# Everybody has a tidier house than I do **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 28, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117 "2005-06-28T00:17:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/1 "2005-06-28T00:17:08Z")
Whenever I see pictures people link here of their houses, it appears that everyone here has a tidier house than I do. I am coming to terms with the fact that I will never be a great housekeeper, and my house will always look - let’s call it “lived in.” Sigh. Um, that’s all, I guess. Just thought I’d share that. ---
**Author:** ![MrFantsyPants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MrFantsyPants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFantsyPants)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/2 "2005-06-28T00:41:52Z")
You haven’t seen it on the days that we don’t take pictures ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/3 "2005-06-28T01:30:33Z")
Haven’t seen any pictures of my house, have you? Well, there you go. I’d take some, but I can’t find my camera. Yesterday my son asked me to go into his room and get his rifle for him, as he wanted to go do some target shooting. I grabbed my cell phone, advised my husband of my destination and my estimated return time, and shouldered open the door. After fighting off an enraged amoeba that emerged from under the dresser sporting a stiff pair of boxer shorts and a bad attitude, I stumbled across the bed and spotted the rifle. Jimmy Hoffa was using to to fend off a tribe of indigenous headhunters that had established a primitive civilization in the closet. I figure in 4 years the boy will be out on his own, at which time I’ll go in with a shovel, a dumpster, and a machete and clear things out. My living room is kind of clean. If you ignore the books oozing out of the inadequate bookshelves. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/4 "2005-06-28T01:39:47Z")
Tidy? Ha! I do my best to keep it from reaching “shit hole” status…I am currently losing that battle. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/5 "2005-06-28T02:08:23Z")
What **MrFantsyPants** said. If you’re taking pictures, you clean up first! If it makes you feel any better, my place looks “lived in,” too (most people would probably call it messy 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/6 "2005-06-28T02:18:25Z")
The police thought the house had be ransacked but the owner reported that it always looked that way. That’s a quote from a news article that could have been about the room I’m in right now. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/7 "2005-06-28T02:24:55Z")
No matter what I do, there is always: - A pile of stuff on the coffee table, hiding the coasters and the remote controls - A pile of stuff on each end table - A pile of stuff on the sofa cushion on which no one sits regularly - A pile of dishes in the kitchen sink - Overflowing waste baskets - Unmade beds - A pile of shoes by the front door - A complete and total mess on my work table, that has to be reorganized whenever I actually work - At least seven items on the dining table that don’t belong there - Two loads of laundry waiting to be washed - Six items waiting to be ironed - Dirty clothes thrown over the back of a chair - A ring in the toilet bowl and a scale in the bath sink (really, really hard water–does it within 48 hours after cleaning) - Dried drips of tea and dried grains of rice on the kitchen floor - A layer of sticky black dust over everything It absolutely doesn’t matter how much housework I do. These conditions always apply. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/8 "2005-06-28T02:54:50Z")
Yeah, my house has a bad case of piles, too. I seem to have trouble actually putting stuff away. Every flat surface cries out to have other stuff piled on it. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/9 "2005-06-28T02:58:09Z")
Tidy ?? Not on your life . I am a packrat , and the house is filled with clutter . I live with a cat and 5 dogs . Nope , tidy is not in my vocabulary . We are … comfortable . Yeah …That’s it . Comfortable . 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/10 "2005-06-28T03:01:36Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Yeah, my house has a bad case of piles, too. I seem to have trouble actually putting stuff away. Every flat surface cries out to have other stuff piled on it. _sniff_ I, I’m not alone! This “method” can be quite useful. I can look at the top item in a pile and tell how old it is and whether or not what I want is in it. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/11 "2005-06-28T03:42:19Z")
Everyone, [this woman’s house](http://www.auctions-registration.com/ebay/) is worse than yours. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/12 "2005-06-28T03:51:39Z")
My house is quite messy. I try to keep up when I’m home, but I work and travel a lot, and Mrs. RickJay doesn’t like cleaning. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/13 "2005-06-28T04:07:07Z")
Mine is not tidier. It’s not tidy so it could not ever be tidier. But I feel much better about it after looking at the link FilmGeek posted. I’m a few years away from being that messy. I can’t imagine ordering stuff and then never opening the boxes! ---
**Author:** ![Ashes\_Ashes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@Ashes\_Ashes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashes_Ashes)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/14 "2005-06-28T04:08:57Z")
Sure my place looks super tidy, thanks to the crazy room. Everything that looks bad, sloppy, or whatever goes in there. It’s where the treadmill lives, and the butt-ugly cat tower is kept. Heck it’s where I am right now. I highly recommend a crazy room whenever possible. Remember, it’s not real if you can’t see it. So close the door on your crazy room and presto! you’re the tidy home posterchild. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/15 "2005-06-28T04:28:02Z")
My house is usually a disaster area. Except when I’m getting ready to sell my house and move (which seems to happen every 3-4 years, thanks to the nature of hubby’s job), at which time I clean it up and it looks absolutely wonderful. And then I move out. I’m at the “it looks absolutely wonderful” stage right now and really kicking myself for not keeping it this way the rest of the four years I lived here. It’s a great house! I don’t wanna sell it! Waaah! ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/16 "2005-06-28T04:35:17Z")
That house looks quite like my landlady’s house when I was in college. There were paths between the chest-high piles of junk. I comfort myself with the thought that even if my place isn’t really tidy, at least it’s clean. Nevertheless every flat surface has a lot of piled junk. I should take a picture of my desk as an example. I am not a natural putter-awayer. I think that humanity can be roughly divided into the ‘I -can’t-sleep-unless-everything-is-in-its-place’ camp, and the ‘oh-sod-it-I’ll-be-using-it-tomorrow’ camp. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/17 "2005-06-28T04:46:22Z")
Well, I always say ‘Organization is for people who are too durn lazy to get up and look for stuff!’ ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/18 "2005-06-28T04:48:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Yesterday my son asked me to go into his room and get his rifle for him, as he wanted to go do some target shooting. I grabbed my cell phone, advised my husband of my destination and my estimated return time, and shouldered open the door. After fighting off an enraged amoeba that emerged from under the dresser sporting a stiff pair of boxer shorts and a bad attitude, I stumbled across the bed and spotted the rifle. Jimmy Hoffa was using to to fend off a tribe of indigenous headhunters that had established a primitive civilization in the closet. > > I figure in 4 years the boy will be out on his own, at which time I’ll go in with a shovel, a dumpster, and a machete and clear things out. My son’s room was like that; we called it “the swamp.” Then the Mothership, otherwise known as the Air Force, got its mitts on him. Today he’s actually _tidy_. It’s downright frightening. I keep wondering how they did such a complete personality transplant in about eight weeks. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/19 "2005-06-28T05:00:57Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > Everyone, [this woman’s house](http://www.auctions-registration.com/ebay/) is worse than yours. I’ve seen worse. Sadly so. ---
**Author:** ![inkleberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2005, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117/20 "2005-06-28T06:58:59Z")
_sigh_ Me too. We get it all cleaned up, and it _still_ looks like Toys R Us vomited in here. Moreover, we seem to have a nasty tendancy to acquire _clutter_, though Og knows how. It’s not a matter of _cleanliness_ for us as much as _organization_. Still working on those skills. ☹ I’d pay someone to teach me how to organize my living space. Do they have people who do that sort of thing? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-has-a-tidier-house-than-i-do/310117.md?page=2)