Cleaning Habits

[Spartan26]

How clean are you? *I have corners in my room that are filled w/crap. *Mostly papers, photos, magazines, etc. *I usually don't have time to deal with stuff and I'll toss it aside. *But after a certain time, I can't deal with it being so messy. *Even if it doesn't looks visibly bad. Like say my closet, I'll feel like I'm sitting in a tilted chair and can't get anything done until I sort out my closet.

Same may be true for the kitchen or bathroom or living room. *I think it's one thing if you're sick of seeing something or obviously being overcome by the stench but I can't figure out why a messy closet would bother me. *And not so much that I have to constantly keep it clean. Every so often I'll just feel uneasy until I sort through bills, organize papers or straighten up other stuff that maybe two days before I could walk by w/out caring.

Do you have set cleaning schedules? *Can you handle stuff being in piles out of the way? *What cleaning do you hate most to do? *Do you keep some areas cleaner than others? *Are you clean at work, car, home, etc?

Certain areas I clean quite regularly like one kitchen counter that I can fix simple stuff on and sink as well as my bathroom counter and sink. *But a thorough scrub down (mopping and the like) may not happen but a couple of times a month. *Mind you, food-n-sh#t's not being left around but like a little splatter against the back of the stove will prolly last for...a while.

How about you?

[Evalis]

Intriguing question.. Nothing is really 'clutter' for me, unless it is affecting someone else.

Typically my desk at work is spick and span because someone may be using it after I switch shifts. My kitchen is clean for the purpose of keeping out germs, as is my bathroom. My livingroom is also clean to ensure that guests are not turned off... my computer desk and my room though.. are perpetual warzones.

I know where everything is even if it appears cluttered, and so if moving it makes it 'less accessible', I prefer to keep it precisely where it is. The only time I will change this, is if a peice of information becomes obsolete, or I think of a more efficient method of accessubg those objects.

This at times would cause conflicts when people entered my space to 'assist me' in cleaning it up. Yes I know all those papers strewn about looked like they were put there haphazardly, but I swear to god I know why each of them are there in that order. Leave them alone!! >.<

Anyway... that's my $30, or 28.6 cents.. whichever is greater

[radioactivez0r]

I'm a pretty messy person, because I just don't care most of the time. Living with a girl, and one who is basically the opposite of me when it comes to cleanliness, has improved this somewhat, but only in the public areas. My room remains a lost cause, and until I worry I'll injure myself due to how I have to hop over things, I won't bother. Usually at that point, I'll start making piles, and then leave the piles. The last time I cleaned, though, I decided that I should actually get things put away, not just stacked up. It's sort of working. For the most part...it simply doesn't bother me, but I lose things often because I'm also absent-minded.

[Jezebel]

For me it depends on where you look. I'm mostly messy. I seem to completely tune out everything in my physical environment that I'm not dealing with directly. There can be clutter all around me and I usually don't even notice until someone else points out what a mess it is. I don't schedule cleaning and I think doing regular routine cleaning is a waste of time. I especially think things like making the bed are a waste of time so I never do that on principle.

However, my workspaces that are in use tend to be very clean to the point of me being anal. My desk at work is always clutter free. My supply drawers are neat. My computer files are always organized. When other people use my stuff in my 'organized areas' and don't put it back in the right place I get upset. And when I do take the time to clean something, I'm very thorough.

[venOrabbits]

I'm both. *I can't stand scum. *Scum will be scrubbed but my surroundings will more than likely be cluttered. *So it's a clean mess.

If I've been procrastinating and I'm finally ready to tackle the project, I can't seem to do it until my surroundings are tidy. *I don't know why this is.

[Rose]

I'm exactly the same way about not making the bed. I just don't see the point! Most things are very disorganized around the house. I keep the dishes and kitchen counter very clean and don't ever let the house get "gross" but when it comes to piles of things - especially clothes - I just can't be bothered. However there does come a point when even I notice how messy the place is and then I clean it so it's spotless. I go a little crazy. I still haven't figured out what triggers these cleaning binges.

I do keep my work super-organized though. Even the files on my computer are usually all in neat labeled folders. I too have 'special organized' places that I get frustrated when other people move things around.

My husband laughs at me because he can reorganize the "display" shelves on the walls - pictures, etc - and I won't notice for weeks sometimes...I also spill things a lot just because I'm usually thinking about something else and don't bother with coordination. For example, every morning I spill my coffee over the rim when I stir in the sugar. I know that I'm going to do this and have the clean-up sponge ready. My husband just shakes his head. How am I supposed to explain that it takes more effort for me to stop thinking and concentrate on not-spilling the coffee than to keep thinking about whatever I'm thinking about and just wipe away the spill?

[Selly]

xD

Okay, I'll admit to having several of the habits mentioned above. I don't like dirt. Everything has to be clean. At the same time, I do have clutter, but it's organized clutter (my dad loves to come into say, my closet, and color code everything...it's kind of creepy and I have to put everything back to the way it was before).

I've gotten into the habit of cleaning up every Sunday so that I can at least start the week in a clean room. If I miss my weekly cleaning....I've woken up in the middle of the night because I couldn't sleep because I hadn't cleaned yet, and it was bothering me.

[wolf]

I change my patterns to avoid cleaning whenever possible, but I admit that my desk is covered in clutter and I have been putting off cleaning out the car, organizing the garage, and moving the beds they moved into my dining room in the process of moving out back into the bedrooms. The thing is that they don't bother be because they don't look particularly-messy, they're just square things wasting some of my floorspace, and that is only marginally-annoying.

I'm much like those above in that I am not bothered by some clutter, while I'm bothered by dirty things. I maintain a (supposedly-tasteful) modern-minimalist thing in my place which stands in stark contrast to how my parents keep their house and more-or-less enforced on me when I lived with them... Although my stuff is plain and simple, it's quality stuff, which I prefer to cheap stuff that is purchased for appearances rather than practicality and reliability.

[Firelie]

Whether I'm clean or not really depends on where I am.

At work, I like to make my cubicle into a complete and utter mess just to freak my boss out (cuz she's anal like that), and because it amuses me to see the astonished looks when people come to me looking for something and I know exactly where it is in all of that paper... but it's always organized in some fashion even at its messiest, and I always, ALWAYS set it back to the way it was when I got there in the morning before I leave.

The public areas of my house are always clean and organized.

My bedroom, however, is usually messy. Not dirty, mind you, but messy. I've got something resembling organization going on, but there are several half-finished projects that I haven't yet cleaned up.

[Rei]

How clean are you? *I have corners in my room that are filled w/crap. *Mostly papers, photos, magazines, etc. *I usually don't have time to deal with stuff and I'll toss it aside.

That is typical of an INTP friend of mine... Though I relate with the "I can't stand the messiness" feeling.

I tend to like to keep room pretty much spotless. *I'm a lazy person... I dump my clothes on my bed and such... but before I can sit down and work or settle in for the night, i pretty much HAVE to put everything away before I do. Even if i'm not TRUELY cleaning up, I still try to stack things away in a corner and not have it all over the place or "crooked"... Things even have to be stacked straight. The obsession grows with age... and the desire to procrastinate...

During exams, I procrastinate by scrubbing the kitchen all sparkly clean =/

[Tarrick]

Organizing stuff on the ground (hey it's the biggest shelf in the house) is perfectly normal isn't it?

[The Rose]

I have learned that when I have a small space to manage, I keep it very neat and clean and organized.
When I have too much stuff, and it doesn't have a place where it belongs,
it all ends up in piles (which have some chronological order to them, but...).

[StJimmy]

I can handle clutter that would make anal types run gibbering in fear, but currently my personal space is approaching critical mass...

[The Rose]

During exams, I procrastinate by scrubbing the kitchen all sparkly clean =/LOL! I used to clean the kitchen when I was mad.
I found out it's one of the ways INTJs regain their "equilibrium" when they're stressed out.
(Naomi L. Quenk)

But one time my husband complained that he didn't like it that I only clean when I'm mad
so now I don't clean at all. :mad:
(Boy, I'm stubborn.)
Now I don't have anything theraputic to do.

[The Rose]

I let things pile up, then I psyche myself up because
I have to be in the mood to clean.

I don't normally notice mess.

However when I clean, I CLEAN -
with a toothbrush!
I detail , so that I have made a major difference,
by the time I'm done.

I have the hardest time cleaning half-way.

My husband can clean up the kitchen in 15 minutes.
It takes me 45 minutes to do the same thing.
BUT HE didn't really CLEAN it -
it's a fake clean, not an authentic genuine clean.
It only appears clean when he does it.

I have learned to do things more his way, but it's hard for me.

[StJimmy]

Oddly enough I ruined my wife, she refuses to clean unless I help her. Heh.

When I was a kid my mother was a clean freak to the point of neurosis, and I think that helped forge my iron will to ignore "messes." I used to (and still do, but to a lesser degree) get these odd compulsive feelings about organizing things sometimes, but I tend to ignore things that aren't the main focus of my attention.

[phoenix]

As quilters, we always have a level of clutter around the house. However it's clutter with a purpose as it will shortly become a quilt. Unfortunately, that clutter also has a habit of hiding things we need....keys, glasses, watches, etc.

Several responses have mentioned that you always know where something is. That's me as well. My partner goes to work before I get out of bed, and I often get the call up the stairs... "Have you seen _____?" Almost invariably I can provide the answer. Even though my brain registered the location of the item days or sometimes weeks ago, it seems like I keep a subconcious inventory of the contents of the house in my head.

She says I scare her sometimes. *;D

[MichaelH]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one!

For me, neatness means happiness. However, the effort to organize everything is often not in line with the rewards. I tend to have piles of important papers stashed - in chronological order - in various places. Finding one in particular becomes a non-amusing treasure hunt through different piles, but I'll know for sure I still have that paper! Such treasure hunts are exceedingly rare, so the piles must be stashed somewhere out of sight. File cabinets, closet shelves, my desk drawer all get called into service.

I'm getting better about organizing really important stuff. I'd love to live in a minimalist-neat house. But for a lot of things, "good enough" organized is good enough. So long as my personal area is uncluttered, it's fine.

[hopscotch]

Cleaning was my primary method of procrastination when I was in school. I would tackle the most time-consuming chores with zest when I had an exam I was supposed to study for or an essay to write. Since there was a tangible result, I felt productive and guilt-free.

Now I clean as necessary. I don't mind the occasional dust bunny but I can't tolerate filth. When the stack of dishes in the sink spills onto the counters, I roll up my sleeves and delve in (or remind my boyfriend when it's his turn). I'm fairly indifferent to clutter unless I'm trying to do the more heavy-duty cleaning and it's in my way, or we're having guests who will require space to sit or place their drinks.

I used to be obsessed with orderliness to the point where my books were alphabetized and my closet colour-coded. I've mellowed out considerably since those days.

[Evalind]

I'm married to an INTP packrat, thus our apartment is very... VERY... messy. [smiley=irked.gif]

I don't feel any responsibility to clean the messes I don't make, but sometimes I must do so anyway for my own sanity.


"Have you seen _____?" Almost invariably I can provide the answer. Even though my brain registered the location of the item days or sometimes weeks ago, it seems like I keep a subconcious inventory of the contents of the house in my head.
I do that too. It's also really irritating when things aren't where I expected them to be.

[Firelie]

Cleaning was my primary method of procrastination when I was in school. *I would tackle the most time-consuming chores with zest when I had an exam I was supposed to study for or an essay to write. *Since there was a tangible result, I felt productive and guilt-free.

Yes! Cleaning is the best way to procrastinate. Actually, it's not entirely procrastination for me, cuz I can think better when I'm cleaning than when I'm sitting around trying to come up with ideas. Give me a dirty room to clean and I can compose an essay in my head, give me a piece of paper and a pen and I'll be blank for a few hours.

[logan235711]

I mostly just organize things that I access on a regular basis. Other things I will wait to organize until I actually need to or they are interfering with my other 'regular basis' items. Organizing just to organize? Eh, there doesn't seem to be any real goal in that--just a bad habit or reaction.

[radioactivez0r]

Addendum: I hate cleaning because after a period of time, you just have to do it again, and that seems pointless.

I do like to sweep, though, and rake leaves, because of the immediate difference you can see.

[Chainsaw Dundee]

Addendum: I hate cleaning because after a period of time, you just have to do it again, and that seems pointless.


Yeah, good point. Why even bother wiping your ass if you're just going to go again? [smiley=toff.gif]

[aude]

I would say i am 60% cluttered in the room where i do sleep.

Is it not right to assume that a cluttered room reflect a clutter mind? Maybe this could be a test too see how far you are into a intj personality is by how messy your room be :o

[TruorTupnm]

As with most, I gots piles of stuff that I understand well. Caches of papers of different sorts. Useless mementos are kept until I have to move. I wonder a bit why other people keep mementos when they still have memories but usually end up throwing things out. My mother was a packrat, and I wouldn't wish for such a habit. Dishes are cleaned as soon as I'm done with them, unless I forget, which is half of the time, which is when, whoops, I'll leave them in the sink until I possess the time and inclination to clean. Kitchens are always kept clean, besides mayhaps a bit of sweeping. I oftimes leave bathroom stuff for a while, whoops, though. oh well. And I don't go outside. Merely to get to a vehicle, I would think.

[Ryokurin]

I'm cluttery. I may leave glasses and a dish or two out for a few days (as long as there's not like food or liquid in it) and I'll definitely leave things like papers and cd's all around my desk and so forth but I do know where everything is either exactly, or I'll have a general idea whats in every stash of stuff.

I'm definitely not messy however. truly dirty dishes are washed soon, or put in a dishwasher out of site, major spills are cleaned up immediately and about once a month I spend the entire day cleaning up every room in the house with a good dusting and vacuuming. If need be I could pick up the major areas (kitchen and living room) to spotless levels in a hour or two if there is a slim chance of someone showing up but that almost never happens.

[Bossy Mom]

I am not a perfect housekeeper, but I'm not a pig, either. People who keep perfect homes need therapy. I try to keep my kitchen clean and neat, and also try to keep papers from piling up on my dining room table. I go on binges when I clean; I will take a whole day and thoroughly clean if I have a day off from work if my daughter is at school. If she's at home, she always wants to go shopping or to a movie or something. I figure we need a mother-daughter day and that is more important than cleaning, so we go!

My desk at work is always messy, but I know where everything is in the piles. I just say, "A busy desk is a busy mind!"

[cielo market]

From To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

An INTJ's home reflects his or her current conceptual pursuits. Theoretical and practical books abound. To a casual visitor, the home may seem neat, but its more private corners reflect a series of half-started projects, collections of momentos, and an assortment of potential challenges: a guitar to be mastered, a file to be organized, a household repair to be made.

That's me.

[Learning]

How clean are you? I have corners in my room that are filled w/crap. Mostly papers, photos, magazines, etc. I usually don't have time to deal with stuff and I'll toss it aside. But after a certain time, I can't deal with it being so messy. Even if it doesn't looks visibly bad. Like say my closet, I'll feel like I'm sitting in a tilted chair and can't get anything done until I sort out my closet.

Same may be true for the kitchen or bathroom or living room. I think it's one thing if you're sick of seeing something or obviously being overcome by the stench but I can't figure out why a messy closet would bother me. And not so much that I have to constantly keep it clean. Every so often I'll just feel uneasy until I sort through bills, organize papers or straighten up other stuff that maybe two days before I could walk by w/out caring.

Do you have set cleaning schedules? Can you handle stuff being in piles out of the way? What cleaning do you hate most to do? Do you keep some areas cleaner than others? Are you clean at work, car, home, etc?

Certain areas I clean quite regularly like one kitchen counter that I can fix simple stuff on and sink as well as my bathroom counter and sink. But a thorough scrub down (mopping and the like) may not happen but a couple of times a month. Mind you, food-n-sh#t's not being left around but like a little splatter against the back of the stove will prolly last for...a while.

How about you?

Maybe the closet thing is about functionality & organization rather than general "messiness".

In answer to the questions, I don't have a set cleaning schedule and don't like piles unless I'm sick or just too tired to get to it. Cleanliness is healthier, and can ultimately relieve stress because the space functions better.

[gallihand]

Addendum: I hate cleaning because after a period of time, you just have to do it again, and that seems pointless.

How true. Same reason I don't make my bed or put my clothes in drawers until my parents complain about it. My dirty clothes normally just get piled until its time to do laundry. And it annoys me to no end that my dad wants the lawn done weekly because he thinks will look nice...

I hate when people "clean up", everything goes missing for a few months...

[Pkz]

Well, my room is usually a bit messy, but as others I dont really notice it that much. I like to have it clean where it is unpractical to be messy, but I do like Jezebel never make up my bed. I never, never understood that. I mean firstly; Its time consuming and you have to do it every day. Secondly; I find it too "sterile" when it is made, and cuddly when its not. Thirdly; Why? Why do it? I find no real reason for this apart from the illogical/unpractical argument; "Durrrr it looks nice".

[danalaina]

i like things *very* tidy and uncluttered: To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


what you see in that room is all that's in there, plus a coffee table. couches, husband, laptop desk on casters, and a single vase with tulips, usually.

no knick-knacks, no paper piled up. everything in its place. add anything else to it, and it immediately looks untidy. that makes me crabby, mostly because i'm visual, and it draws my eye too much...i need that processing power elsewhere. =)

[ThrowerMatt]

I almost always keep a spotless home and work environment. Nothing drives me insane like not being able to find something important.

[dobbin]

Tidiness is imperative, modern 'cleanliness' is less important

[Zilal]

I tend to keep things pretty tidy... cleaning as with windex is another matter, I don't do that very much... and it's funny, I'm not sure about the idea that cluttered surroundings reflect a cluttered mind, but I swear I find it harder to think if the room I'm working in is cluttered. Maybe there's some part of my mind that thinks it should be cleaning instead.

[thod]

I am neither tidy nor clean. Thats the beauty of being INTP you are blissfuly unaware. I have many piles around the house that have existed for years. Only occasionly do they need to be moved. They simply vanish from my awareness and are not there at all, I simply step around them not realising I am doing so. The same with cleanliness, I have impressive layers of dust everywhere. I dont even see it unless something draws my attention to it. Likewise I will go dig in a pile if I need something from it since I recall seeing it there last. Then the pile vanishs again.

[colmdubh]

I tend to be very clean or at least organized. Things have to have their place for certain. Sometimes I even line up papers on my desk at right angles

[esialb]

How clean are you? I have corners in my room that are filled w/crap. Mostly papers, photos, magazines, etc. I usually don't have time to deal with stuff and I'll toss it aside. But after a certain time, I can't deal with it being so messy. Even if it doesn't looks visibly bad. Like say my closet, I'll feel like I'm sitting in a tilted chair and can't get anything done until I sort out my closet.

I'm very organized, but not very clean. I keep my desk clear. I have a careful filing system for my documents. A place for everything and everything in its place. On the other hand, I will leave the carpet un-vacuumed for months.

Do you have set cleaning schedules? Can you handle stuff being in piles out of the way? What cleaning do you hate most to do? Do you keep some areas cleaner than others? Are you clean at work, car, home, etc?

I don't have any sort of schedule. Organizing is an incremental process. I do it often enough, and habitually enough, that I never really have to go on a cleaning rampage.