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Post by lesaulerouge on Feb 1, 2015 2:29:19 GMT -5
I wouldn't say that I like to clean, but I don't hate it either. However I am another that likes to organise. Most of the truly untidy stuff in our house is that way because I just don't have anywhere to put it or know where it ought to go. We have a huge house, so way too much stuff, but we are seriously short on storage.
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Post by hiding on Feb 1, 2015 19:05:11 GMT -5
Have you ever watched the series Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners? The pair compulsive cleaners with hoarders/squalorers. The cleanies clean up the messies homes. It is very revealing. I thing it is a BBC show. It doesn't seem as exploitive as some American hoarding shows. Bobolink, I found and watched a few of these episodes. What struck me is that the cleanie's take a look at the hoarder's house and shortly thereafter have a plan of action in place, at least in their heads. How often have we heard here on SOOS, "I don't know where to begin." The cleanies know where to start and how to successfully progress through the tasks that will yield the desired outcome. That impresses me much more that watching the cleanies do the cleaning. How can they just quickly look at the huge mess and know how to untangle it? That is what I would like to learn.
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Post by bobolink on Feb 1, 2015 19:17:43 GMT -5
I found and watched a few of these episodes. What struck me is that the cleanie's take a look at the hoarder's house and shortly thereafter have a plan of action in place, at least in their heads. How often have we heard here on SOOS, "I don't know where to begin." The cleanies know where to start and how to successfully progress through the tasks that will yield the desired outcome. That impresses me much more that watching the cleanies do the cleaning. How can they just quickly look at the huge mess and know how to untangle it? That is what I would like to learn. Interesting point. Partly I think they can organize the mess because they have no emotional attachment to the stuff - none of it is their own. Also, they might be just wired differently - some people just process a situation or information in a more organized/sequential way. I know that when I helped to clean out my mother's hoarded basement, I was able to work out a plan for attacking it, but I had to be very deliberate about it and work in short spurts to avoid being overwhelmed. But when my sister-in-law joined us, she could get tons of stuff organized with no apparent effort. The mess in my own home has always been more challenging, but if I sort of got in the zone (or am in the hypomanic part of my bipolar cycle), I could organized my own things and decide what to get rid of. But I was sure exhausted afterwards. What I have never been able to manage though, is packing up to move. I have always had to ask for help to get that done - I just got overwhelmed by the scale and complexity of the task.
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Post by Irisheyes on Feb 2, 2015 15:21:38 GMT -5
<snip> I really don't know how to explain this, but I am a super organizer. Almost perfectionist organized. And so, when I CAN'T line things out, each with it's own little space, each not touching the other, nothing stacked, sorted into colors and shapes, etc, it is very grating on my nerves. It is almost less grating to have it thrown into a heap, than it is to try to "organize" it less than perfect. Yes, exactly this, Daye. I think ohblondie mentioned liking to get things organized, but not knowing to do with the excess that doesn't fit in the drawer, etc. People here often point out something to the effect of, you can't fit more stuff in your house than you have room for. Something like that. I get that, but what about the things you need and use, but there really isn't a proper place to store them? For example, this house has nowhere to store a broom or mop, vacuum, long-handled duster, etc. I shuffle them from room to room. There is no utility room - the washer and dryer are in an enclosed closet on one wall in the kitchen, with no room to spare. I did manage to squeeze them together, and my little broom and flat dust cloth mop *barely* squeeze in between the dryer and wall, just behind the folding door, but it's a contortionist's exercise to get them in and out. The larger broom and mop live in the master bathroom or outside on the porch. Tacky. There is no coat closet, and no linen closet. There is only one little closet with shallow shelves in the hallway next to the miniscule "main" bath that appears to be intended for a linen closet, but it's so shallow and small I use it for miscellaneous things such as light bulbs, wasp and mosquito spray, extra boxes of Kleenex, general OTC meds, etc. That is just one example. I have more. We are trying to get creative and "create" storage solutions for some of these things because there truly are some things you need that simply don't fit otherwise. One might be able to live without them, of course, but I don't want to try to clean floors without a broom or vacuum. I can't even imagine trying to routinely sweep carpets with a tiny mini-vac or whisk broom. Forget about trying to sweep, dust and mop wood flooring with a whisk broom and cleaning cloths. Yikes. My knees and back are too old for that! I suppose my point is that I don't get rid of something *only* because I don't have a proper place for it. If it hits the "need and use" list, or the "joy" list, I'll figure it out somehow. Or not, and just keep shuffling it around. The rest of this stuff is subject to debate......when I get that far in my stubborn mind. It really IS very difficult to make those decisions about our pretties, "it cost good money" and "might need or use it" things, isn't it?
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Post by lesaulerouge on Feb 2, 2015 15:58:11 GMT -5
Your house sounds like mine - we have no storage space for any of those things either. My washing machine and tumble drier are in the bathroom. Dh made a cut out in the worktop that goes over them for the ironing board and I sort of wedge the moo and broom there too.
Coats go on hooks on the dining room wall, shoes we are wearing go, in theory, in a plastic laundry basket in the dining room. In reality the rest of the family scatter them all over the dining room floor. The hoover squats in that room too. My dining room gets tidied and organised and that lasts a day at the most usually. The table in there will seat 6-8 and currently the whole top is covered with hats, gloves and scarves belonging to the children.
Clean towels go in a drawer undee dd's bed. Children's bedding goes in a cupboard in ds's wardrobe, our bedding and spare bedding is in a blanket box in our room, the top is which accumulates clothing, mending, coat hangers etc. All bedding has been culled recently and repeatedly and no more can be got rid of.
It's so often a losing battle to put stuff away when that stuff is necessary but has no proper home.
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Post by hiding on Feb 2, 2015 16:34:41 GMT -5
I watched a bit more of Obsessive Compulsive CleanersTV show. In one scene the exasperated cleanie asked the messie, "Why can't you throw anything away?" Wow. Yes, indeed. Why is it so difficult to throw anything away? I think my answer to that is complex. I am better about tossing than I used to be, but it is still difficult, especially with clothes. I think I need to go sit in my corner and examine that question in depth.
And then, on to action!
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Post by ohblondie on Feb 3, 2015 11:13:15 GMT -5
dayeanu I so get this: but I am a super organizer. Almost perfectionist organized. And so, when I CAN'T line things out, each with it's own little space, each not touching the other, nothing stacked, sorted into colors and shapes, etc, it is very grating on my nerves. For me it is about the organizing. My cupboards are all nice and neat (except my pantry)I like to line things up and match tupperware to lids, etc... But when it comes to too much stuff or the hard decisions I agree that it is easier to postpone those decisions rather than organize. So I end up with the hoarded mess. I was able to get my closet organized. And when I add things, it is easy to see that I need to take something out. But somehow clothes have become less emotionally charged. Maybe it is because I cannot fit into some stuff anymore and I harbor no illusions about losing the weight. Or maybe I have become more conscious about my style. Hmm. THoughts to ponder.
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Post by ohblondie on Feb 3, 2015 11:14:28 GMT -5
IrisheyesI suppose my point is that I don't get rid of something *only* because I don't have a proper place for it. If it hits the "need and use" list, or the "joy" list, I'll figure it out somehow. Or not, and just keep shuffling it around. The rest of this stuff is subject to debate......when I get that far in my stubborn mind. It really IS very difficult to make those decisions about our pretties, "it cost good money" and "might need or use it" things, isn't it? I so "get" this too!!!
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Post by Jannie on Feb 3, 2015 11:55:00 GMT -5
Dr. Phil had an episode last year about a woman who constantly cleans her house. As with anything, excess is bad. As for me, I KNOW how to clean. I own all the tools and supplies. I just don't like spending my energy sorting, dusting, mopping, doing laundry, etc. When I was a teenager, I cleaned my family's house three times a week for one dollar a week . Slave labor, right? Well, as I said, I do know how to clean. I just don't "like" doing it.
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Post by cyn on Feb 3, 2015 12:43:16 GMT -5
I'd never heard of that Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners show - thanks for mentioning it, bobolink. I'm enjoying watching it, and it reinforces my opinion that a happy medium is where I want to be. I don't want old food growing moldy on my dirty dishes, just as much as I don't want a toilet clean enough to eat off of. I'm sure the cleanies are just as happy devoting all their spare time to obsessively clean, as I was happy to spend all my time neglecting my home (and doing anything other than cleaning) but now I see that since I *really* don't like living in squalor, I do need to kick myself out of my happy non-cleaning activities and force myself to start cleaning instead. I don't hate cleaning as much now, when I'm doing it daily and it's not a massive job to restore this place into decent shape.
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Post by cyn on Feb 6, 2015 10:53:57 GMT -5
Wow, am I *ever* enjoying that show! Thanks again, bobolink, because it's actually inspiring me to clean up better. I'm definitely not the type to enjoy cleaning, ever, but part of that is me not seeing what's dirty in the first place. I tried to channel their OCD behaviour, and it's helping me see where I can jump in.
The other day, for example, I decided to wipe all my mirrors after watching them attack their mirrors daily. I suppose that did make my place look a little nicer, but it's hard to say since I'm not obsessed with spot-free mirrors. It's such an interesting program that I've watched several more episodes in the past few days.
I'm breathing a huge sigh of relief that I don't have a cleaning compulsion! When one lady opened her bare fridge, and said it's nearly empty because all her money goes to cleaning products, my heart hurt for her. Or the guy who replaces his toilet seat every month - it made me realize that they spend as much money as we do, only differently. I can cram hundreds of cheap thrift store books into my home, while they're overflowing my bookshelves, for the same price that they're spending on bleach.
I'm also very sympathetic to the compelling nature of their issues. It must be horrible to want to sit down and relax, but have an inner voice tell you that you can't - you have to go fluff up the pillows instead. That would drive me nuts - at least my voice is a bully who I can tell to shut up.
The best part, that part that helped me the most, was seeing how they jump in to clean. They don't wait to have everything empty before cleaning up, they attack the first clear surface. That was my problem: I never could do deep cleaning until I was ready to do the *whole* thing. Now I see that it doesn't matter, I can clean one filthy shelf at a time. Duh! How silly, but that's what I used to be like. Big hugs to the OCD cleanies, it must be just awful to have to live with that.
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Post by ohblondie on Feb 6, 2015 13:15:29 GMT -5
cyn where did you find the link to watch the show?
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Post by cyn on Feb 6, 2015 13:27:33 GMT -5
I googled it. I google eveything! They're on youtube.
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