Are you a messy person or a tidy one?
@owlwings (43915)
Cambridge, England
August 20, 2008 12:56pm CST
I have to say that I love to see a tidy house with clear work surfaces, smart and smooth covers on the furniture, maybe flowers on the table and everything looking fresh and nice.
I, however, am complete rubbish at achieving that (or keeping it that way if I or someone else has achieved it!) I will leave papers, cooking utensils and food all over the table; pile books and papers on the floor or any available chair; leave dishes in the sink until I need to use them again (and so have to wash them) and generally behave like the proverbial pig. (As a matter of fact, pigs are very tidy and clean animals. They get their reputation from the way that we keep them penned up in tiny sties and from their natural habit of digging for roots in the earth).
Well, as I was saying, a tidy and fresh house gives me great pleasure yet I seem to be always putting things out of order and starting something new before I have finished the last thing I was doing!
I once took one of those psychological tests that ask all sorts of apparently irrelevant questions and map your character out on a 16 point scale. It said that I was untidy, that my workplace was likely to be full of files and folders and papers (very true) and then the tester said that this was actually a GOOD thing and that it meant that I was creative!
OK, so which do you think is really more creative? To make a home (or workplace) which is just so (maybe even Feng Shui correct), with pretty chintzes or artily modern furniture, and to make sure (on pain of death) that it stays that way
... or to be happy-go-lucky, come-and-go, do-it-when-it-needs-to-be-done and know where everything is ... somewhere, so long as nobody else moved it 
?
What type are you and do you love or hate (or just tidy up after) the other kind?
... or to be happy-go-lucky, come-and-go, do-it-when-it-needs-to-be-done and know where everything is ... somewhere, so long as nobody else moved it ?
What type are you and do you love or hate (or just tidy up after) the other kind?11 people like this
38 responses
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
21 Aug 08
I'm bit of a fussy tidy person...LOL I can't stand clutter...LOL. My apt is far from picture perfect that is it does have a "lived" in kind of aura to it..so no my place doesn't look like it would be a cover photo for Martha Stewart Living Magazine. I find completely immaculate homes to be kind of sterile, not lived it and have a do not touch kind of atmosphere. But I habitually get rid of any clutter, especially papers that seem to always have an annoying habit of piling up. I routinely clean up and out all my plastic storage bins I have to get rid of papers and it also helps me remember where everything is...Let's put it this way..I do love being organized so if I need to find it can do in a moment's notice rather than ransacking the place trying to find whatever it is.
4 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Aug 08
I hate magazine photos, too (I don't know Martha Stewart but we have stuff like that here). I have noticed that, lately, they have started trying to make the place look 'lived in' a little ... and have failed miserably! No! A few magazines on the coffee table or an onion or two on the kitchen counter is not 'lived in'! LOL
@trishasantos (1297)
• Philippines
21 Aug 08
Well, I am a messy person. Really messy. And a hoarder. I just found that out when I watched Oprah. I leave evrything behind somewhere else, well in the house only. But when I am outside, I am a tidy person. Well in a workplace though. But with myself, well I dont comb my hair that much, because its curly and no one will notice. :))
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Aug 08
You might benefit from FlyLady (I get no commission, by the way, LOL ... it's just a good site!)
http://www.flylady.net/
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
20 Aug 08
There is no doubt that I am a very tidy and organised man. My valet looks after me very well and I can always find things. I just ask and he hands them to me. Of course keeping a "Gentleman's Gentleman" is a costly affair, I have found that by incorporating him with a wife has made matters a little easier. LOL. I am tidy, wife isn't, but she has blitzes and miraculously the house looks tidier. Then we fill up all the space and another blitz occurs. I grew up in a house that was so sterile that you could have performed operations there. Until you came to my father's study. Like most academics his purpose in life is to read, ask awkward questions of unprepared people and generally pontificate. Add to this an endless supply of dirty tea cups and gin bottles and you will understand why their cleaner has always declined to clean that room. Much to his relief. I have inherited a little of his attitude to matters domestic.
2 people like this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
20 Aug 08
I think that your father and mine would have agreed about many things (but probably argued bitterly and long into the night about other things). They would certainly have agreed about matters domestic.
I have tried keeping a valet in vain. As you point out, the male variety is impossibly expensive, so it is necessary to incorporate them in marriage. To a certain extent this is feasible but I find that where a valet would know where everything was at any particular moment, a wife (or mine, at least) is inclined to move things - as in 'tidy' them - and then be completely unaware of what was moved or where it was moved to. If you have one that has a longer than 5 second memory in this respect, then you are indeed fortunate, my friend!
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Aug 08
Oh dear! I hope that it wasn't undercooked beans or hard candy that broke your teeth. I am sure that your wife is a lovely lady (as all wives are, of course) and that she will agree to pay for the dental treatment. Maybe she should consider venting her spleen on MyLot (where she could reply to me directly) rather than on your precious ivories?
@Rintis (646)
• India
20 Aug 08
I am a very organized and tidy person not only because I like a clean home but because it saves me a lot of time if I am searching for something. I love tidying up and do it once a week. I guess if we are tidy it passes on to our children because my child is also tidy and organized. Also an uncluttered home brings happiness and prosperity as per feng-shui. Whereas clutter attracts negativity.
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
20 Aug 08
I am happy for you that you love tidying. I am undecided as to whether clutter attracts negativity or is the result of it - or perhaps of some kind of positive force that forges ahead like a boat, leaving troubled waters in its wake.
Your philosophy, at any rate, works for you.
1 person likes this
@pkraj111 (2458)
• India
20 Aug 08
I am a rubbish person as of now. I used to be a tidy when I am alone, but as I got my mother to look after things now I usually leave things in a dustbin sort of way at home, but at home I am one of the most tidiest persons. So it all depends. Isn't it?
2 people like this
@allurejan (197)
• United States
21 Aug 08
I am tidy person. But when I feel lazy, I just fix clutters and tidy up the bedroom, the bathroom and the kitchen. But when I feel diligent, I do some general cleaning.
@nannacroc (4049)
•
20 Aug 08
I would love to be the sort of person who puts things away when they have finished. I like to see everywhere neat and tidy but it only happens every couple of months or when I really need to find something I've left lying about. Mr Croc is a very tidy person and between me and the girls we've driven him mad at times.
I was brought up in a house where everything had to be clean but tidy was a different matter, as long as stuff wasn't on the floor or on chairs then it was acceptable to leave it.
I have tried hard not to have too many tables as I just clutter them with stuff and the dining table I bought recently rarely has enough space for one person to dine at. I love to look at the house when I've had what the girls describe as one of my 'mad cleans' and always resolve to keep it tidy but the resolve usually only lasts a couple of days at the most.
I don't think I'd manage in a chintzy curtained type house as a house to me is for living in and not for show.
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
20 Aug 08
I think I agree that 'clean' and 'tidy' are two different things entirely (though they are often put together in one sentence). 'Clean' is fairly relative. One can be spotlessly clean where it shows or one can be fanatically clean to the extent of washing every last plate that has been even looked at by a biscuit ... on the other hand one can be careful about surfaces where food is prepared and served but dust can be left to lie where it will for the moment until one has a cleaning moment.
One of your daughters has already given evidence against you, I'm afraid, so I suspect that you are not quite as messy as you make yourself out to be!
1 person likes this
@nannacroc (4049)
•
20 Aug 08
I'm in the second category of clean. Dirty kitchens and bathrooms I hate but dust can wait for another day. I am quite practised at tidying, I just don't do it regularly. That daughter is fighting a losing battle as her partner seems to think it's his job to make a mess and hers to clear up after him. At least she's teaching her boys differently.
1 person likes this
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
21 Aug 08
Oh How I wish I could be a tidy person. I keep working at it but never seem to get there. I think I have too much stuff. I am trying get rid of a lot of it because it just gets in the way. I'm sorting out books but it's hard because I like to read some of them over and over. Sometimes I just don't know where to start. I get one area neat and go to another area and by the time I get the second area done the first area is messy again. So I guess may be I'm creative too. Good excuse If you ask me and it works for me.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Aug 08
You might might to look at FlyLady. I haven't found that all of her ideas suited me but a lot of them have given me pause for thought ... and they are really very sound!
http://www.flylady.net/
@TexLadyPj (1328)
• United States
21 Aug 08
I am a "Messy". I am jealous of the Tidies. I am looking for the magic wand that will create a Tidy from this "Messy". I also pick up after another "messy" who thinks they are the Tidy and I being "Messy"; they just gave up. Ha...I am lucky if glasses and cups are brought to the sink. I decided to let them do their own laundry because I couldn't find their clothes. Socks in chair, etc. I acknowledge: I am a "Messy" clutterbug. What are other people's thoughts on this subject?
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Aug 08
Flylady does have a magic wand. It isn't (I warn you) for everyone but she is quite good: http://www.flylady.net/
@Jemina (5770)
•
21 Aug 08
I am both LOL! When I'm reading and concentrating I need my surrounding spotless. But sometimes I am multitasking and I turn my environment topsy-turvy. Then when I'm done with my busyness I keep things away again. I can't possibly maintain a tidy environment. It's far from my personality. Sometimes I justify my action by saying, "That's what geniuses are!" LOL! You know I'm just kidding, don't you?
1 person likes this
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
21 Aug 08
i am a somewhat messy (but somewhat organized) person. i am pretty creative (i am a paper artist) and i honestly think that creative people are somewhat messy to a point. i like to create and dont usually worry about putting stuff away until i get motivated to clean my area then i find stuff that i was looking for! being creative can waste time sometimes.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Aug 08
As I was assured, messy people are creative, therefore creative people are messy ... well, it sounded good at the time!
@metschica25 (5399)
• United States
20 Aug 08
Messy things seem to bother me and i have to clean . my parents have been staying with me the last month and things have been a little messy . at first i was upset , but now i just deal .
@magojordan (3252)
• Philippines
21 Aug 08
Well I would say I'm an organized person but a little messy. I organize my things but the way I organize them is quite messy because I tend to stack them up especially when it comes to files but otherwise I keep the mall in a place neatly stacked. Well you could call it messy because I have several boxes where things go and this boxes look quite messy but the contents in it are well organized. 
@spikelives (430)
• United States
21 Aug 08
I would like to have a very tidy home(like Monk lol)but I often fall be hand mostly on dishes.I think the cleanest place in my house is my bed room I have it put in a place.But I am going to try to be more clean wish me luck lol
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Aug 08
I wish you luck, indeed! You might benefit from FlyLady (I get no commission, by the way, LOL ... it's just a good site!)
http://www.flylady.net/
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
21 Aug 08
Well, I'm a bit like you. I love a beautiful home that looks as if the all the housework has been done. Beds made, clothes away, bathroom clean and tidy, no dust, clean floors, etc, etc. I try to get it that way sometimes but I don't keep it that way. I believe people that do that are anal retentive. I don't live in squalor either though. My house isn't spectacularly clean and tidy but it is NICE and it has a LIVED IN look that I'm very comfortable with most of the time. When I step over the line is when I put everything to rights. Oh, I live alone which I reckon is a big help...
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Aug 08
I didn't mention the words 'anally retentive' for a reason, LOL. I think you are right (in some cases, LOL).
You might like to read FlyLady (I get no commission, by the way, LOL ... it's just a good site!)
http://www.flylady.net/
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Aug 08
I wasn't really thinking of personal hygiene but a bath is good - especially for sore feet.
@tlb0822 (1410)
• United States
21 Aug 08
I like to keep a tidy house. It's not to the point though if one things out of place I tweak or anything, but I like for things to be picked up. I sweep my house every day, and mop 2-3 times a week. Since I have two large dogs, I have to keep up with the dirt they track in and all the fur they shed. I don't like the feeling of dirt on my feet in my house. It just gross' me out. I like to decorate, and move things around when I clean. It just makes it more enjoyable.
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Aug 08
Pets - and especially dogs - are always a problem. We love them so much yet they create so much work. Perhaps it's a good thing, though, because they do keep us following behind them with cloth and vaccuum, LOL.
@Bluepatch (2476)
• Trinidad And Tobago
21 Aug 08
I grew up with a grandmother who insisted that all of us children keep everything neat and tidy.
In our house, as children, we were always told to be neat and put things back in their places.
So I'm tidy and can't stand things and places that are messy.
Makes you wonder how other people were brought up.
1 person likes this
@creative_genius (992)
•
21 Aug 08
I am generally a tidy person, especially when it comes to my clothes. I like to keep things organised. I don't mind doing a little bit of tidying after others, but I do believe that an adult should clear up after themselves. There is something a bit wrong about people not clearing up their own mess, it is difficult to respect someone when you clean up their s**t on a regular basis. I tend to put on my favourite radio show and do a clear up at the same time. It doesn't feel so tedious when I do it like that.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Aug 08
I like that you clear up anyway (with a sigh, perhaps, that is covered by the radio). We often make our own ideas of what someone *should* be like. When they don't meet our expectations, they lose our respect. Now is that really fair?
@shadowlurker (75)
• Philippines
21 Aug 08
i like to keep my things organized so i can easily find anything that i may be looking for. however, i hate cleaning so my room tends to be dusty XD then of course, my mom has to clean it and in the process, rearranges most of my things while dusting. i keep telling her to leave my things as they are and not touch anything because i know she'll put it somewhere else. i know i should clean up my room on my own if i don't want that to happen but..i just really hate dusting, not to mention i also have allergies -.-
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
21 Aug 08
You might benefit from FlyLady (I get no commission, by the way, LOL ... it's just a good site!)
http://www.flylady.net
