On Cleaning

[same_sky]

I swept my kitchen today, and I thought of how sweeping is a largely unremarkable task. Everyone does it, or, well, everyone should do it at least occasionally, but no one ever talks about it. I prefer to use a broom, and I don't hate doing it. I don't necessarily like it, but I don't mind it when I get around to it--it comes in somewhere below laundry (which I almost enjoy, if I didn't have to do it so often) but above dishes, toilets or windows. My mom will sweep when she's bored, or when she's on the phone. Also, you should see the inside of her microwave. It looks like it did the day she bought it.. but that's another story, and maybe I'm the only one who puts the interior of her microwave that far down on the priority list.) I didn't inherit the chronic sweeping gene. I'm very good at cleaning when I take a notion to do it, but I don't tend to take that notion all that often, so I get by on a mixture of good-enough and ignore-the-mess most of the time, interspersed with infrequent but massive bouts of cleaning goodness. I don't freak out about clutter unless I'm trying to concentrate on something or be creative in some way, but I do freak out about germs a bit. (M makes derisive comments about how obsessed Americans are with the whole germ thing when I get too worked up.) I hate a dirty kitchen but I hate doing dishes even more, so I have to suck it up and live with it until M does them. I change the sheets as often as I think about it in time to get it done before bed, but nowhere near as often as they recommend or as often as I'd like to. And I fully consider tidying up my hard drive and organizing my Start menu as part of my intensive cleaning regimen, as does M. (Nothing is clean unless the computer is, too!)

When I was very young, my mom invited my Aunt Rita and cousin Brian over for dinner one night. She had spent the day cleaning, and we were having spaghetti. I dropped some on the floor, and I picked it up from the floor and ate it. Brian told me to stop eating from the floor because it was dirty, and I told him that it was alright because Mommy said the floor was clean enough to eat from. I don't know why I remember that so clearly, but I'm glad I do. Brian was killed by a drunk driver when I was four and he was eight, so I don't have that many clear memories of him.. the ones that I do have mean a little more.

*wonders what everyone else's cleaning habits are*

Comments

[courtesy.livejournal.com]

Hrm, how to describe my cleaning habits ... I'm not an obsessive cleaner, but I can 'order' things quite happily :) I can clutter away for short periods and then all of a sudden freak out if the clutter isn't cleared away instantly, but I don't give a damn if it's all hidden in a cupboard rather than properly put away. I hate vacuuming. I wash my sheets once every 3 weeks. I rarely iron but don't mind it when I do. I don't scrub the bathroom NEARLY as much as I should but I'm pretty good at cleaning the sink and toilet. And I like the kitchen bench to be kept relatively clear. So I think I'm a 'clearer' rather than a 'cleaner' :)

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. Ironing. I pawn it off on M so much that I don't even consider it a chore anymore. *laugh*

[ozswede.livejournal.com]

I hate clutter, so it's hard to resist the urge to organise L-G's messes. My cupboards are neat, with canned goods in alphabetical order. I used to wash sheets every third day, but now have calmed down and do them once a week. I hate to wash windows, but Lars-Göran kindly does that for me.

In Australia, I was much more obsessive-compulsive about things. Towels HAD to be hung up "the right way" and I was always running around re-hanging towels in all the bathrooms and keeping everything pristine. I had an enormous house and it was a big job - constant work. In Sweden I feel completely slack and can't get up the energy to be too obsessive (though I do hang my laundry in a particular order and get restless if it's "not right", I do rehang the towels if he hangs them up "wrong"). I'm sure there is a happy medium somewhere, but I haven't found it yet.

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

There is something therapeutic about housework. Sure, it sucks, but it's also pleasant to have that feeling of accomplishment and control and order. I tend to clean when I get stressed out or depressed or anxious, which has actually been bad for my cleaning since I met M.. I'm less stressed out, depressed and anxious, so therefore, I am also much more of a slob. I'm not sure that's entirely a good thing but I think it might be worth it..

[paradisecowgirl.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty lazy when it comes to housework because I hate it all. I will clean super well before company and super super well about twice a year. I try to make sure the kitchen is clean before I leave for my internship each day because I hate coming home to dirty kitchen more than I do cleaning it ;^)

There's a certain level of clutter I can tolerate but I can and do generally keep things around the house picked up. Peter, however, is pretty oblivious to it all unless things get really messy or I announce it's time to pick up stuff :)

But my worst chore to do? Laundry. Or at least the folding clothes part. I mean really, what a waste. You fold stuff, put it away, take it out, unfold it to wear it, wear it, put in the hamper, run it through the waster and dryer only to do what? Fold it again. Hate it :)

[same-sky.livejournal.com]

Folding laundry isn't my favorite part, but I do have a fixation with everything being perfectly folded (underwear included, which bugs some people), and the folding itself isn't something I dislike as long as I'm in the mood for it. I hate hanging clothes up, though.

M is the same way as Peter, incidentally. I'm not sure if he ever even takes notice if it IS super messy. ;)