I Need You to Not Be a Neurotic House Cleaner
It makes me cry
I have a friend, actually two friends, whose houses are magazine-perfect. Every time I go. And when I go, I become a little crazy.
I set out on a mission to find some imperfection. Dirt. Disorganization. Somewhere. Hiding in the shadows maybe? I look for it to make myself feel OK for being normal.
Doesn’t everyone have a little dirt, a little disorganization in their home? Not my friends. I haven’t found it yet.
I have wiped the floor with my bare hands, beside the toilet, to try to find a trace of dirt. None.
I have rummaged through their bathroom cabinets and closets looking for something disheveled — a towel not folded perfectly? A little forgotten grime? None.
Kitchen cabinets have dishes perfectly lined. Cabinet countertops spotless. Under the sink cleaners all poured into beautiful, matching bottles so even the most unsightly space is dreamy.
And while I really do appreciate the “hotel feel” I enjoy when I’m at their houses, it inherently makes me feel like something is wrong with me.
Because I do, in fact, have dust bunnies, the occasional cobweb and overall disheveled dishes in my cabinets and crooked stacks of jeans in my closet. (Not to mention “that room” where everything just piles up.)
I also have a houseful of kids so, there’s that. And when I told one of my friends that I cried and became a “clutter Nazi” after coming home from visiting her house, she finally gave me the secret to peace I had been longing for.
Because I really, really do crave that kind of beautiful, perfect order. But it feels so impossible! So when she told me the “secret”…well, it kind of changed my life.
“I’m neurotic. That’s how my house stays like this. I clean every minute of a day and this is no life. Enjoy your family and less-than-perfect house.”
Ah! I get it. There’s a trade off! A balance to everything. And I don’t want to make my family crazy by constantly barking orders to “pick up everything!”
Still, my OCD friends, do us all a favor, and leave some dirt somewhere. It would be a kindness.
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