Tuesday, October 11, 2011

I Have a Question # 1

I actually have a few questions that I would love to hear your thoughts on if you have the desire to share.  I'll post them over the next few days and answer them myself in my post.  Today's question:

What is your cleaning MUST?  In other words, what are you good at keeping clean or tidy because it's almost a pet peeve for it to be dirty or unorganized?

I'm asking this question because once when I was visiting my sister, while she cooked dinner and we chatted I took a cloth and started wiping down the cupboard doors.  I think I asked if I could first.  She thought I was weird, but I was just standing there talking to her, doing nothing, so why not wipe down the doors?  I don't think I offended her (a la "I can't stand to look at these doors for another second!" which is not what I was thinking at all).  I hope not, because I regularly wipe mine down, so I was just doing what I would have done at home.  She thought it might be one of my MUSTS, but it's not.  She then told me about a friend of hers who can't stand to have the splashboard behind the sink dirty.  This is why I started thinking about this and wonder what your "issues" are with cleaning.

My answer:


I like my car to be tidy.  No wrappers, toys or random items of clothing.  Everything is taken out after every weekend trip and it is maintained during the week.  I also care more than Greg about it being washed (exterior) so I've made it my job.

In the house Greg dislikes dust so I (or Greg) vacuum regularly and the kids dust mop all floors every evening.  We also like clean walls so our kids are discouraged from touching the walls (punishable by a beating) (just kidding), and I do spot-wiping regularly.

One thing I wish I was better at is keeping up with clutter, especially in the kitchen and on the stairs.

Now, please tell me yours, if you have one!

13 comments:

Barbaloot said...

My closet is always organized---things folded and put away where they belong. My room may not always be perfect, but the closet is.

And I can't stand to have dishes or food or anything left on the kitchen counter.

Carolyn V said...

Someone told me once that I have OCD. lol. I like to keep my front room and dining room picked up. And if the kitchen is dirty, it's hard for me to cook, so that gets cleaned at least three times a day.

MelancholySmile said...

I like the living room {visible from the front door} to be picked up and presentable, since it's where I spend the most time. The kitchen and dining room are part of that, but I'm much worse about keeping the kitchen {namely dishes} and the bathroom clean. But as long as I'm ready for a last-minute visitor, {and as long as they don't want to get a glass of water or use the restroom} I'm happy.

Sebastian said...

I keep my computer desktop clean and tidy. Can't go wrong with Fences (software).

Unknown said...

I absolutely HAVE to have a clean sister's house, where I can walk across the golf course and hang out whenever MY house is a shambles.

She knows this, and accommodates me nicely.

And because I'm still unpacking and it looks like U-Haul and Walmart both barfed all over every square inch of my house, I'm really down to "fingernails" as the one thing I try to keep clean around here.

Aren't you glad I popped by to add such wisdom to the dialogue? I know. I'm a giver.

Melissa said...

Oh no.I can't really think of anything that I am obsessive about cleaning. Now I am wondering if my house is always a mess. I do think it is a little weird that I like my kitchen counters clean. Even if there are dishes piled high in the sink I still feel like the kitchen is relatively clean if the counters are clean.

gramalee said...

I must send Greg my sign announcing "The interior of this home is protected by designer dust." :D

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

I'm with Melissa - clear counters is a must for me. Even if the sink is piled high with dishes! I'm a big tidy-freak. I like things put away more than I like things clean. I compulsively organize closets and drawers and whatnot, but rarely get around to dusting and mopping. So my house is tidy but a bit sticky. =D

Melanie Jacobson said...

So the reason my house looks this way is because I have no "must." There is nothing that I can't eventually quit seeing the mess in. The only thing that comes close is my front room because that's something visitors might see from the doorway. And even then, I kind just cross my fingers and hope not to have company.

Loralee and the gang... said...

Keeping up with the laundry is a must for me. But trust me, the washing/drying is what I am talking about. The folding/putting away never is completed!

Erin said...

I agree that the walls bug me, but not to the point that I clean them all that frequently. I have noticed the dust builds up so much faster here. I am like you in that I would totally wipe down a friend's cupboards while chatting. I love to multi-task that way.

Lindsay said...

Things bug me, but at least some of the time, I can let it go. For example, I HATE having toddler toys strewn across the living room, and for the most part, I put them away as soon as she's in bed. BUT occasionally, I CAN make myself sit on the couch and watch The Biggest Loser before I put them away. So I guess it's not technically a must, but I do prefer it.

TheOneTrueSue said...

I like for my kitchen counters to be cleaned off and for the dishes to be done and the table wiped. I want the floors swept/vacuumed, but I can handle it if they aren't mopped for, er, a WHILE. I like the family room and living room to be picked up and vacuumed. I am hyper-sensitive about the kids bathroom toilet and sink, but am ashamed to admit how long I can live with a dirty master bathroom. Right now I am being a freak about the windows that look out at the autumn mountains being clean of my toddler's fingerprints, but all of the other windows, well, they can go to hell for all I care.

I guess, now that I think about it, I like for things to look somewhat chaos free, but I'm not as good at making sure the underlying dirt is gone on a regular basis.