Is anyone really dirty

[Moonhart44]

Well, left to my own devices I’ll clean myself several times a week (daily is definitely overdoing it), there is a rota of household cleaning, but it’s all spaced out over a month so nothing gets repellant whilst occupying the minimum amount of time.
Things that don’t bother me can take care of themselves: I’ve heard of ironing, dusting and vacuuming behind furniture... but life, I’ve been told, is short.

When I was younger I never cleaned anything much... I used to repeatedly scratch spots on my scalp with fingers covered in turps... leading to big pus weeping burns across my scalp, which were agony: my house was so filthy and mouldy I wound up with chronic sinusitis and I didn’t brush my teeth for so long it cost a bit over £600 to have them fixed.

i have to really convince myself to brush myteeth, and of course floss and mouthwash. i will for work but when im not at work i dont care. if i dont see anyone, i dont care. However because i worked with people who lost their teeth because of their . . . malpractice of brushery. . . i am more encouraged to do it 2x daily. but when im depressed i dont care.

 

[Mary Terry]

I like to be clean, hate greasy hair. But my things are old. I wash my winter coats every year or so at maximum: they've been around since World War II was in the news, without washing, so why should I start now?

In some regards I am fastidious but in other regards I'm not. My automobile gets used like a pickup truck, for example: which was great until I met a girl & offered her a lift in it when we were going on a little date. Told her to close her eyes & don't breathe, and pretend she was in a Mercedes-Benz.

There is no need to pretend with my car. LOL I treat my Mercedes just like you treat your car. I toss non-food trash over my shoulder to the floor of the back seat, keep big stacks of drive-through napkins and plastic ware in the side door pockets, litter the entire car with music CDs, usually have a pile of clothes destined for the dry cleaners in the back seat, and keep numerous insulated shopping bags and plastic bags in the trunk. There are toys from grandkids everywhere, especially those Happy Meal plastic toys that seem to bore children. The glove compartment is full of napkins and straws, handwipes, hand sanitizer, and a couple of spare disposable diapers for the babies. There's a wool blanket in the trunk for emergencies, too. I always throw out food trash, though. I never wash the exterior of the car but it occasionally gets washed by the dealership when I take it in for maintenance. Cars are just tools to me - they take me where I want to go - but I like my house to be very clean.

 

[Moonhart44]

I like to be clean, hate greasy hair. But my things are old. I wash my winter coats every year or so at maximum: they've been around since World War II was in the news, without washing, so why should I start now?

In some regards I am fastidious but in other regards I'm not. My automobile gets used like a pickup truck, for example: which was great until I met a girl & offered her a lift in it when we were going on a little date. Told her to close her eyes & don't breathe, and pretend she was in a Mercedes-Benz.

thats funny. i remember i had a friend who had such a dirty car, that i got cut when i got in

 

[Ezra]

I don't like showering so I spray my armpits etc with sanitizer spray instead.

My room is usually messy. "Organized chaos".

 

[Moonhart44]

I don't think we predetermined to be one or the other. But I do believe there is a ASD1 tendency to head for the pole (as you mentioned) once they decided which direction suits them or seems to naturally occur. At times another motivation may contibute, like say if a person is a germaphobe.

For me clutter seems to set up a mental disturbance or noise and I also like the atmosphere of clean (and sparsely filled spaces. But I have had to learn to adapt. While my son took after me, my wife and daughter are clutter queens and against the women of the family there is no chance of victory. Interestingly, now after so many years my wife is shifting more towards organizing and designing living spaces to be easier to keep clean.

She absolutely loves the new little floor sweeping robot. And I have had to step up my chore game to keep up with my new rival.

haha i also recently bought a floor robot thing. i am trying to buy gadgets to help me clean. I dont know if this is too strong a word and have never been diagnosed or (or even mentioned this to my doctors now that i think about it) but i have a sense of agoraphobia, or that "i cannot leave the house because it is bad", and that has also left me really messy in terms of laundary and trash (i live in apt). with the success of my faux roomba i think i will also get a washing machine

 

[Moonhart44]

Cluttered desk and top of bathroom vanity is my never seem to get around to duties.
I can't see making the bed everyday either. I might smooth the sheet and blanket out a bit before
going back to bed. Just feels better than a lot of wrinkles in the bedding.

Other things get done as I see it looking dirty, like the floors or too much dust collecting on whatever.

As for myself, I don't like dirty hair, but, I don't shower everyday like a lot of people do.
Teeth brushed, face washed and hair combed is enough.
I want basic, but clean clothes when I go out some where.

yeh if i am undetectably dirty than thats good enough for me. i dont get the point of making the bed and i think i will never make my bed because of that. literally one of the least of humanities worries i feel

 

[Moonhart44]

Hygiene issues have been an issue most of my life.

I am meticulously clean, but have problems with grooming. Sensory issues interfere with my shaving, haircuts, and so on.

I have never been able to ever get anyone to understand this, as it's "all in my mind," so I choose to be the way that I am.

I've had similar problems with dentists.

A typical cleaning shouldn't be painful, but the noise and vibration are intolerable. I'm often labeled as a drug seeker when I request sedation from a cleaning, and my family challenges my masculinity because I'm a pansy who can't tolerate the normal discomforts that go with everyday life.

So . . . I am hygenic and clean, but I struggle with it.

my family is full of neat freaks so i was constantly told to clean and clean and be clean. they didnt even think my showers were long enough (and in retrospect they probably werent lol) and made me go back in. Its stressful when you can be so accomplished and have so many good traits but ur family thinks your stupid because you cant clean.

unrelated but related - i can relate to you on teh drug accusing thing. because of my flat affect i have been accused multiple times of being a heorin user, which blows my mind.

 

[Moonhart44]

I don't like showering so I spray my armpits etc with sanitizer spray instead.

My room is usually messy. "Organized chaos".

i dont like showering either, the feeling of water i hate it. in my peak i would just clean the essential parts lol.

 

[Karamazov]

i have to really convince myself to brush myteeth, and of course floss and mouthwash. i will for work but when im not at work i dont care. if i dont see anyone, i dont care. However because i worked with people who lost their teeth because of their . . . malpractice of brushery. . . i am more encouraged to do it 2x daily. but when im depressed i dont care.

Haha! Yes, I was in the darkest period of my life then: the dentist told me if I didn’t stop abusing my teeth he’d pull the whole lot out rather than waste his time repairing them. First time I brushed them again was excruciatingly painful, and resulted in blood all over the sink and me. Oops.
I brush most days now and have interdentals: can’t manage floss, always ends up stuck... and mouthwash gives me headaches so I don’t.
I don’t bother with deodorant or dressing if I’m not leaving the house: can’t see the point.
My den “library” as Mrs K calls it is half and half: meticulously ordered collections of books, bones, sheet music and art equipment; everything else strewn wherever I’ve let go of it and all under a thick layer of dust.
Mrs K wrote her name in the dust to see how long it would last and has since renewed it twice because fresh dust obscured it.

 

[Ezra]

the essential parts lol.

That's a good way of putting it

 

[unperson]

As a person who doesnt stop thinking at any point, i dont understand this

Harhar. I don't think the cleaning thing kicks in till later, when you realise over thinking everything is exhausting.

 

[Moonhart44]

Harhar. I don't think the cleaning thing kicks in till later, when you realise over thinking everything is exhausting.

i think i am almost there lol
at least i am getting counseling so hopefully in another 10 years ill see reason to pick up wihtout pondering why XD

 

[SDRSpark]

I'm a total clutterbug, my windows have NEVER been cleaned (in 10 years), I rarely clean my kitchen...

My personal hygiene is better than most people's, but when it comes to housework I'm useless LOL. My mother was the same way.

 

[SDRSpark]

Everything goes in a specific place but apparently it all just appears to be strewn randomly in whatever open spaces are available.

This is so me. LOL Oh man...I know exactly where everything is. "Third pile from the left, towards the back, under the yellow thing."

It makes no sense to anyone else, but I'm organized, I swear.

 

[Giraffes]

I get it my b/f was way move inyout camp and it drove me made, all he did was label my needs as OSD and unreasonable, needless to say we broke up and i now now be ME with no judgement.

 

[menander]

I like to be clean, hate greasy hair. But my things are old. I wash my winter coats every year or so at maximum: they've been around since World War II was in the news, without washing, so why should I start now?

In some regards I am fastidious but in other regards I'm not. My automobile gets used like a pickup truck, for example: which was great until I met a girl & offered her a lift in it when we were going on a little date. Told her to close her eyes & don't breathe, and pretend she was in a Mercedes-Benz.

This is very precise and I do agree with this! I have stuff from ages ago---why buy new? And as to personal hygiene, very fastidious. But, yes, the house can get cluttered but I know where everything is.

I have been throwing out lots of stuff which helps so much.

But indeed, that dichotomy of This Clean/This Disregard seems to be a theme here.

 

[Gerontius]

This is very precise and I do agree with this! I have stuff from ages ago---why buy new? And as to personal hygiene, very fastidious. But, yes, the house can get cluttered but I know where everything is.

I have been throwing out lots of stuff which helps so much.

But indeed, that dichotomy of This Clean/This Disregard seems to be a theme here.

"This, clean. This, disregard!" I love it. My car gets careful maintenance, under the hood...and on the highway people look up to see themselves outrun by a flying scrapyard on wheels. I do not buy new things generally. At one point I could not remember when I had last bought anything made in the 21st century. That was a good feeling.

I need to throw some things away. I find it very hard to throw stuff out for some reason but then again I really should. Some things are plain worn out, others useless, still others in the way & no good to anyone. I would like to have a clean & tidy life but have rather given up on it at present due to college.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Too much clutter makes me feel tense. I'm not great when it comes to cleaning the house for prolonged periods. But, I also let things accumulate over time; to a point where I'm forced to clean for prolonged periods.

The time when I clean the most is when we have guests. Basically I keep busy so I don't have to talk to people. Also, we spent so long tidying prior to guests arriving, I don't want all that hard work undone within a few hours of people in our house.

The house isn't really big enough for all the stuff we have which is currently in boxes in the spare bedrooms. We need to get a carpenter in to fit an attic door which would allow for more storage space.

Personal hygiene can be hit and miss too. I'd say I average 2 showers a week. Which probably isn't enough and no doubt seems disgusting to germaphobes etc. Never been good with routines. For most of my childhood and early adult life I rarely brushed my teeth. Not good when I was a stoner on and off for 13 years. Of course my teeth suffered - lots of fillings and one tooth which broke after 2 failed root canals.

These days I'm better with hygiene and brush my teeth once a day. So it's certainly an improvement. It does depend on mood though - if I'm going through a depressive period, I could give a fudge how I look or smell. It's unpleasant I know. I've even had comments from partners and workplaces that I'm unkempt and offputting. Just what you want to hear when you're depressed.

Anyway, at least I'm improving. By all accounts; I'm still a mess. Still, I look back and realise that as I've grown older I'm a slightly more cohesive and practical shambles compared to how I lived in the past. I'll take that as a victory - however small and insignificant it may seem.

Ed

 

[BenderRodriguez]

That's a good way of putting it

Probably not appropriate here, but if you want to know what the essential bits are, check out George Carlin's Fear of germs

 

[Rabscuttle]

When it was time for my Confirmation, I opted to take the name of a saint renowned for his courage, generosity, and stubborn, steadfast refusal to comb his hair. They seemed like virtues I was good at.

My spaces tend to be wildly cluttered, but I actually like knowing where everything is and being able to access it without having to move six boxes through space that's empty for no real reason. As an added bonus, I'm completely safe from being robbed by Martha Stewart; her head would explode if she walked into my bedroom. I have no problem with people living their own lives as they choose, but I'll never accept that fastidiousness is the "proper" way until someone actually gives me a convincing reason to make the bed. Thirty six years of attempts, and so far no one's managed.