The home I lived in for most of my childhood years was not just messy, it was disaster-messy. My mother didn’t care much for doing dishes, washing clothes or anything that would resemble houseWORK. Sheets didn’t make it on my bed, bugs aligned widow sills, and even clean clothes were left in piles to wrinkle and swallow even more socks than the washer and dryer did. I grew up to be very different from her; my house is clean. What I call “Showcase Clean”. Come on over anytime, you will never hear me apologize, not even when I had two small children, worked part-time and went to college full-time. My children never had to experience embarrassment when a friend was over, or a beau stopped by. For years I was a bit obsessed about how my home looked. I couldn’t relax if something was out of place. I backed out of rooms, checking them, perusing each inch: I was NOT going to be my mother!
My brother’s home is cleaner than mine. He has bought and sold several homes in his life and I swear they look brand new even after ten years of family life. Yep, we both rebelled!
How one keeps a home reveals something about the person; for example, if a person hires a housekeeper and does nothing in-between they are rich… and they may hate housework as much as my POOR mother. Total refusal to pick up is a housework-hater!
I have found that there are six major types of housekeepers on the housekeeping spectrum. Where do you fall? It could be somewhere in-between!
1. 100% Perfection: This person keeps their home clean with everything in its place. Drawers are labelled, pantries are alphabetized, closets are color-coded and systematically arranged. They are referred to by their “friends” as having OCD, but I promise you, that unless they are counting and/or performing pattern rituals to keep themselves from entering the seventh circle of hell, they are nothing more than neat freaks and the OCD comments are meant to sting them and soothe the sayer!
2. Showcase: 100% perfection everywhere BUT closets, drawers and under beds. Kitchen cabinets are meant to be kept closed. Some showcase housekeepers secretly wish they could rise to 100% perfection, but they need to lighten up on themselves. The one problem they have is those drawers do need cleaning out once a year or so, but doggone it, the base boards shine!
3. In the Middle: This is the “lived-in” look. The home is clean, stuff is out but placed. It isn’t perfect but the home is clean enough and straightened up enough for any visitor. In the Middle people are calm; relaxed more accepting of their surroundings. On the negative side, some of the Middles are the ones who use those OCD comments, or the “I have a life outside of labeling my drawers” comments. Remember, this is a spectrum, the higher level of In the Middle are wonderful go-to kind of people! The couch was chosen for comfy, not looks!
4. Call Before you Come: These housekeepers have warned everyone they know could stop by to CALL FIRST! They can clean up their entire home in 30 minutes of whirlwind activity. If you show up unannounced, expect to visit on the porch- call before you come is an order…do not break it! These keepers re sometimes harried: On the go, non-stop activity that just may not have an organized direction until they are forced, like the phone call from a friend or mother-in-law saying they would like to stop by!
5. Mess with no Regrets: Most teenagers fall in this catagory. The house is a mess and if you stop by you may need to push papers aside to sit on the couch. Not once will you hear, “Sorry I need to clean” or “I apologize for the mess, I have just been so busy!” Those statements belong to Call Before you Come! Mess with no Regrets could care less. 100% perfection could NEVER stay the night (comfortably) in this home, but guess what? Yeah, you got it, Mess with no Regrets could care less!
6. The Hoarder: The end of the spectrum. Mess with no Regrets will look to the hoarder to feel they are a-okay! Many of us have seen the show about hoarders; sad and dangerous. My mother was somewhere between numbers 5 and 6.
Housekeeping is like personality: It is something that is hard to change. Teenagers who waller in the mess grow up, and since their brains are still forming they are not bound by a style until they settle. Parents can then sit back and watch it unfold.I was super-surprised when my youngest became Showcase as she was more like my mom at 16!
Personally, I wish I could hire a housekeeper, but the few times I did, I cleaned up after them, so it was pointless. Maybe I hired “In the Middles” both times?
Next up: How do you keep your hotel room? That is another day! I have to go clean some windowsills!
Retta: The ladies represented here are beautiful women who have been through hell and learned the lessons from living in that place. If they do "have it all together" it is only because of what they have been through and the hard work they have h
Wow, didn't realize this was a site for perfect people who have it all figured out and are so well adjusted. I said nothing about denigrating my body or mind. I mentioned nothing about not liking myself or being influenced by silly magazines. My thou
I guess I am a # 2 on the list. I grew up in a home that was clean. Actually by the age of 5 we all knew how to make a bed perfectly. By age 10 I was cleaning the house with my older sister, and by age 16 was cleaning the entire house and doing a lot of the cooking.
Yup, I am a # 2.
I grew up in a home like you. My sister reminded me that we had to clean the house if we want to go out with our mom. She chose not to and I was the one who cleaned the house from a very young age. All my sisters make fun of me because I am the only one in the family who has a neat and clean house and I do not mind cleaning at all. I was embarrassed to have friends over when I was young.
I am not sure if I am between a #2 & 3. I have a comfi home and I like a clean house. Both my kids are #5. I can never go over to my son’s house. Him and his wife are #5 and I am not welcome to visit unless I give them notice. They only clean if they have me over. I feel terrible about that. I do not care how they choose to live. It is their house, not mine.
I am a 2.5. I enjoy a clean house, an organized home. My sock drawer and some other drawers rebel.
I actually feel tense, not comfortable, in homes where there is a lot of stuff, even if it is a clean home.
My brother is a 1, I am a 2 and both my kids fluctuate between 4 and 2!! I notice NanaP says she is made fun of because of her clean house; like it is clean to spite the world! I don’t keep my house in order, in order to show-off! Sorry to hear that NanaP! I know the joy of just doing your own thing, and the jabs from those who chisel at that joy (and then leave their chisel mess laying around and I have to clean that up, too!)
Completely, totally a #4 – I absolutely HATE housekeeping, and after living in an abusive relationship for 10 years where EVERYTHING had to be perfect, I have rebelled completely for the last 4 years since HE died. My friends know that my house is not picture perfect, and that they may leave my house covered in cat hair. I don’t stress about it, but I do apologize, so that’s why I say I’m not a 5. I’m in a relationship right now and he’s VERY tidy and organized – it scares me. I know I need to “straighten up and fly right” sooner or later, but I’m comfortable right now. I’m somewhat concerned that it could cause problems down the road.
I think I am a three who does not want to impose the #4 on potential visitors.
In other words, my house is lived in, but I wish it were at the #2 level. I do clean drawers and closets. I just live with more #4′s and have to deal with their clutter…as well as the five pets we have living here. I dream of the #2 home (#1 seems so sterile) and probably spend too much time fantasizing about a home that is fresh, clean, organized, but homey.
I am type #1, 100% perfection. I’ve been this way my entire life. (I’m 52) As a child I remember that I liked to have my large 8 Crayola crayons in a certain order, red, blue, green, yellow, orange, purple, brown, black. It’s just the way God made me. It’s the way my brain functions. I’m an analytical thinker. I am not OCD. I don’t feel compelled to count things or perform pattern rituals. I am a neat freak, & as you say, I think that most people would label me as OCD simply to make themselves feel less of a mess.
I am definitely a #3 – you can stop by and I am comfortable with that. If I am hostessing a family event, I’ll clean up in more detail. Closets? ha…ha..ha.. my bedroom closet is definitely not as organized as it need to be at this time. I focus more on that during the winter months. During the summer I focus on the outside of my home..i.e, my yard with perennial flowers. Maybe I’m s a seasonal housekeeper?! LOL.