Does a messy home (or office) make you anxious and cranky, or is cleaning something you just do before company comes over?
Today’s Daily Prompt question is interesting because for me there doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut answer.
When it comes to working out of the house I am anxious and cranky about a messy desk/office. Everything has its place. Unfortunately I have worked in places where it’s hard to find a place for everything because of space, location or lack of equipment/supplies. I am completely ashamed to say that I have actually driven back to my office at night or gone in on a weekend just because I left a mess behind. I have no idea if that makes me obsessive, a good employee or just plain stupid but I’ve done it.
As far as my house is concerned I would have to say I fall somewhere in the middle. If I’m going to have people over and I have ample notice, I will be pretty anxious about making sure the house is clean. I lived by myself for a few years so my obsessiveness about cleanliness in those years would ebb and flow. For a few days I would be a slob. Now, when I say slob I mean not doing the dishes, not putting my clothes away or not sweeping the floor. I don’t mean leaving rotting food lying around or garbage everywhere. I want to be sure to be specific here.
I also have to admit there have been times when company was coming that I did the “fake clean”. You know what I’m talking about, I know you’ve done it too, don’t deny it. Dirty dishes in the oven, clothes shoved in a closet or piles of stuff moved to a closet or drawer. Yes, this is very deceiving because people think you have a clean house all the time but it’s better than them thinking the alternative in my mind.
Now that I have a roommate I’m a bit more obsessive at home, I may go a couple of days without doing dishes, vacuuming, etc. but I make sure to keep a pretty clean house so she doesn’t think I’m a slob. I still throw my dirty clothes down the basement steps but I attempt to make them in a basket instead of leaving them on the floor at the bottom. I still may not put my clothes away but at least they’re in my closet in a basket instead of in the living room in a basket. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone that my closet isn’t clean.
I also have to say that I am very obsessive about my house before I leave for a few days. I don’t like coming home to a mess and God forbid something happened to me, I don’t want people coming over to find a mess! They certainly don’t need to come in to find a science experiment in the fridge, a messy bathroom or a pile of dirty laundry.
I’m not going to be one of those people who say “oh, my house is clean all the time” or “no one cleans like I do” because that’s just not true. I know a few of those people and I’ve discovered those who brag the most about being obsessively clean really aren’t that way.
Thinking about all this just prompted me to make a list for tomorrow. Vacuum, laundry, kitchen and bathroom floors and clean sheet night. Ohhh, looking forward to going to bed tomorrow night already! Yes, it’s true, clean sheet night is really that exciting to me.
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