How Messsy is Too Messy? - Page 7

[phathui5]

Originally Posted by Meg_s

<crying> how do I get rid of poopy smell in the carpet

What kind of shape is the floor under the carpet in? Ripping out our carpet when we bought our house was one of the best things we did for the place.

[Dr.Worm]

This thread is making me want to clean too...darn it! And it also reminds me of that old saying..how does it go again? Something about killing more flies with honey than with vinegar....and I'm not referring to cleaning....

[marybethorama]

This thread has made me clean

My house is still messy (and I must admit dirty too) but reading this thread is making me clean more

I have a pretty high tolerance myself so I don't notice too much about other people's houses. Or I just ignore it.

Though I'm getting much better about cleaning, I think you'll always be able to find some dust in my house

[lovesdaffodils]

I too went and cleaned my bathroom while reading this thread.

Like most people said, clutter is okay, but true filth is not. I totally don't care about toys, stacks of papers, etc. And general dirty, like a few crumbs under the table, some dishes in the sink, laundry in a basket, etc, don't bother me one bit. If someone shows up at my house unannounced, they'll see that.

I have been in houses, though, with pet messes on the floor (that even after being told "Oh, your animal pooped here" the owner didn't clean it ). Days-old (or weeks) food and dishes in not only the kitchen, but living room and bedroom. Just literal trash thrown everywhere (and not in the "my baby ripped up paper" way). Basically, if it doesn't seem safe/healthy for my child to play and touch things in the house, that bothers me and we'll probably not go back.

[thewaggonerfamily]

Originally Posted by ~Megan~

How about I be polite and respond to you with a little dignity.

I'm well aware of the horrible state our planet is in. This is why I use all safe, biodegradeable cleaning products. This is why I do EC and cloth diapers. This is why I use reuseable menstrual products. This is why I use cloth towels instead of paper towels. This is why we buy organic. This is why we recycle. This is why we buy used things whenever possible.

I think my once weekly toilet scrubber puts me extremely low on my consumption and trash output compared to most other people.

But, really you'd reuse a container that had mold stains that wouldn't come out? (ETA: dh does the cleaning. I leave the room so I won't gag. Even if its stained he doesn't want to get rid of it though. He's the type to hold onto shirts that haven't fit him since 8th grade whereas I'd rather take them to the shelter or remake them into something else [I made a bunch of great baby lap Ts from his old shirts!]) I'd rather recycle it and let it be completely sanitized and used again. Good thing I keep my yogurt containers and glass jars so I have lots of reuseable containers and that I buy from companies that make their containers with reuse and recycling in mind.

Be careful with your assumptions and stone throwing.

I prefer to assume the best of people rather than jump to the worst possible conclusion.

I know lots of people that think cloth diapers are gross. I don't judge them, they handle what they can handle. Instead I focus my energy explaining where they can find non-toxic and biodegradeable disposable diapers. And helping them find where they can buy them in bulk to save money. That seems a lot better than calling them names or berating them so that not only is my cloth diaper message lost but so is my message of organics, reusing, recycling, and more.

We are all here on Mothering.com which is a website geared towards natural family living and attachment parenting. No one here is the perfect earth mother (you included I'm sure) but we do the best that we can and for each of us that is a different level.

Every good thing we do for our bodies and earth counts! Celebrate the good and encourage each other to do more.

Oh, and I fit in with the messies and do lots good for the environment. But...one of the biggest breakthoughs for me and my enormous amout of clutter was finally allowing myself to throw. things. out. It was huge. Didn't matter that they were possibly useful. (That was my big hang up) But I won't acquire stuff like that again. (I also take garbage bags fill of stuff to Goodwill)

[OkiMom]

For me it depends on the person and the circumstances. For example, my friend just had a baby two weeks ago, if I went over to her house I would expect it to be messy probably with unwashed dishes and unvaccumed floors. If someone I knew had sick children or just had surgery I would expect their house to be messier and I would offer to help them clean it up since I understand where they are coming from. However, I have another friend whos children are all grown and whos husband is never home so if I went over to her house and it was messy it might be a little more icky for me because there is no reason really for the mess (and Id wonder what was wrong because her house is NEVER messy).

For me the big icky parts are:
large pieces of food stuck to places on the ground
moldy food on plates
grocery baskets full of trash (yes this has happened)
dirty underwear all over the place
cat/dog feces
vomit all over the place..
bloody bandages

Other than that I can handle pretty much anything. I have only been in probably three homes that made my stomach turn so I guess Im pretty laid back.. However, I don't think Ill be inviting any of you over too soon since I only vaccuum once a week and dinner dishes are rarely done before morning. My house would probably make your guys stomach turn even though I think its pretty clean.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by littlemizflava

umm i live in a building and fruit flies show up even when there is not a fruit or veg in the house. its so weird they come from other apartments and u even see them in the halls at times.

Ugh, that sucks. I'd still have fly traps (apple cider vinegar and dish soap also works and might be cheaper) set out to catch them in my home. Oh, and I didn't mean like I see a couple flies and I freak out, I meant like people who don't seem to care about a cloud of them.

[Max'sMama]

Originally Posted by Changed

Question- if you had a friend
who's home was *so gross* that your children (in addition to you) weren't comfortable there, would you stop visiting?

Yes, I have one and the visits have ceased.

For me, the standards are:
If I feel the inexplicable NEED to clean to sit, stand, walk, or chat, it's too messy.

I can handle clutter. I can handle kid dirt. I can't handle adult lack of housekeeping. It makes me uncomfortable and itchy. I feel like homes that are icky are crawling with bugs and I have them on me. For days.

I totally agree with the PP that talked about darkness and it making it worse.