I’ve heard it said that, “an immaculate house is a sure sign of a wasted life”. I’m not sure who said it (and dear Google isn’t being very helpful) but I like it.
My apartment is, often, in a general state of messiness. It’s not dirty, but it’s definitely not immaculate.
Right now there are dishes in my sink, my floor needs to be vacuumed and there’s a pile of unfolded laundry on my unmade bed. I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is.
This is all because I decided to spend last night playing with my dog, going to a pilates class, grocery shopping, reading from a good book, all before going to bed early so I could wake up at 5:30 a.m. to go for a run before getting ready for work.
I may be disenchanted with the notion of a perpetually clean home, but you definitely can’t accuse me of being lazy.
Unless you’re my step dad, in which case I’m mostly just “domestically challenged”. That is also kind of true but that tends to refer more to my inability to cook (something else I’m not proud of QUIT JUDGING ME) and that is totally not the point here.
Still, amid leading a life of assumed adventure (and maybe struggling with a few challenges, domestically speaking), there are times in my life when my cavalier attitude toward the state of my home vanishes wholly and completely.
Two times, specifically:
1) When I’m procrastinating. This is a given. If I have something to do that I really don’t want to do, come visit. The place will truly be immaculate and my life, most certainly, wasted.
2) This is the most serious of situations: I am stressed.
Cleaning, above all else, is my coping mechanism when things go wrong. Nothing quells the storm of a bad mood or gives distraction to nervous jitters like cleaning house.
When something in my life goes awry, my inner Monica Geller rears her frazzled head and reached for the yellow rubber gloves.
I could not, for the life of me, find an appropriate Monica screen cap to fit this post so you get turkey-headed Monica instead. Classic.
Take last week, for example. I spent a morning working from home. I had been working since 6 a.m. and was spun on panic over some technical difficulties that I just could not overcome to save my nerves. I eventually found help in some wonderful local tech wizards who took the project from my shaking hands and said, “Sit tight, we’ll call you when we’re done.”
That was it. I was left with a bad situation that was suddenly completely outside of my control for an indeterminate amount of time.
That is not a feeling I enjoy.
So, I cleaned.
I scrubbed the bathtub, polished the sink, washed the dishes and was juuuuust reaching for the vacuum when the phone rang. I have never been so happy to hear my phone ring.
I suppose that, as far as coping mechanisms go, launching myself into a frenzy of cleaning isn’t the worst thing I could be doing. But if a messy apartment is a sign of not only a life well lived but also a quiet, unstressed mind, I think we should all be grateful for a little mess now and then.
What about you? Are you on Team Mess or Team Tidy? (don’t worry, I won’t judge) And, more importantly, how do you cope when life gets stressful? Any other Monicas out there?
14 Comments
I’m on Team Organized Minimalist. I hate clutter, but I also don’t want to spend forever cleaning and organizing, ’cause I have more iteresting things to do with my time; so we try to maintain a minimlaist home so that there is never a lot of organizing or cleaning to do. Before buying any new piece of furniture or item, I ask the all important question: do I want to take the time to clean this and find room for it? If the answer is no, I don’t buy it. Of course, no system is perfect – when we’re really busy, the kitchen table becomes a mass of papers and other items that need immediate action…they then sit there for several days or get moved to the bed when company comes over, and then moved back to the table – that’s my dirty little secret, shhh, don’t tell anyone
The mess of papers on the kitchen table (slash also my work space…) is, in my opinion, my biggest cleaning fault! It’s awful!
In regards to the system of not bringing in extra clutter, it’s times like this that I’m glad my apartment is so small – I don’t have room to bring in extra mess even if I wanted to! I just have to work with what I’ve already got
I’m with you alllll the way on this one. I can SEE the dust
Under my loveseat right now, but I’m not stressed and good books and a bubblebath and a quinoa salad are waiting so the dust will too. Oh, and sister, I can teach you to make almost anything under the sun.
Oh, girl. I request the highest of fives.
Sara, I love this new post. I really feel like you are talking directly to me on this one because I am EXACTLY the same way. This is why we are friends!
Solidarity in messiness!
After reading the blog, I have to question myself on free mind or free place – I use to be Team Real Tidy and have made to change to the affiliate team Team Mostly Tidy!! Yes, the importance of a tidy place does play a role in who we are and how we are BUT I think we need to test our limits both ways to experience if the freedom of more mess means more “life”! In my case the change definitely gave me less stress and more time for enjoying things I really like to do!!
Don’t get me wrong – I love a tidy space. But I like the way you think. If a little less tidy means a bit more freedom, I’m ok with it
Definitely on the side of mostly tidy. My fiance and I clean our house once a week in order to keep messyness to a minimum. I find if you can clean up right after making a mess it really prevents it from piling up and becoming a large clean up.
At work I always have a pile of papers from client meetings and notes. THose tend to hit the shredder or get filed away once a month!
I hope everything worked out well with the site
Luc’s all about the cleaning up right after making a mess thing. I find it never seems to be that easy.
Luc sounds like a clever guy.
Yes, perhaps a little too clever… Dun, dun, DUUUNNNN!
When I’m home and it’s a mess… i wanna pull out my hair! I can’t work in a mess. Thankfully, for my team messy husband who works from home, I’m hardly ever home, so he gets to work in the mess. Team messy wins.
I can’t lie – I don’t like the mess. The mess drives me crazy. I’m just… Uhg.