don't really know where to post this so will just post it here..

gibby3794 · ‎18-01-2015

some of you will probably already know from the other threads on here but for those that don't know.

i'm 20, gay, unemployed, have depression and anxiety about some things...

i live in a house with 6 other people (my friend her bf her brother sister mother and step father)

im the only one in the house unemployed (obviously besides the two kids)

so while everyones at work ill clean the kitchen and if the rest of the house needs tidying ill do that as well,

something was mentioned the other day about a couple things that needed to be cleaned that arent on anyones normal cleaning list and since then all i do is sit here and notice things that need cleaning and am going to try and do it all during the week as its actually doing my head in now

so far ive noticed the ceiling fans are dusty, glass doors need cleaning as we need to put our hands on it to open it, some of the vertical blinds have fallen off and been creased etc so am now going to clean all of them iron the ones that are creased (yes i know to put a towel over them to iron them) and put them all back on properly, i want to sugar soap the walls, clean all cobwebs off the veranda roof clean the top of the air con unit as its dusty, sort out the tupperware cupboard, sort out the pantry, basically i want to scrub the house from top to bottom,

im not sure why all of a sudden everything is bothering me just because someone mentioned one thing that needed cleaning (i forget what it was but i know it is something thats on my list)

has anyone else had this issue where they all of a sudden wanted EVERYTHING spotless or is it just me?

like i am planning on doing more than for an inspection so its just a bit weird to me lol, considering i never used to clean anything at all hahah

anyways im not quite sure what the point of this post is but someone might know why my mind has all of a sudden become clean freak hahah

Neil_1 · ‎19-01-2015

Hi there Gibby

My partner had that happen to her a number of years ago – then we found out she was pregnant !

So with you, I’m putting it down to a bit of OCD perhaps. Especially with all the things you’ve mentioned; but dude, I tell ya’, you’ll be the most valued and loved person in that household if you work through that list and get it all done. AND if you do get it all done and you feel that you’d like more to do along those lines, I would be searching on the Interweb for as many ‘handi-man’ or even ‘cleaning’ jobs that you can apply for. Obtain references from your house-hold members and you’ll have a job in no time. Of course, that will then lead to the house needing to be cleaned by someone again – and I guess that’s where your current ‘job roster’ could come into play again.

Just thoughts.

Neil

gibby3794 · ‎19-01-2015

hi neil, thanks for your reply, yeah im thinking maybe ocd getting a bit worse or i could be getting sick again, last time i was sick for about a month the whole week before i was cleaning all the time, i remember scrubbing the bathroom at like 3 am out the front cleaning the car at 10 pm n stuff like that, the neighbors would have thought i was going nuts all the night time cleaning hahah, especially since our ducted vacuum is outside so they can hear when its on lol

geoff · ‎20-01-2015

dear Gibby, i can only agree with you and Neil, but I see you have said 'OCD getting a bit worse', but if you started your business or accepted to join a business the OCD is not so powerful, because it's something that has to be done, and your controlled by a time limit, which means that you can't clean a basin for one hour. lol Geoff.

Blue85 · ‎24-01-2015

This hit home with me! I have Bipolar 2 disorder, and I find I get a bit obsessive about cleaning and decluttering when I am heading into a hypomanic mood. I tend to love having a clean house in general (but it still has that lived in feel), but there is a crossover into more obsessive during those hypomanic episodes.

I end up emptying cupboards, scrubbing shelves, reorganising, alphabetising DVD's... I even organised all my books by colour at one stage...

gibby3794 · ‎24-01-2015

tell me about it theres one cupboard in particular doing my head in at the moment with the black rubber marks all through it hahah (i dont clean while people are home i wait till im by myself and pump the music hahah) so on tues im doing that and the laundry, then gotta go to centrelink cause i missed an appt on friday (thought it was a phone appt 😕 ) didnt get as much done last week as i hoped but busy all day wednesday and people were home most of the week due to weather hahah

romantic_thi3f · ‎21-04-2015

This hit home with me too! I don't have OCD but I have depression and sometimes I get into a stage where I just get sick of how the house looks even if it's not dirty or messy. I go into a cleaning frenzy and de-clutter so much.

I think part of why this bothers me is because it's a sense of control - like I can't do much, but I can clean the house.

I find that listening to music helps, because even if I listen to music when I clean if the music isn't fast paced then I tend to go at the same pace as the beat. That helps me be a bit calmer.

BK13 · ‎23-04-2015

I too have OCD type cleaning frenzies! I have depression and anxiety but as far as I know no OCD.

I'm so ridiculously inconsistent though with household cleanliness. I am naturally a very messy person, I grew up with a hoarder, coupled with the fact we never had any money, things were kept and reused. We always had a lot of STUFF and it was never organised. I am a lot better throwing stuff out than I used to be, when I was younger I used to keep anything I thought would be remotely useful.

So it can be weeks between cleaning frenzies, but I tell you when I get going, it's on. Everything is scrubbed, reorganised, mopped, dusted. Drawers are reorganised and clothes sorted by colour and season. The lawns are mowed and the hedges trimmed. The windows are done inside and out. All the cupboards and doorways will be free of marks. The pantry is organised into categories. This will be meticulously maintained for a couple of weeks, nothing is allowed to be out of place and a rogue crumb or dirty plate sends me into a panic. I get quite angry when my partner or anyone else puts anything out of place or makes a mess (whiskers on the basin!!! argh!) I am not at all afraid of germs, so it's not that, in fact I think anitbacterial products cause more problems than they solve. It's just that for that time, everything needs to be perfectly organised and surfaces clear. I feel in control and somehow a better person. During these periods I am more likely to invite people over or be social. Look how clean and organised and together I am!

But then I relax and the house is again allowed to return to it's comparatively filthy state. Plates go unwashed for days. Washing languishes on the floor (clean and dirty). There is toothpaste on the bathroom mirror and there is expired milk in the fridge. It may stay like this for weeks. Yes I'll still scrub the toilet periodically and yes the dishes will get done every couple of days, but keeping everything perfect all time time becomes low on my priority list. Sometimes during these stages I'll have several expired milks in the fridge, as I will buy more but I just won't throw the old stuff out. No good reason for this really, it's not like I have any grand plans for the old milk!

And I guess I stay in this stage, the thought of needing to be clean quietly simmering in my subconscious, unnoticed until it eventually boils over again.