Monday 29 January 2018

Neat and tidy

Are you a tidy person?   I really do think that we are probably born either tidy or untidy - or is it, like so many other things in life an argument between nature and nurture?

I can't stand anywhere to be untidy, hence today when I came back from taking my car to Northallerton for 9am (a round trip of around 45 miles) I continued the job I began on Saturday - the emptying, sorting, cleaning and refilling my wardrobes.    First the section holding scarves, handbags, gloves and shoes (Saturday), next the section holding jumpers, cardigans and the like (Sunday) and today coats and trousers.   Now it is all done.

Wednesday is our rubbish collection day - one week  dustbins and the other week recycling stuff.   I had a lot for recycling so instead of waiting until Wednesday and putting it outside (the forecast is for very windy weather) I took it all up to the tip after lunch (Tess adores the tip as there are such exciting and enticing smells!)

Coming back I had quite a lot of business letters to write (the farm business is not entirely cleared up yet) - I have done this and walked across to post those that needed posting.    Then I read all e mails and now I am putting on this post. 

And I am telling you dear reader - that is absolutely all I intend to do today.   Now I shall go, feed the dog, make my tea on a tray and sit and watch the television (if I can find the right station on my new smart TV!)

28 comments:

Derek Faulkner said...

Isn't that called OCD or something like that. Do you put all your tins of food in the cupboard with their labels all facing outwards, and such like.

Marty said...

And why would you do more today? That sounded like a very full day to me.
(Just sorted the bedside stand drawers and am now feeling the warm glow of satisfaction!)

Mac n' Janet said...

I am a tidy person, can't get out of bed without making it immediately, never leave dishes in the sink, closet is organized by color---did my husband's too.

Jan said...

We've been keeping our oldest three grandchildren for a week while their parents are on a business trip/vacation to Italy. We moved into their house for the week because all of the children are in school and we live 40 minutes away. I've been cleaning the house and spent most of yesterday helping the 9 year old clean her room. Oh. My. Goodness. When we finally finished she was so proud and announced that IF she EVER needed to clean her room again, she would know what to do. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! Obviously no neat genes were handed down! :-D

Joanne Noragon said...

I, too, had a television meltdown, and announced to a tight lipped granddaughter yesterday, "streaming television is the most idiotic idea of the last century."

Rachel Phillips said...

I live happily with things that I use and wear each day all around me. I do not like to describe myself as untidy because that sounds like to be untidy there must also be something called tidy. I do not put things away all the time because they are a constant in my life and don't need to be put away. I don't have enough of anything to have areas allocated for different things. My house looks lived in I suppose.

Jennifer said...

That is NOT what OCD is.

Jill said...

I lean toward the untidy if I have to be responsible for the state of things. However I prefer things to be neat and orderly. So I have a cleaning lady to keep things from getting out of control, and I make a huge effort not to amass lots of "things". So while my house isn't neat as a pin it is tolerable. If I had lots of "things" it would be a mess.

Living Alone in Your 60's said...

I am tidy but I've become more relaxed as I've got older. I like keeping busy so I'm doing little things all the time.

Derek Faulkner said...

I'm happy to be corrected, as per Jennifer.
As Rachel says, a house can look lived in but still tidy and that's pretty much me as well.

Terra said...

Looking around my living room I might say I lean toward the untidy, seeing lots of mail, the newspaper and magazines I subscribe to, books, etc. The messiness is only paper. At least my kindle is tidy, haha.

donna baker said...

I like my home perfectly tidy and therein lies the rub.

Ruth said...

My mother was the third of 15 children raised during the Great Depression here in Pennsylvania. They lived on a farm with no electricity or running water, so you can just imagine what it was like. Her mother told her that if she couldn't always keep things spotless, at least if she kept things "red" up it would at least be neat and presentable. (Redding up is a common term hereabouts. I was surprised one time to see it used in an old novel with the story taking place in Scotland. Scotch/Irish settled here in the 1700's.) Mom was a neatnik - a place for everything and everything in its place, and don't you dare sit on that bedspread!!! She's gone, rest her soul, and now at the age of 78 I no longer feel her watching over my shoulder. I can cut corners without feeling guilty. My house is clean but lived in. I totally understand your compulsion to keep things clean and organized dear Pat - if only the younger generation could use you as an example. Most don't even know what an iron is!!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Quite right about OCD - glad you read and understood that that is not what OCD is Derek.
I certainly didn't pass on neatness and tidiness through the genes to my son. Atthe moment he has his new bike in the dining room!!

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

Are you enjoying your new tv, Pat? I'm as tidy as needed. When I don't have a full time job anymore, I'm sure my house will be more "deep cleaned" on a regular basis. Having company over is always a great motivator! -Jenn

the veg artist said...

I used to be really tidy, now not so much. Lots of books, magazines - life, really. I think I've stopped worrying about what people think! (It is fairly clean, though. I don't do grimey corners.)

Chris said...

My motto is "out of sight, out of mind" so my bed is made every day and closets and cupboards are crammed with the debris of life I would rather others not see. However, my spice cupboard is arranged alphabetically!

Alphie Soup said...

Like George Washington I cannot tell a lie. In a word untidy, though I have to say the current de-cluttering process at the Trash Palace is improving the untidy look, little by little. My mother told me I was such a tidy little child at age 4, but things have gone downhill since that time, I can assure you!

Alphie

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

I love to tidy things up - we've just finished a whole house sorting - clearing closets - rearranging things - adding baskets and bins for organization. I really enjoy it and it makes for a fun afternoon with Don pitching in to help.

Cro Magnon said...

Tidy, me? Some hope. Unfortunately my wife is rather similar, so the house tends to look a bit of a mess. Sometimes I look at it all and despair.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

It's striking the right balance, isn't it. Too much untidiness is inefficient, annoying and can even be dangerous. Too much tidiness is uncomfortable, unhomely and unnecessarily time-consuming. Somewhere there must be a middle way - if you find it please let me know where it is. It's either buried beneath the clutter or else I've tidied it away!

Librarian said...

John is right about the balance thing.
For myself, I have found that balance. I am very neat (some would say compulsorily so) but I don't mind being at other people's places where things are not quite as neat and tidy as in my flat. As long as it is not my responsibility - and as long as it is not too messy, and definitely not dirty! - I can live with it.
At work, I am one of the empty desk folks. There is always only the stuff on my desk that I need for the task at hand.

Your day sounds busy enough to me, no need to think of more jobs after your tea!

Maria said...

You do a lot in a day and I like your method of doing a little at a time each day.
I'm very tidy which makes it easy for my husband to know where things are - if only he'd return the things where he found them them it would be easy for me too.
Greetings Maria x

Heather said...

It is astounding how tired one can feel after attending to all the small but important tasks a day can line up for us.
I think I must be a tidy person after all. Now that I live alone I don't like to leave dishes unwashed or clothes not put away. I am not fanatical about it, I just don't want things to mount up.
Enjoy your new TV. I have just bought a new fridge-freezer. It is wonderful and so quiet I have to keep checking that it is working!

Minigranny said...

I do like tidy best but tend towards untidiness at times - I think you sound very methodical which is a very good trait as you then accomplish a lot in a short time. Hope the new t.v. behaved !

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

I am horribly untidy but made an effort over the weekend so there has been a slight improvement in my flat.

Jennyff said...

Until I left home at 21 I was never tidy and I remember my childhood home wasn't particularly tidy either. I completely changed when I had my own place, I'm very tidy and quite minimalist now, I feel almost disturbed in a very cluttered place. At least no one can accuse me of being like those hoarders you see on tv programmes, though my husband does when he sees my collection of essential toiletries and knitting yarn, all tidily put away.

Share my Garden said...

I would like to be tidy, but that's about as far as it gets. The main problem is my inability to throw stuff away. I am an improvement on my mother, however, who kept absolutely everything, even folding paper bags to re-use. I've somehow managed to produce two tidy and well-organised daughters, so the untidy gene must be gradually weakening! (My husband THINKS he is tidy!)