# I hate neat people **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 15, 2000, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955 "2000-10-15T02:01:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955/21 "2000-10-16T04:24:20Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Snooooopy \* \*\* > [@](#): > > Damn … since you vacuumed, I’m going to have to head right back to the dust store to buy some more dust. And dust is really expensive, too! \*\* Oh don’t kid a kidder!! We KNOW how much dirt you’ll accumulate on your four paws just on your trip TO the DUST R’ US store!! You’re NOT really buying any of that canned stuff are you??? It’s SO totally unhealthy for you! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955/22 "2000-10-16T04:54:01Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Anti Pro \* \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Snooooopy \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Damn … since you vacuumed, I’m going to have to head right back to the dust store to buy some more dust. And dust is really expensive, too! \*\* > > Oh don’t kid a kidder!! We KNOW how much dirt you’ll accumulate on your four paws just on your trip TO the DUST R’ US store!! You’re NOT really buying any of that canned stuff are you??? It’s SO totally unhealthy for you! 😃 \*\* I went all the way across town to the organic foods store to buy some dolphin-safe, pesticide-free, low-fat dirt with no preservatives or artificial flavors (in recyclable packaging). The environment – at least, the part that I am not contaminating with my leftover Coke cans and dirty dishes – is very important to me. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955/23 "2000-10-16T05:26:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Commander Fortune \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Snooooopy \* > > \*\*It seems like they always want to “fix” me, make me neat like them. If I want to live in filth, why can’t I live in filth in peace? I like the lived-in look, and I generally have a pretty good sense of which pile of papers and junk I need to reach under to find something. > > > > Pardon me … I need to clean up a bit. The state of chaos in my little studio has started to descend past even my low standards. \*\* > > Single? \*\* What gave me away? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955/24 "2000-10-16T06:44:58Z")
Would one of you very neat people like to come over and organize my house for me? I’m pretty sure that once I _had_ a place for everything, I’d be able to learn to keep everything in its place, but I just don’t have the skills to set up the system. I once saved the number of a service that comes out and does that for people. If only I could remember which pile I put it in… ---
**Author:** ![Mirth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Mirth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955/25 "2000-10-16T06:46:37Z")
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve run around the house screaming, “I hate this! I can’t find anything-- its too messy in here” since my fiance and I moved in together. Things are much better now than in the begining, but since I’ve taken a second job its starting to become an issue again. He is a walking disaster area. I hate cleaning, so I don’t make messes. I am more of a clean-as-you-go type. I don’t wait until enough dishes have accumulated on the counter to run a load in the dishwasher. I just pre-rinse and drop them in as I use them until its full. I can’t stand to live in a messy house, but I refuse to be one of those women who spend half their life cleaning up after their SO. Working 60+ hrs a week, I haven’t been home enough to pay attention to the apt, but yesterday it finally got to me. I spent four hours cleaning; then, sat the garbage bags outside the door to take out to the dump when I left for work the next morning. Unfortunatly since I was up late cleaning, I overslept and didn’t have time to take the trash out before work. I asked my fiance if he would do it and he says, “Sure.” Nine hours later I come home and find the garbage still waiting for me outside the door and my fiance is gone to work. I only had half hour to change out of my work clothes into my other work clothes and grab something to eat, so what do ya wanna bet I’ll be taking my garbage out to the dump when I get home from work tonight? Ahh well, I’ve got a good five hours from the time I get off this job to the time I need to be at my other job tomorrow morning. Plenty of time. :rolleyes: (And since I’m nagging (_sigh_ I _hate_ nagging) whoever invented Monster Rancher should be… oh I can’t even think of anything mean enough. Piles of CDs all over just begging to be stepped on or scratched and if I try to put them away I am “messing up his organization”.) /vent Ahh, much better. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![BornDodgy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@BornDodgy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BornDodgy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955/26 "2000-10-16T10:01:53Z")
I love it when I am at a friend s house and when we are sitting around on the bed bored stiff, I just have to grab something under the bed and something fascinating that didnt see light in years will come out. There has been everything from teddy bears, over cosmopolitans to toy rifles. I wouldnt go out with somebody who has clean shoes. Yuck. B Dodgy ---
**Author:** ![Sn-man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sn-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sn-man)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2000, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955/27 "2000-10-16T12:33:43Z")
Sn-man is somewhat on the neat side. Mrs Sn-man somewhat on the cluttered side. Balance grasshopper, you must find balance. ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955/28 "2000-10-17T02:45:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LouisB \* > \*\* > See, I don’t understand this. If it isn’t filthy, it must get cleaned occasionally. What happens to the clutter while cleaning is underway? Does it just get moved from one spot to another? Why not take advantage of cleaning day and put everything away? Afterwards, don’t allow clutter to accumulate. \*\* Bwahahahahahahah!! Don’t let clutter accumulate. ::wipes tear from my eye:: Gawd, that was funny. I clean and when I clean, I do a great job. I throw stuff (especially old mail) away. The problem is between major cleanings. I put things to the side that I say I’m going to read later and then they just pile up. The rest of the house stays clean. Mainly because we don’t use those parts of the house. The high traffic areas have papers and stuff until I get around to picking it all up. It’s not like I have science experiments going all over the house. It’s just cluttered. ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955/29 "2000-10-17T03:20:19Z")
I’ve never been one to worry too much about clutter in my house. When I was single, my house was fairly disorganized. Then my husband moved in, and it got a bit more cluttered up. Then came the kids. Heh. You parents know exactly what I’m talking about here. Toddlers are just not happy until they’ve completely trashed each and every room of the house at least once a day. Once the house gets neatened up, I’d recommend taking a picture of it, because it’s not going to stay that way. All I try to do is keep the chaos under some control, while lying through my teeth to my daughter about just how much fun it is to clean, and would she like to help Mommy pick stuff up? My desk at work, on the other hand, I do keep neat. Because I work with the public, and my job entails me doing many different things that are completely unrelated to each other, organization is important. Besides, our desks are really tiny, and there just isn’t enough room for a bunch of crap. ---
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955/30 "2000-10-17T04:34:57Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Snooooopy \* \*\* > [@](#): > > I went all the way across town to the organic foods store to buy some dolphin-safe, pesticide-free, low-fat dirt with no preservatives or artificial flavors (in recyclable packaging). The environment – at least, the part that I am not contaminating with my leftover Coke cans and dirty dishes – is very important to me. \*\* Okay, pup, ya got me, this absolutely cracked me up! ::::::::: Anti leaving, defeated by the better dog, but heard muttering and snickering ‘dolphin-safe, pesticide-free, low-fat dirt…’ :::::::::::::::::::::::::: ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955/31 "2000-10-17T04:44:36Z")
> [@](#): > > He didn’t have a filing cabinet or an in-tray and the only clear horizonal space was the blotter pad in the centre of his desk. But if you asked him about a memo, a topic or a reseach paper he’d point to a pile and tell you about how many folders it was from the top or bottom. He was rarely out by more than 5. He called it free range filing. I was impressed so I’ve adapted it the myself. Sounds a lot like my system, but I’ve always considered it more of a combination of natural selection, a priority queue, and Archeology. If something has really low usefulness it eventually ends up at bottom of one one the files in the back, which is one step from being discarded the next time I run out of room. However every time something gets used, it gets pulled out of the piles, used, and replaced on the top of the frontmost pile, ensuring its survival. The Archeology part comes from the technique of determining the aprroximate age of the item based on the depth it is buried. ---
**Author:** ![Shadowfox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Shadowfox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowfox)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2000, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955/32 "2000-10-17T12:51:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Persephone \* > \*\*I’ve never been one to worry too much about clutter in my house. When I was single, my house was fairly disorganized. Then my husband moved in, and it got a bit more cluttered up. > > Then came the kids. > > Heh. You parents know exactly what I’m talking about here. Toddlers are just not happy until they’ve completely trashed each and every room of the house at least once a day. Once the house gets neatened up, I’d recommend taking a picture of it, because it’s not going to stay that way. All I try to do is keep the chaos under some control, while lying through my teeth to my daughter about just how much fun it is to clean, and would she like to help Mommy pick stuff up? > > My desk at work, on the other hand, I do keep neat. Because I work with the public, and my job entails me doing many different things that are completely unrelated to each other, organization is important. Besides, our desks are really tiny, and there just isn’t enough room for a bunch of crap. > > \*\* I’m the same way. I have a home office now, but when I worked at the office, my desk was always spotless. My bosses used to compliment me on how organized I appeared to be at work. Of course, none of these people had ever seen my house. I have four kids and a husband (all of them are major slobs, BTW) and I just can’t keep up most days. Yes, my house is rather cluttered and messy, but never truly dirty. Just like xizor said, “I can handle messy, I am messy. Dirty is revolting.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-neat-people/36955.md?page=1)