thyme4change
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 26, 2010 13:54:08 GMT -5
Posts: 40,439
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 10:18:24 GMT -5
Post by thyme4change on Dec 10, 2012 10:18:24 GMT -5
I always think I'm average - sure I earn more than average, but only because I'm in a field that pays higher than average. I think my work ethic is average. I think the amount of chores I do at home are average. I think the amount of time I spend with my family is average. Etc.
But how do I know?
This was brought on because I went over to a friend's house yesterday. My daughter was hanging out with her daughter, and I went to pick her up. Their house is a disaster. Their house has always been messy. There used to be toys everywhere (my kids loved it there) and they kept their dirty clothes pile in the hallway - which whatever - we kept our strewn about the bedroom floor. Their kitchen is a small galley kitchen, so I didn't think much about the stuff on the counter. But this time I really noticed how dirty the place was. Layers of dust, animal hair, dirty dishes - really quite filthy. She works and he stays home with the kids - who are middle school/junior high aged - so he should have a few hours per day to clean.
So, is my house average - or am I a neat freak? Do people live like that? Is his work ethic so much worse than average, or is mine really above average? Do they spend their energy elsewhere, or am I really hyperactive? What do people's lives really look like? Maybe I usually hang out with super-anal people (my parents) so I don't even know what normal looks like?
What is normal? What is average?
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 18, 2024 4:18:41 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 10:23:16 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2012 10:23:16 GMT -5
I also think that our lives are average, but after hearing about that house it appears my cleaning standards are quite high. ETA: to me, average is that my house is never going to be Better Homes and Gardens ready because there's always going to be something that needs to be done (be it dusting, laundry, fixing a cabinet handle, putting laundry away, etc...) but that is because we LIVE in it, so it will always be a work in progress.
|
|
midjd
Administrator
Your Money Admin
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 14:09:23 GMT -5
Posts: 17,719
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 10:25:47 GMT -5
Post by midjd on Dec 10, 2012 10:25:47 GMT -5
I think it's like the 'middle class' arguments - no one wants to think of themselves as exceptional on either end of the spectrum. Everyone wants to self-identify somewhere in the middle.
So to ourselves, we are average - those who are messier than us are slobs, those who are neater than us are obsessive. Those who spend more time with their kids than we do are helicopter parents, those who spend less time are neglectful.
Everyone's "average" is different depending on upbringing, peer group, etc.
|
|
telephus44
Well-Known Member
Joined: Dec 23, 2010 10:20:21 GMT -5
Posts: 1,259
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 10:55:59 GMT -5
Post by telephus44 on Dec 10, 2012 10:55:59 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure my house keeping skills are below average. Most people's houses that I go into are cleaner than mine. I mean, I don't have trash piled everywhere, but you can almost always find some crumbs on my kitchen counters, jelly or peanut butter blobs on the table, soap scum on the shower, dust on the TV, etc.
|
|
swamp
Community Leader
Don't be a fool. Call me!
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 16:03:22 GMT -5
Posts: 45,345
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 10:56:20 GMT -5
Post by swamp on Dec 10, 2012 10:56:20 GMT -5
I like to think of myself as average, but the more houses I go into, I realize that I'm anal.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 18, 2024 4:18:41 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 10:59:22 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2012 10:59:22 GMT -5
We are all average at some things and below and/or above at other things. If your friend is working and her spouse is home, then she probably doesn't have time to do the cleaning. Or, maybe it is more of a priority to you. I don't think of it as a question of averages but of priorities. Right now, i have 3 kids playing basketball, plus coaching and working and other things going on. So, keeping the house neat and tidy right now is falling by the wayside. Not so much a priority. But, when i do clean it, i will do a thorough job.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 18, 2024 4:18:41 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:02:04 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2012 11:02:04 GMT -5
I like to think of myself as average, but the more houses I go into, I realize that I'm anal. Yes, but are you above average at being anal? ;D
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 18, 2024 4:18:41 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:09:04 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2012 11:09:04 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure I really am average. There are places I go that are both much messier and much more perfect than mine is. I used to be below average. I know cause I was always embarrassed when people came over. I'm not now. I have hampers for dirty clothes, no more than one meal's worth of dishes in the sink if there are dishes in the sink, bathrooms get done weekly etc etc. I like my routine, the place looks good and I haven't devoted my life to it.
|
|
swamp
Community Leader
Don't be a fool. Call me!
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 16:03:22 GMT -5
Posts: 45,345
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:10:14 GMT -5
Post by swamp on Dec 10, 2012 11:10:14 GMT -5
I like to think of myself as average, but the more houses I go into, I realize that I'm anal. Yes, but are you above average at being anal? ;D No, I'm a slacker.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 18, 2024 4:18:41 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:12:14 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2012 11:12:14 GMT -5
We are messy. The place is clean the dishes done but stuff gets all out place 2 sec later. I really just don't care all that much to try to keep it like House Beautiful. It takes a lot of time. There are other things i am interested in doing instead and choose to do. It gets done but sometimes stuff does pile up.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 18, 2024 4:18:41 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:16:54 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2012 11:16:54 GMT -5
I'm WAY above average, especially when it comes to modesty
|
|
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:18:50 GMT -5
Post by illinicheme on Dec 10, 2012 11:18:50 GMT -5
We definitely used to be below average in terms of housekeeping. Now that we have someone come in to clean every two weeks, we're probably closer to average, but still on the low end. (At least our guest bathroom is always sparkling now!) I've got a couple of friends who clean after guests come over because we make their homes dirty. We definitely fall into the "we need to have a party from time to time to make sure we pick up some clutter" end of the spectrum. We have one set of friends whose housekeeping skills seem to mirror ours. Whenever we stop by there is mail piled all over the counter, etc. I feel very comfortable in their home.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 18, 2024 4:18:41 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:18:55 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2012 11:18:55 GMT -5
One of my Favorite episodes of The Middle is called "Average Rules" and is where the parents realize their kids are just average and have no particular great talents, but that it is OK.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 18, 2024 4:18:41 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:20:07 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2012 11:20:07 GMT -5
We are messy. The place is clean the dishes done but stuff gets all out place 2 sec later. I really just don't care all that much to try to keep it like House Beautiful. It takes a lot of time. There are other things i am interested in doing instead and choose to do. It gets done but sometimes stuff does pile up. Exactly, shooby! We were running around all weekend and when I was getting the kids off to school I noticed our house is a disaster clutter-wise. I didn't have time to tackle it this morning but I'll get it out of the common rooms at least and the kids can put their stuff away when they get home from school. To paraphrase Rudolph's GF Clarice "there's always tomorrow...."
|
|
giramomma
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Feb 3, 2011 11:25:27 GMT -5
Posts: 21,400
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:21:04 GMT -5
Post by giramomma on Dec 10, 2012 11:21:04 GMT -5
We're below average with the clutter. We tend to have crap all over. Part of it is having 3 kids, down to a 7 month old. I'm also horrible about putting my own crap away. It's a bad habit of mine. I'm working on it, though, because I do get embarrassed about it.
Our house, however is sanitary. We don't toss dirty dishes immediately in the dishwasher during the day, but but generally every night, our sink is empty and rinsed out. Bathrooms look nice at all times.
I don't clean as often as I used to before #3, though. #3 has sucked everything out of me.
|
|
NomoreDramaQ1015
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:26:32 GMT -5
Posts: 47,331
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:25:44 GMT -5
Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Dec 10, 2012 11:25:44 GMT -5
Well at least I don't have clothes piled in the middle of the hallway and I dust once a week. So I suppose I am better than you friend at housekeeping. But based on this thread I am below average. We have toys all over the floor, we pick them up and five seconds later it looks like TRU exploded in our house. So I figure why bother? We throw them into the bin if someone is coming over but otherwise as long as they aren't where I can trip over them I tend to look the other way. We try to do the floors every week but there is a hairball in the corner of the hallway I've debated about naming and passing off as our third dog.
|
|
michelyn8
Familiar Member
Joined: Jul 25, 2012 6:48:24 GMT -5
Posts: 926
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:37:45 GMT -5
Post by michelyn8 on Dec 10, 2012 11:37:45 GMT -5
It all depends on who I compare myself to. If I compare my home to my mother's, I'm messy. If I compare it to my sister's, I'm a neat freak. Whenever I tell my BF I need to clean, he looks at me like I have two heads and asks me why when my house is already clean but he simply doesn't notice when I haven't dusted in a month or have things cluttering the place up because his place is truly cleaned only as often as I get the urge to do something about his dust and clutter. As long as he doesn't leave me a pile of dishes covered in food, I don't let it bother me. whereas in my own house, it can get to me quicker because I see it everyday.
Of course, when you have a 1 year old running around, its hard to avoid clutter. I'm happy just to find a place for things that's out of her reach.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 18, 2024 4:18:41 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:39:38 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2012 11:39:38 GMT -5
I think my house is a mess, but everyone else tells me I'm nuts...so maybe my standards are just high. When I was a SAHM I kept it immaculate and that's just not possible anymore.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 18, 2024 4:18:41 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:40:54 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2012 11:40:54 GMT -5
I'm a terrible housekeeper. My mom is ashamed. Our house isn't dirty but, more often than not, we're pulling clean clothes out of a pile that never got folded. Why does housekeeping have to be the benchmark? Can't we compare children or something? Because I am a terrible mother! Neither one of my kids is signed up for any extra-curricular activity at the moment.
|
|
wvugurl26
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 15:25:30 GMT -5
Posts: 21,730
|
Post by wvugurl26 on Dec 10, 2012 11:46:42 GMT -5
Dirt and filth I don't like. It is also bad for someone with my allergies. Sometimes the housekeeping gets away from me especially if I've been traveling.
I am currently working on clutter. I made some headway this weekend. It is amazing what you can get done when you are expecting company that has never been to your house.
I'm not going to have a magazine ready house but it will be clean. Cluttered perhaps but I'm working on it.
|
|
cael
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 9:12:36 GMT -5
Posts: 5,745
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:48:17 GMT -5
Post by cael on Dec 10, 2012 11:48:17 GMT -5
I grew up in a cluttery house where cleaning was not ever really a priority... I have broken myself of some of that and we aren't bad. Kitchen is usually clean, bathroom is usually clean but I don't clean the shower as often as I should (litterbox is in the bathroom so I have to clean it), but I hate dusting. That's probably the one thing I should do way more often... we do vacuum and sweep a lot though. I am still a clutterbug, though way less now than I used to be. I go into my SIL's neurotically clean house and feel like a slob, and go into my brother's disgusting apartment with chinchilla shit everywhere and feel like a clean freak. My mother's house is clean mostly because she hires people to clean it twice a month.
I am very probably just average and perfectly fine with it ;P
|
|
Bluerobin
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 14:24:30 GMT -5
Posts: 17,345
Location: NEPA
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 11:56:38 GMT -5
Post by Bluerobin on Dec 10, 2012 11:56:38 GMT -5
Thyme, when we had fires or investigations at those types of houses, we usually called CPS. No excuse for such filth!
|
|
zibazinski
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 24, 2010 16:12:50 GMT -5
Posts: 47,869
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 12:05:05 GMT -5
Post by zibazinski on Dec 10, 2012 12:05:05 GMT -5
I'm sorry but unless someone was sick and couldn't clean, I wouldn't be letting my child in a house like that. That's beyond disgusting.
|
|
Formerly SK
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 27, 2011 14:23:13 GMT -5
Posts: 3,255
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 12:05:46 GMT -5
Post by Formerly SK on Dec 10, 2012 12:05:46 GMT -5
|
|
thyme4change
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 26, 2010 13:54:08 GMT -5
Posts: 40,439
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 12:09:00 GMT -5
Post by thyme4change on Dec 10, 2012 12:09:00 GMT -5
Yes - but do you go there on days when you were invited, and they had hours or days to prepair, or do you pop in on a Tuesday night at 5:30?
People might think my house is clean because they come on Saturday night, when my cleaning lady was there the day before, and I spent 30 minutes before hand clearing out Saturday morning mess. By tomorrow night, my house will be "normal" by Thursday night, the floor is sticky. Don't come on Thursday!
|
|
swamp
Community Leader
Don't be a fool. Call me!
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 16:03:22 GMT -5
Posts: 45,345
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 12:10:56 GMT -5
Post by swamp on Dec 10, 2012 12:10:56 GMT -5
I had a home visit for a wheelchair bound client on friday afternoon. it was like an episode of Hoarders. I wanted a shower when I left. I couldn't tell if the floor, what I could see of it, was dirt, carpet, or hardwood.
|
|
thyme4change
Community Leader
Joined: Dec 26, 2010 13:54:08 GMT -5
Posts: 40,439
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 12:12:07 GMT -5
Post by thyme4change on Dec 10, 2012 12:12:07 GMT -5
LOL - I came home and watched 2 episodes of Hoarders. It made their place seem okay, comparatively.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: May 18, 2024 4:18:41 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 12:14:22 GMT -5
Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2012 12:14:22 GMT -5
So you're saying I should start watching Hoarders?
|
|
cael
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 20, 2010 9:12:36 GMT -5
Posts: 5,745
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 12:15:00 GMT -5
Post by cael on Dec 10, 2012 12:15:00 GMT -5
I had a home visit for a wheelchair bound client on friday afternoon. it was like an episode of Hoarders. I wanted a shower when I left. I couldn't tell if the floor, what I could see of it, was dirt, carpet, or hardwood. You can imagine how badly we wanted a shower after we condemned a condo last week with a toilet that had not worked in over a month... that had been used the whole time you really can't understand just how nasty it actually is from watching Hoarders until you experience the smell. I see some nasty, nasty shit and am always thankful to go home to my nice clean apartment after it's over!
|
|
swamp
Community Leader
Don't be a fool. Call me!
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 16:03:22 GMT -5
Posts: 45,345
|
Average
Dec 10, 2012 12:15:52 GMT -5
Post by swamp on Dec 10, 2012 12:15:52 GMT -5
I had a home visit for a wheelchair bound client on friday afternoon. it was like an episode of Hoarders. I wanted a shower when I left. I couldn't tell if the floor, what I could see of it, was dirt, carpet, or hardwood. You can imagine how badly we wanted a shower after we condemned a condo last week with a toilet that had not worked in over a month... that had been used the whole time you really can't understand just how nasty it actually is from watching Hoarders until you experience the smell. I see some nasty, nasty shit and am always thankful to go home to my nice clean apartment after it's over! you breathe through your mouth the whole time.
|
|