to be a slob in our old house but it feels so much better knowing that anyone, including my mother, can walk into my new home at any time and go into any room of the house and I know it's tidy and clean.
And yet somehow you manage to be so self righteous! What an art!
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I do have a service come in 1x/month to deep clean the bathrooms since that is one chore I can not stand to do. Laundry is done 2x week for our family of 4 and I just work it in around my home-based business. 
