Thursday, February 03, 2011

Day 8- Craving

Today's topic is something I crave. Well, sugar, definitely, but let's think of something a little less obvious. I crave cleanliness. Like, literally it's as serious a need for me as eating or sleeping. If I go through a whole day without having done a deep cleaning-type chore around the house, something besides just laundry and dishes, I feel irritated and like I'm drowning in filth and it's only going to be that much harder to dig myself out the next day.

I know that lots of people feel this way about tidiness, and can't go to bed, say, until all the toys are put away and the counters are cleared. For me it's slightly different. Today, for example, I got the kitchen mopped and did a thorough scrubbing of the counter tops. This makes me feel contented for the day, and it doesn't really bother me that there are still toys all over the living room. I'll probably leave them lying there and go right to bed, unbothered, but I WOULD have been bothered if I hadn't gotten that floor washed. Logical? Probably not, since the floor wasn't yet outright filthy, and since the toys pose something of a hazard as well as being far more noticeably messy to someone walking in the door than a grimy floor.

But tidiness is not my craving. Knowing something is CLEAN is the feeling I crave. So while you might walk into my house most days and assess it, correctly, as being pretty messy with toys and art project detritus, you can bet that underneath it's actually still fairly clean. It's just not TIDY, and that's a significant difference a lot of people don't recognize. Tidy is not necessarily clean, and cluttered is also not necessarily dirty.

5 comments:

Kelsey said...

I am often the complete opposite... I just see the kitchen floor as a losing battle (it's the room we enter the house through) with the dog, kids, etc. and it is rarely very clean. But having clutter all over can drive me insane. I crave picked-up more than I crave clean.

It's a good thing we don't have visitors more often...

Jessica said...

I bet seeing my house today sent you into a cleaning frenzy out of fear that yours may end up like mine.

Seriously though, after you left I got myself off the couch and at least swept. I had to do something to make me feel less shameful. lol

Tracy said...

I'm a clutter gal. Clutter stresses me out. But, my mom was like you. Everything was always CLEAN, but she didn't mind the clutter.

LoriD said...

I love this! Untidy and disorganized makes me all jittery, but only certain cleaning details usually hit my radar, mostly to do with the kitchen and bathrooms. Most of the other stuff (floors, dusting, etc.) I only notice if someone happens to stop by.

Devan said...

Like some of the others, I'm a tidier. I don't like clutter about, and feel much better with cleared counters and floors even if they need to be mopped.