# Why do people live in messy apartments or homes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-live-in-messy-apartments-or-homes/464090 "2008-09-18T02:50:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Betcey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/betcey/32/3413_2.png) [@Betcey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Betcey)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-live-in-messy-apartments-or-homes/464090/81 "2008-09-20T15:22:37Z")
> [@Cazzle](#): > > Plus, I’m easily distracted. When I do start cleaning up I’ll either start a second (third, fourth) task and forget about the original, or I’ll wind up on the internet frantically researching [something](http://xkcd.com/214/) that occurred to me while I was cleaning up that has absolutely nothing to do with anything but somehow jumped on my train of thought, or I’ll be hit with inspiration that LARGE PLASTIC BOXES will solve all my woes and rush out to buy them, come back six hours later with shoe polish and clothes pegs and call it a day. What she said. Can you say “ADD”? Welcome to my world! ---
**Author:** ![Merhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Merhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-live-in-messy-apartments-or-homes/464090/82 "2008-09-20T15:44:06Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Believe me, I know that I’m not spending my time in a better or more productive fashion by not cleaning, I’m probably watching TV or playing on the computer. But it is true (again, for me) that watching TV in a messy room is more relaxing and enjoyable than cleaning the room. Watching TV in a clean room would be still better. If someone wanted to come over and pick up after me for free, that would be great, so long as they weren’t shooting me evil looks for not helping. I’ve never proposed to someone I’ve never even spoken with before, but I really think we should get married. We’d live in a terribly cluttered home (at BEST!), but at least we’d be relaxed and having fun 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-live-in-messy-apartments-or-homes/464090/83 "2008-09-22T11:34:18Z")
> [@Risha](#): > > Huh? It takes at least 20 minutes for the washer to run one load. I have the laundry in a basket, it takes maybe 2 minutes to pick it up and take it downstairs to the washer. Load, 1 minute tops, while the washer is going and not standing there watching it, I’m doing something else. Then, less than 1 minute to load the dryer, off to do something else. When the dryer is done I put the clothes in the basket, carry it upstairs, fold and put away. Ironing is saved for later. With spouse and kids laundry takes a little longer but the worst thing to do is let it pile up. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-live-in-messy-apartments-or-homes/464090/84 "2008-09-22T12:31:39Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > For a punishment if they were bad I made them pull 25 weeds from the lawn > > Monavis I love that and will be stealing the idea effective immediately! ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-live-in-messy-apartments-or-homes/464090/85 "2008-09-22T12:43:35Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Isn’t that like brushing your teeth before going to the dentist? 😉 I’ll field this question since it has been asked of me before. A cleaning service only has a limited amount of time. If they have to spend four hours picking up, doing dishes and general maintenance things, you don’t get the services that you really need. I dislike washing floors, scrubbing toilets and dusting the fans and A/C vents. I dont have time to lift the cushions, polish the furniture with pledge or scrub down the tile in the showers. If I don’t have the house picked up when she arrives, I have wasted my money on stuff I don’t mind doing and I still have that hard to remove soap scum in the shower and dust in the tracks of the sliding glass door. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-live-in-messy-apartments-or-homes/464090/86 "2008-09-22T13:12:30Z")
That actually makes sense. I always thought people who cleaned up before the maids arrived were too embarrassed to be seen as slobs. I’ll have to reassess. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-live-in-messy-apartments-or-homes/464090/87 "2008-09-22T13:58:46Z")
My house in Spain is neat. There will be a couple piles on my desk; there may be one or two dishes and perhaps one glass in the sink. But I furnished it. It’s got as much storage space as I need and of the kind I need. My closets are neatly and easily divided into “not in use clothes,” “clean clothes” and “clothes I’ve worn but which still don’t need cleaning.” My flat in Glasgow has a sofa and armchair that would be enough to make the living room feel cluttered, to me. I never sit in them. They have covers which, being actually curtains, slip and slide easily. There isn’t a good place to store the ironing board in: I have to choose between putting it in a closet where it sits too high (I almost dropped it when I took it out) or leaving it standing. It stays standing. There’s a ton of shelves but they’re microshelves. Not big enough for more than three books; in most of them you can’t place a book standing up. The closets only have one long horizontal bar. The chest of drawers has three very-big, very-deep drawers where looking for anything specific can take a couple minutes, so even when I have put stuff away in them looking for it feels messy. The kitchen, which has adequate storage, is neat. The bedroom I use and the living room… uhm… don’t look! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-live-in-messy-apartments-or-homes/464090.md?page=4)