One of the issues with being the adult child of a hoarder is that you're playing catch-up on a lot of life skills that other people take for granted. Housework, for example, is something that I'm still figuring out. How often do people clean their baseboards? Wash their walls? How much time are you supposed to spend cleaning your house every day?
There are a surprising number of websites out there dedicated to cleaning and organizing. This fact makes me feel much better, as I am obviously not the only person out there who's still figuring this stuff out. And, as an added bonus, once in awhile I run across a cleaning-related factoid that makes me laugh. For example, it never in my entire life occurred to me that a person might need to clean their dishwasher, but apparently you can. If I ever get to the point where the rest of my house is so clean that I'm concerned about the inside of my dishwasher, I'll be doing pretty well.
Ha ha ha ha ha! I KNOW about cleaning dishwashers, I NEED to clean my dishwasher, but it's more than tolerable and I don't wanna.
ReplyDeleteIn the war of housekeeping, you've got to pick your battles, as long as the end result is a peaceful home.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI'm a child of a hoarder & also a housekeeper. I learned most of my cleaning when I started working w/ cleaning services 5 hrs. Ago. It has helped me tremendously on learning quicker ways to clean, what works, & how often things should be cleaned.
I am a lousy housekeeper, but I do clean my dishwasher. Helps it work better. And since it does the one job I insist MUST be done, it had better do it well!!
ReplyDeleteAs a clutterer, I love this post. I am always trying to figure out exactly what the norm is for cleaning. Even at my age.
ReplyDeleteSomeone suggested putting the bathmat into a washing machine and I was just fascinated ...
I'm a college student and a daughter of a severe hoarder. One of the things that cuts me to the core is being a bad roommate. I've been yelled at for putting steak bones down the garbage disposal because I just didn't know what it was for. I've only recently learned how to use a dishwasher and melted many of my (high-strung, neat-freak) roommate's dishes in the process. And I feel terrible that I simply cannot see the messes that they see. They think I'm extremely messy whereas I always prided myself on being the "neat" one in our family... guess that goes to show you who I was comparing myself too. Thanks, Mom.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I love your blog, just started reading it tonight. Sounds like we've lived the same lives.
I had to laugh at myself while reading this post. In the middle of a paragraph I paused... glanced left and right around my apartment... "People wash their walls? Crap..."
ReplyDeleteI think I'm in a similar middle ground as you - I'm really good at getting rid of 'stuff' and avoiding an emotional attachment to physical objects, but I do find myself lazy about making sure everything is super clean. I just don't notice. I have to focus and say "Ok this needs to go in the trash, this needs to be wiped down", etc.