Neatniks vs... well... not-so-neat

[AmarilloByMorning]

Ya'll are welcome! any time.. dont expect a clean house tho LOL
I never trust people with clean houses... could just be me...

[ticky]

I never trust people with clean houses... could just be me...

In that case, Im excruciatingly trust-worthy! UGH... i just turned around and looked at my living room. I gotta learn not to do that.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

I never trust people with clean houses... could just be me...


Well - ABM, maybe you should get out and meet more people. People with clean houses can be trustworthy, too. No - really, they can! :wink: :lol:

[AmarilloByMorning]

Well - ABM, maybe you should get out and meet more people. People with clean houses can be trustworthy, too. No - really, they can! :wink: :lol:
Quite happy as a hermit-recluse hybrid, thank you!
I just love walking into someone's place or vehicle when it obviously has not been assembled in anticipation of your arrival - it's a sense of "Hey, welcome home!" So Henley and I would last about thirty seconds.

[sodascouts]

Since the horrifically messy state of my apartment prompted my mother to cry, "I've failed as a mother - I never taught you that you have to clean!" - well, let's just say I'm really trustworthy!

But I wasn't expecting her or I would have at least moved the piles of junk off of the couch, chairs, and tables to somewhere less obvious.... probably would have vacuumed... swept the floor... dusted... those things don't happen at my place unless people are coming over.

(I think I might have just admitted too much...)

[ticky]

Since the horrifically messy state of my apartment prompted my mother to cry, "I've failed as a mother - I never taught you that you have to clean!" - well, let's just say I'm really trustworthy!

But I wasn't expecting her or I would have at least moved the piles of junk off of the couch, chairs, and tables to somewhere less obvious.... probably would have vacuumed... swept the floor... dusted... those things don't happen at my place unless people are coming over.

(I think I might have just admitted too much...)

I dunno, Soda, I've never felt so close to you. :hilarious:
Sarah's afraid of the vacuum cleaner. Whats that tell you?

[MikeA]

Verna calls me a "pilot". I see something on a table...I "pilot" in the basement. I end up with a "pile of it" over here and one over there culminating in Verna threatening to throw it ALL OUT. Now how's THAT fair? I usually know which pile or close to which pile just about anything is that I'm looking for...except for those things in piles that I've forgotten about. Then I get to create NEW piles sorted in a different order. Makes perfect sense to me!

[AzEaglesFan]

Have any of you watched the new show "hoarders", well my house is not that bad but I just can't seem to throw to many things away. About the time something makes it to the trash I need it and have to go buy another one.

[AmarilloByMorning]

I wasn't expecting her or I would have at least moved the piles of junk off of the couch, chairs, and tables to somewhere less obvious.... probably would have vacuumed... swept the floor... dusted... those things don't happen at my place unless people are coming over.

(I think I might have just admitted too much...)
No, no, no; I'm with ticky on this one. :grouphug: Group hug! You both have my support in this regard!


I usually know which pile or close to which pile just about anything is that I'm looking for...except for those things in piles that I've forgotten about. Then I get to create NEW piles sorted in a different order. Makes perfect sense to me!
:cheers:
And the best part is looking through the piles you've forgotten about and finding "new" things. "Heyyyy... I've been wanting that! Excellent!" Better than shopping because you bought 'em in the first place so it's like raiding your other self's treasure trove!

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Well OMG - Certainly I am not the only member of this board that is willing to defend the neat freaks, am I?. Sure we may be a bit obsessive compulsive, but to attack our very integrity and motives is beyond my anal comprehension. Please believe that I am trustworthy when I say I like to keep my world in perfect order for myself - not merely to impress some lame visitor. And all you pilots out there, just remember you haven't cornered the market on hiding things from yourselves. :lol:

Now, of course, I'm not really offended, but the other side needs a voice here. :nahnah:

[AmarilloByMorning]

dreamer, we're all just disguising our jealousy, don't let anyone kid you. There's a very Frey/Henley (Frenley?) situation unfurling here. :)

I do like my piles, though.

[Prettymaid]

Well OMG - Certainly I am not the only member of this board that is willing to defend the neat freaks, am I?. Sure we may be a bit obsessive compulsive, but to attack our very integrity and motives is beyond my anal comprehension. Please believe that I am trustworthy when I say I like to keep my world in perfect order for myself - not merely to impress some lame visitor. And all you pilots out there, just remember you haven't cornered the market on hiding things from yourselves. :lol:

Now, of course, I'm not really offended, but the other side needs a voice here. :nahnah:


I can't really classify myself as a "neat freak", but I do believe in "a place for everything and everything in it's place". Can't say I've always been that way though. It's an aquired condition. ;)

[luvthelighthouse]

Well Dreamer, I want to be a neat freak. I was a neat freak for many years... but kids change that. Now I feel lucky to avoid stepping on Lego's in the dark.

How's messy but clean? I dust, mop and vacuum regulary... but clean laundry and toys are usually everywhere!

[TimothyBFan]

I'm what I call a "surface cleaner" myself. I try to keep the floors clean (difficult with 3 cats and 2 dogs and kids running around all the time) counters cleaned off etc but DON'T look under ANYTHING or open a closet! It's ugly!!!

[eaglesvet]

No, no, no; I'm with ticky on this one. :grouphug: Group hug! You both have my support in this regard!


:cheers:
And the best part is looking through the piles you've forgotten about and finding "new" things. "Heyyyy... I've been wanting that! Excellent!" Better than shopping because you bought 'em in the first place so it's like raiding your other self's treasure trove!
Oh, I can tell I'm forming an alliance with Soda, Ticky, MikeA, and ABM on this one. Also Luvthelighthouse, with the piles of clean laundry...by the time I would've gotten around to puttin' it all away, the kids have already worn it again :hilarious: ! I do make an attempt, however! Mike, nothing is more exasperating when you know you have something in a pile, but in the meantime some 'well-meaning soul" has gone and moved in on you...endless amounts of time wasted searching for the something you knew the exact location of the last time you thought of it :mad:...

And Dreamer and the neatniks, I am soo utterly :jealous: that you can make 'neatnik-ing' a priority in your schedules (that I'm sure are busy and full as mine is!) I just haven't had that become a priority...yet!

[MikeA]

I'm looking for a box of 15 golf balls I bought. I've marked them and everything and now can't find them. I'e look through all my regularly used piles. I mean, come on, most of my piles can't hide a full freakin' box of 15 golf balls!

Oh well, I'll find them next year and will be pleased because the price of the balls will have gone up by then and I will have saved money!

There is virtue in sloppiness.

[Brooke]

I guess I'll have to join dreamer and the neat freak team! My kids friends used to come over and tell me I had the cleanest house they'd ever been in! I have put things away and never found them again though! :rolleyes:

Now once in a while things get messy, but it always gets straightened up. I just can't handle it any other way! :shrug:

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Oh Brooke - I just knew I could count on my twin-separated-at-birth on this. However, I do have a small confession to make - when I said that I kept my world in perfect order, I was exaggerating somewhat for dramatic effect. :wink: I used to be a lot more anal about my house than I am now. But as I like to say - sometimes the world gets in the way and things have to slide. I mostly keep things neat, but I do have some piles. Of course, they are usually my little secret piles that are hidden away out of sight where only I know where to find them (hopefully). In addition, I have been known to occasionally spot a dust bunny or two around the place! :shrug:

[sodascouts]

Today I cleaned out what I call my "important papers drawer" which contains any records that I need to keep for a long time. I was looking for a certain prescription and I dug ALL the way down before finding it. I figured, as I refilled the drawer, why not throw away what was expired - warranties, insurance materials, out of date prescriptions, records that are now irrelevant, etc... I threw away TWO-THIRDS of the content of that drawer!!

[ticky]

My mother is a "neat freak". They live in a beautiful house and the gardens and house are well tended and gorgeous. I dunno where it came from, but my brother and I are both slobs. My sister was very tidy but she never lived in anything bigger then about 300 square feet. All her furniture however was highly polished antique wood and everything was beautiful. Now THAT is much more like my Mom.
I've decided not to paint the walls till Im sure Sarah is well out of the drawing on them phaze (I think she's there, but we'll wait till spring) The girls rooms are.. well.. dangerous for walking in. Jenni's room will soon get the over haul as well as the bathroom, but Im just not a cleaning type person, never have been, never will be.
I had a therapist once who said I was a "lazy perfectionist" I want everything a certain way and if I cant have it that way or it's too big a job, I just dont do it.
That's about right!

[sodascouts]

I had a therapist once who said I was a "lazy perfectionist" I want everything a certain way and if I cant have it that way or it's too big a job, I just dont do it.
That's about right!

LOL! I think we all have a bit of that in us. ;)

[AmarilloByMorning]

Oh, I can tell I'm forming an alliance with Soda, Ticky, MikeA, and ABM on this one.
Survivor on the Border! We might not be able to find the lion hide to hold the sticks of our tents together ("I swear, it was just here"), but we're unparalleled in the hunter-gatherer department.


And Dreamer and the neatniks, I am soo utterly :jealous: that you can make 'neatnik-ing' a priority in your schedules (that I'm sure are busy and full as mine is!) I just haven't had that become a priority...yet!
I, conversely, have no wild animals (aka children) to herd/attend and plenty of time on the weekends... but no ambition whatsoever. "Do I want to clean or work on my sketch?" Ask a stupid question...

Everyone with children has my sympathy though. My sister and I are thirteen years apart, so I remember all too well the inherent futility of attempting to keep anything arranged. The rough equivalent of acting out this on a regular basis: :steviesmack: (Couldn't resist - it's on the sidebar this week, and has to be the single greatest smiley ever.)

[Brooke]

Oh Brooke - I just knew I could count on my twin-separated-at-birth on this. However, I do have a small confession to make - when I said that I kept my world in perfect order, I was exaggerating somewhat for dramatic effect. :wink: I used to be a lot more anal about my house than I am now. But as I like to say - sometimes the world gets in the way and things have to slide. I mostly keep things neat, but I do have some piles. Of course, they are usually my little secret piles that are hidden away out of sight where only I know where to find them (hopefully). In addition, I have been known to occasionally spot a dust bunny or two around the place! :shrug:

Yep, twin sista. I must confess to seeing a dust bunny once in a blue moon at my house, too!

[Prettymaid]

ABM's definitely on to something. The fact that I have no kids and a neat husband works in my favor. Do I want to clean? No-o-o-o-o. But you do what you gotta do!

[Molly]

Kay and Brooke, I'm in the minority with ya, it seems.

I love a clean house, I love to clean my house. Our yard is the same way.

I have it down to a system to the point where I can get my chores done in just a few hours a week. Twice a year, I rip the house apart and clean it top to bottom. During these cleaning binges-I purge what we no longer need. Stuff gets takent to the local women's shelter or Goodwill. No stuff piled up here.

My boys aren't neat freaks (thank god we have doors on their rooms) -but both of them aren't afraid of housework and both of them are really good at it. I will have lucky daughter in laws some day.

I only sound anal. Our house is clean, but lived in. People don't have to take their shoes off here, no freakin' out about spills or glass rings and you can go ahead and put your feet on my coffee table if ya want, I don't care. And of course, there are the dogs.

[skibum1606]

I'm not really a neat person either, but since i moved into my new space i have been trying to keep stuff neat, it is working so far but it hasn't even been a week so only time will tell. but if you go back to my home it looks like a disaster zone

[sodascouts]

I have it down to a system to the point where I can get my chores done in just a few hours a week. Twice a year, I rip the house apart and clean it top to bottom. During these cleaning binges-I purge what we no longer need. Stuff gets takent to the local women's shelter or Goodwill. No stuff piled up here.

:jawdrop:

My hat is off to you!!

[eaglesvet]

Survivor on the Border! We might not be able to find the lion hide to hold the sticks of our tents together ("I swear, it was just here"), but we're unparalleled in the hunter-gatherer department.


I, conversely, have no wild animals (aka children) to herd/attend and plenty of time on the weekends... but no ambition whatsoever. "Do I want to clean or work on my sketch?" Ask a stupid question...

Everyone with children has my sympathy though. My sister and I are thirteen years apart, so I remember all too well the inherent futility of attempting to keep anything arranged. The rough equivalent of acting out this on a regular basis: :steviesmack: (Couldn't resist - it's on the sidebar this week, and has to be the single greatest smiley ever.)
OK, guys, LOL at Mike and his golf balls, Ticky and her "lazy perfectionist" scheme, and ABM 's search for the lion hide! And Ticky, I'm taking your "wait until Sarah's older phase" a bunch of steps further. The way I look at it, why waste a summer day cleaning the bathroom (the worst job in the world), when you can take your kids to the shore/pool/insert favorite leisure activity here? You have your whole life to clean the house; while the time that your children actually want to spend with you is so fleeting...you need to take advantage of it before they grow all up and act like teenagers! :hilarious: Actually, I'm entering a good phase right now...Ethan, my 13-yr-old, is seemingly returning from the Dark Side (which he entered 2 years ago), and I will take all possible measures to nurture this newly-forged relationship where he is actually speaking to me and seeking advice, rather than grunting/yelling/giving me the silent treatment. Yea! :thumbsup:

Dreamer and Brooke, I was also LOL about you and your twin sisterhood. It certainly does seem to come up a lot!