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Messy but clean?



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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Feb 09 2021, 11:43 am
Someone mentioned this in a post. Her house is messy but clean.
What does this mean exactly? How do I make sure my house is clean? I understand messy and not messy. I am asking more how to ensure it stays clean.
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amother
Tan


 

Post Tue, Feb 09 2021, 11:48 am
Messy means not neat but clean, not dirty. My baby constantly makes a mess, he unpacked everything within reach, but my house is clean, there's no dirt, just mess & untidy.
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tweety1




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 09 2021, 12:11 pm
amother [ Tan ] wrote:
Messy means not neat but clean, not dirty. My baby constantly makes a mess, he unpacked everything within reach, but my house is clean, there's no dirt, just mess & untidy.

This! I have cleaning help aprox 20-21 hrs a week. My house is "clean". But if my kids make a mess, then they don't clean up, and for whatever reason I don't do it, then it's messy. But it's clean as in not dirty. It's not a contradiction.
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 09 2021, 12:12 pm
Messy but clean means that the house is in order at least half the time during the week. But things end up out of place and messy because people are living and using the space.

So for example the floor is vacuumed 2x a week in the playroom but right now all the toys are poured over the floor and won't be gotten to until tomorrow when it's time to vacuum again.
And the laundry is washed every day but sitting in the clean laundry basket on top of the machine in the laundry room for 2 days until you get to folding it.
The counter is washed clean every night. But now there are still dinner leftovers out. There are some items that need to be put away and paper's there that need to be signed and put into someone's briefcase.
The linens are changed weekly but some mornings they don't get made in the rush out the door.
The floors are always clean so sweeping two times a day and washing twice a week. But there might be 2 return boxes on the floor near the door. They will move and it's not like things pile up, but it might take a day or two.

That's how I see it.
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 09 2021, 12:55 pm
If the cookware scattered all over your kitchen floor has been washed and so has the floor; if the unfolded laundry making it impossible to sit on your sofa is freshly laundered and there are no dust bunnies under the sofa; and if neither the cds, dvds, books and magazines sliding off your coffee table nor the coffee table itself are covered in dust and sticky beverage residue, your home is messy but clean.

OTOH if the clothes in your closet are lined up like soldiers on parade but are stained and stink of sweat; if your tablecloths are folded like a geometry lesson but read like a menu of everything you ate for the past month; if the products on your vanity are arranged in a precise array but wear a patina of spilled product, soap scum and mold--your home is tidy but filthy.

Tidiness and cleanliness are related and often go hand-in-hand, but not always. I had a friend who was messy but crazy clean. You would have to take the unfolded laundry off the couch to sit down, but her dishes were clean enough to serve as surgical instruments. OTOH there was a guy in my office who was just the reverse: everything on his desk was lined up in military precision, but it had all apparently just returned from fierce combat because it was nauseatingly filthy. Just walking by his cubicle I felt as if I needed to take a shower.


Last edited by zaq on Tue, Feb 09 2021, 1:06 pm; edited 1 time in total
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amother
OP


 

Post Tue, Feb 09 2021, 12:57 pm
Ok so how do I make sure my house stays clean?
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Crookshanks




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 09 2021, 12:59 pm
A lot of times a house with a bunch of teenagers will be messy but clean-books and sweaters will be scattered all over, but there are no spills on the floor and the house smells clean. It's clean vs. dirty and neat vs. messy.
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amother
Plum


 

Post Tue, Feb 09 2021, 1:02 pm
I have the opposite problem. My house is not messy but also not clean. Its old and gross and falling apart. We rent for now so it's not worth putting money into it.

It's just very frustrating that no matter how not messy it is, it never looks really clean.
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 09 2021, 1:16 pm
amother [ Plum ] wrote:
I have the opposite problem. My house is not messy but also not clean. Its old and gross and falling apart. We rent for now so it's not worth putting money into it.

It's just very frustrating that no matter how not messy it is, it never looks really clean.


Unfortunately, many surfaces will never look clean once they get old. Aging discolors materials, and dings, dents, scratches, pits and uneven textures trap dirt. Still, a coat of paint, furniture scratch cover or marker, bleach, rust remover, metal polish, polyurethane and similar products can camouflage or remove a lot of grunge. Where treating the surface itself doesn't do the trick, consider hiding the surface completely or as much as possible with throws, linoleum remnants, wall hangings, pictures, Contact, curtains and the like.

You may be renting but you still have to live there for now--why not try to make it look as nice as reasonably possible?
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