People Who Usually Only Clean Before Company Comes Over Explain How Messy They've Gotten In Lockdown

People Who Usually Only Clean Before Company Comes Over Explain How Messy They've Gotten In Lockdown
Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay

I like to think I'm a pretty clean person. I grew up in a clean home. We'd occasionally have some clutter, but it was usually very quickly dealt with. My mother insisted on a clean kitchen and bathroom; my brother and I abided by a regular schedule of chores that kept our house spick and span. I've kept up those habits in all the time I've lived on my own, but let me tell you... living through a global pandemic has really affected my motivation for cleaning. While things in my apartment aren't exactly messy, they're not as clean as I would like!

After Redditor RobRogers asked the online community, "People who only clean their house right before they have company over, how clean/dirty is your house 9 months into the pandemic?" people shared their stories.


"I'm not living in filth..."

It...could be better.

I'm not living in filth, but it's cluttery in my bedroom and the floors aren't as clean as I like them to be.

imnotacrazyperson​

Relatable, huh?

We really feel for the mother who shares her story below.

"The exhaustion of trying..."

Actually got Covid, so it's currently a nightmare.

Since we're positive, that means one income since I work remotely and my husband does not, and both kids doing home learning.

The exhaustion of trying to juggle all of these sucked when we were well. Now my husband has been laid up for two weeks, I was laid up for one. Fortunately, I bought masses of snacks so the kids can feed themselves, but we're looking at no clean towels or dishes here in a day or so, I'm behind at work, kids grades have dropped... ugh.

Just makes me want to hide under the covers.

NoHearing9270

Ouch.

That's rough. And chances are there are many out there in similar situations. Such are the times.

Let's continue.

"The only mountain..."

Fairly clean since we have nowhere to be. The only mountain that is painstaking to get over is laundry....the bane of my existence. Dishes are a close second but we gotta eat.

MissMildOne

"Our house is messy..."

Our house is messy, but not necessarily dirty.

We still have Christmas trees up and gifts out.

A contractor came inside last week and I almost cleaned but they said they wouldn't need to come in. But they did for a minute and got to step I ever tons of stuff in the living room to get to the fireplace.

redpoppy42

"Since we are a lot more at home..."

Since we are a lot more at home it has become more of a priority to clean, but the dishes are just a lost cause.

okaymaybenoyes

Ouch.

Between you and me, I can't abide dirty dishes. Those always get done, no matter what.

Let's continue.

"To be fair..."

My wife and I have been bending over backward to keep it clean, but with the kids at home instead of school, our house can go from clean and tidy to utter chaos in the blink of an eye. We've got two teenage boys who just leave a trail of destruction wherever they go, and their little sister isn't much better. To be fair, it's really grinding me down and I am starting to look at boarding schools as an option, or giving them up for adoption.

Gooserider_3000

"Because I live alone..."

I'm normally pretty good with everything except vacuuming.

I hoovered the living room for the first time in too long last week, and the exertion just made my vacuum cleaner give up the ghost entirely. Because I live alone and I don't really use my living room except when I've got company over, the vacuum cleaner is still there, dead as a doornail, in the middle of a half-vacuumed rug until I can pull together enough of a desire to deal with its BS.

Portarossa

"My dad got so fed up..."

My dad got so fed up with the fact that my room was so messy that he took away my phone, laptop, and other electronics that I use except for my school laptop just so that I would clean it. I managed to get it clean in 4 days and the part that was the worst to clean was probably underneath my bed. There was sh!t that hasn't seen the light of day since 2018. My room has managed to stay clean but the rest of the house hasn't been so fortunate. I think that right now, my room is probably the second cleanest room in the house. The cleanest is probably my parent's bathroom.

onerandommusician

"It's like..."

It's like an episode of Hoarders in here.

SalarianAmerican

Oh, dear.

I'm hoping that's just an exaggeration...

Let's continue.

"I have to turn on a light..."

I have to turn on a light to walk to the bathroom without tripping.

slowlowcruise

"But on the other hand..."

It comes and goes. It's definitely easier to let things get out of hand since we were always having people over prior to the pandemic and now we're not. It's a source of sadness in a way like "Well it's not like I can see my friends so why bother cleaning it up." But on the other hand, we're not having people coming and going like we used to so a lot of the mess is more manageable.

missluluh

I felt that.

Motivation is hard, man.

"I actually took a week off..."

I actually took a week off of work to clean up my apartment. Sink full of dishes, computer desk covered in crumbs, most of my clothes needed washed, you get the idea. I can spread the workload out so I can still enjoy the fact I took work off.

Nymatic

"Our house isn't filthy..."

NOT. GOOD.

I have depression, anxiety, PTSD, and OCD. I work full time as my son's carer and am also in cosmetology school full-time. My husband has depression and anxiety (probably more, but these are the only two confirmed diagnosis). He works from home full time in tech support. We have a nine-year-old with Down syndrome that has been distance learning all year long, and a six-year-old whose optimism is never ending despite us homeschooling her this year on top of everything (she's behind a bit but she has gotten so good at writing her name!!). My son and I are extremely high risk.

We've been in lockdown since March.

Our house isn't filthy but it's cluttered, laundry hasn't been fully done in ages, and only the main areas of the floors have been cleaned in months. The Christmas tree is staring at me as I write this. At the very best, it is functional.

My husband and I's bedroom on the other hand is a sea of stuffed animals, confiscated toys, laundry, doll heads, and my half-assed quarantine hobbies. This is fine.

zomktn

"I have a rule..."

Relatively clean. I have a rule to do the bare minimum example make the bed, clean after myself after eating, take the garbage out, clean small messes. A deep clean of my house is long overdue though.

Plz

"It's funny."

It's funny. We moved during COVID, and our house may be more organized. We are always clean, but definitely not organized. My parents and sister are always not organized while I sort or organize my stuff. I'm consistent in where I put things like if I throw my clothes on one specific chair, I always throw my clothes on that specific chair.

Meanavdv

If you're feeling a bit guilty...

...don't worry. You are not alone.

I finally forced myself to do the dishes that had been sitting in the sink for half the day, by the way. At least they're drying, soon to return to their place in the cupboard. But if you're having a hard time, be kinder to yourself. We're all going through a collective traumatic experience. While it might behoove you to tidy up even a little bit to bring some semblance of order to your surroundings, don't be so hard on yourself if things aren't perfect. If they're not, that's perfectly okay.

Have your own experiences with a messy home? Sound off in the comments below!

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