|
|
Post by def6 on Nov 27, 2015 20:38:44 GMT -5
Here at SOOS, (It is my understanding) That one can have squalor issues and/or hoarding issues. Honestly, before I signed up, I had never heard of the term "squalor." I think there is a book called "With love and squalor" or something to that effect …I had heard squalor used in that context. Same with hoarder..just not an everyday word for me.
What I was accustomed to though was that fact that my house was dirty, disorganized and cluttered. Instead of considering myself a squalorer or a hoarder I have often thought of my issues in this area as; dirty/cluttered house syndrome.
Symptoms of Dirty/Cluttered house syndrome;
Your house is dirty because you didn't clean it (Dirty)
Not only is it dirty but you have tons of crap to deal with (clutter)
You put cleaning/decluttering off because there is just too much to do.
You feel isolated because you can't have anybody over.
Upgrades, repairs and the like don't happen because the house is in a state of limbo.
I'm sure there is more.
|
|
|
|
Post by def6 on Nov 27, 2015 20:44:05 GMT -5
One might say Def …What's the punchline? Well , I don't have one yet . I'm just opening up dialogue through noticing patterns in my own life.  |
|
|
|
Post by fluffychild on Nov 27, 2015 21:05:49 GMT -5
It sneaks up on you, and before you know it, clutter has taken over the house. The problem is knowing where to start - there is no manual for that. There is no manual that tells you how to escape from clutter. My house is bad news right now, too. I am like you - I don't know how to escape. I try to analyze what came into the house for each day. Take a few minutes to think what did you bring into the house today. It is not easy to try to escape this.
|
|
|
|
Post by dtesposito on Nov 27, 2015 21:24:26 GMT -5
I think "clutter" can mean different things. Looking up the actual definition of clutter, I find:
Verb: To fill or litter with things in a disorderly manner
Noun: A confused or disordered state or collection; a jumble
So the dictionary seems to define clutter as things that are out of order, so if you have a pile of things that are neat (even if you have too many) they are not clutter.
I personally define clutter as "things out of place", meaning, they are out where they don't belong, so that they are visually unpleasing. Of course, that's entirely subjective too--where do things belong? How many things are required before the scene becomes visually unpleasing?
Disorganization also means something different--the placing of objects in a nonlogical manner, so they're not intuitively easy to find and use (my definition, not from the dictionary). So you can be disorganized without being squalorous or cluttered, although disorganization seems to go along with hoarding for most folks, just because of the sheer volume of stuff you have.
I don't have a punchline either, all I can say for sure is--the more things you have out in the open instead of put away neatly in closets, drawers, cabinets, or bins, the harder it is to clean. I think a lot of people come on this site and say they are not hoarders, they just don't clean anything. But I'm guessing a lot of those people have too many things, which is partly why cleaning is hard. I found out that was true of me, the more I get rid of, the more I find myself doing routine cleaning, because it's easier, and because you can see the results.
Diane
|
|
|
|
Post by def6 on Nov 27, 2015 21:41:14 GMT -5
Hello Fluffy…it's great to see you. So true you have to monitor items coming in , they add up quickly and they exit slowly (around here anyway)  Hello Diane, Thank you for your reply. So true, the more extra items tucked here there and everywhere, the harder it is to clean. Each of us have x-number of square footage to store or display items and to function for everyday life. For me personally, I have to be ruthless if I ever want to live more carefree. It's a have-to. |
|
|
|
Post by larataylor on Nov 28, 2015 5:22:09 GMT -5
def6 - I've made my own squalor scales ... I don't think the levels describe real life. You can have no clutter at all, and have pet issues that would be called Level 3. So yeah, clutter and dirt are different issues, although clutter issues will lead to dirt issues at some point.
|
|
|
|
Post by angela on Nov 28, 2015 13:53:08 GMT -5
def6 I had never thought about the term "squalor" either regarding my house. I thought "dirty" and "too much stuff" and that sort of thing. I had a dream 5 years ago now where I was telling myself, "You are living in squalor!". When I googled the word, that is how I found this site. I'm sure it was a divine moment, I'm not kidding. Anyway, squalor for me includes the dirt and disorganization. Not necessarily the piles or lack of organization, those say "clutter" to me.
|
|
|
|
Post by def6 on Nov 29, 2015 16:15:25 GMT -5
So true Laura…having too many things becomes a squalor issue eventually. I've got to get it sorted before I get any older.
Angela,
I feel like that dream was devine in that I felt chills and electricity running through me when I read your post.
|
|
|
|
Post by def6 on Nov 29, 2015 16:21:22 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by def6 on Nov 29, 2015 16:23:06 GMT -5
 This guy looks like he is trashing the clutter in a maniacal way. |
|
|
|
Post by joyinvirginia on Nov 29, 2015 17:37:09 GMT -5
Things collect dust, it's impossible to avoid. Don Aslett is cleaning guru, he recommends as little knick knacks as possible. The Speed Cleaning books note that surfaces must be clear to bee cleaned rapidly.
When friends and I cleaned my house last week before party we were co hosting, we took down all the family photos displayed in dining room and packed up half until after the holiday. Everything had to come off the shelf for the sideboard to be thoroughly cleaned.
|
|
|
|
Post by messyme on Nov 29, 2015 19:55:13 GMT -5
Many "normal" people (with normal amounts of small clutter and a bit of dirtiness) seem to confuse squalor/clutter with hoarding. In my mind they are very different. I've seen some hoarding on TV shows where everything is boxed up neatly and/or labelled, there's just tons of stuff. Many times hoarders might keep useless items such as hundreds of used twist ties. But many times it's well-organized. I'm not like that at all. I don't think of myself as a hoarder at all either. I do have tons of stuff in my house and it's very cluttered and unorganized and sometimes dirty because things are difficult to clean (and the usual busy-ness/***). I was always just a messy-ish/disorganized person until fairly recently. I didn't have a huge amount of possessions, so they did get a bit out of hand but I would kind of binge-clean; instead of keeping my house clean as most people would, my apartment/house would get disorganized/messy, but when I had time (ex: every weekend) I'd spend the time to mostly re-organize and clean it. Then I had kids and the messes/clutter and spaces I had to clean were too big to handle in this way. Many other factors came along which made things even more difficult.'
I know I have way too much stuff but, for example, my silverware keeps "disappearing"! I don't know where it goes -- I'm sure some stay at my kids' school, some are around the house, etc. I have about 10 teaspoons that I'm using now, but I'm sure in my house there are likely about 100 or more. Not exaggerating. Because they keep getting lost so I buy more. But if I find a spoon, I won't throw it out. I have some spoons with somewhat sharpish edges that I don't like. I would have to have all 100 to see what I had, then I could keep about 20 and throw out the rest. I would have no trouble at all throwing the worst ones out. I've done this kind of thing many times. That's just one example, trying to explain why I don't feel like a hoarder.
I know that if I could magically have a humongous indoor space and have all the contents of my house suddenly organized neatly into piles on shelves (ex: office supplies, furniture, books, kitchen utensils, etc.) and my house were completely clean and empty, I could very easily go in and take what I liked/needed most, furnish my house, find homes for everything in my house, and then donate/toss TONS of stuff. I would have no problem throwing away probably half of my belongings. And I would be super happy about it all. But as it is now, my house is very cluttered and I can't put things where they belong because there's no room because everything is out of order.
That's what I like about this board. I like the word squalor because I feel as though I can relate to this more than to hoarding. I know that I am disorganized and have a hard time making some decisions. I know that I'm influenced more by material things and my surroundings than many people (colours, textures, beautiful things (not normally expensive, just things that make me happy when I look at them), etc. But I'm not a hoarder. I'm sure some people would feel otherwise if they saw my house. However, I remember a story about a man who was filling out some kind of personality questionnaire. For one question he answered that he kept his clothes, closet, etc. very neat and organized. Reading this, one would think he had OCD and was very particular. However, the reason he did this was because he loved adventure and travel and wanted to make sure he was always ready to pack up and go quickly. So I think what's going on in our head is just as important as what people see on the outside.
I wonder how many of use here would characterize ourselves as hoarders, messy, disorganized, etc.
|
|
|
|
Post by def6 on Nov 29, 2015 23:53:01 GMT -5
Hello Joy,
I have watched speed cleaning videos and have decided that type cleaning is for me. Even the stuff on the counters could be removed and put into a basket and tucked into a cabinet in 2 seconds. How delightful!
|
|
|
|
Post by def6 on Nov 30, 2015 1:02:34 GMT -5
Hello Messyme  You sound very much like me. Before kids, I would spend all day Saturday cleaning before I allowed myself to enjoy the weekend. Then the house would just get dirty all over again, strewn with stuff, piled dishes, piled laundry and trash overflowing. As time went on, I'd make an attempt to put a dent in it but usually it wasn't sufficient enough. When the holidays came I would go into a tirade and marathon clean. But as I got older this system didn't work for me. I just couldn't work that long . I knew I had to do something else . I have learned so many tips from the members of this board . One of the first ones I learned (and it has stuck) "Leave no evidence " has been particularly helpful. Or translated …Just clean up what you mess up before you go on to something else. I have stuff that has accumulated also because we haven't moved in 17 yrs. One thing I have realized on that note is the more you get rid of the easier it is to get rid of. I have been able to get better over time with a few tactics: 1 load of dishes ,1 load of laundry everyday, clean up what you mess up and speed cleaning. |
|
|
|
Post by Alexandra on Nov 30, 2015 12:05:48 GMT -5
My issue is this: A little bit of a mess, I tend to shrug it off and figure, eh, not too bad, get to it later. Later comes...it's bigger then you don't know where to start. Like it's either too little to bother or too big to start on. Feels like I've been training myself to deal with the little stuff before it gets bigger. My apartment is pretty much all level 0 right now, just need to do some dishes, clear coffee table clutter, and bribe my son to straighten out his room a bit better.  It helps when your complex has regular inspections, and with the ongoing remodeling and the like, it doesn't have TIME to get to be a disaster! |
|
