witzend
Well-Known Member
I know that in the distant past I have made mention of the fact that husband's mother is a horder and an animal horder. She's been arrested and hospitalized for it throughout her adult life, and is often on "watch" by animal control. Needless to say that their home is not and was not very clean. Actually, piles of trash with paths through it is more accurate. husband's brother got hepatitis when he was a kid, and husband believes it was from the filth in the home. It probably was.
I'm not the world's best or worst housekeeper. I try to keep it clean, and to do cleaning on a regular basis. husband never sees dirt. He learned to look right past it in his childhood. On the other hand, he has some very quirky habits. He does not touch doorknobs or toilet handles in our home. I kind of get the doorknob thing, they say something about the filth on doorknobs on the news once a year or so. But he has to open the sliding glass door with his foot. He's never, on the other hand, cleaned his computer keyboard. He flushes the toilet - when he flushes it which is rarely - with a tissue. Now, I use a tissue to put the seat down before I sit. But why use a tissue to flush it? You're going to wash your hands after, right?
The thing is, it is dawning on me that he is not afraid of dirt, he's just obsessed about touching dirt in certain places. His job is to do the after dinner dishes. He won't wipe the stove or counters or table. It could go days, and he'd be happy to cook on it or make a sandwich on it that way. When he is doing projects around the house, he leaves stuff everywhere, and won't clean up. Apparently that's for me to do when he is done with the project. Which could be months later. I mean he won't pick up tools, when I yell at him enough to get him to get them out of the middle of the floor or counter, he shoves them into boxes and buckets in the garage even though we have a workbench (can't see the top of it) and three toolchests in the garage.
I'd get it if he were obsessed with germs and needed to keep things clean, but other than in his own body, he is disgustingly filthy. It's totally irrational. It wouldn't bother me if he ever wiped anything off or swept a floor or flushed the toilet, but nothing bothers him.
He dumped about 1/2 cup of hand soap on an overstuffed chair last night, and I was in the other room and didn't see. I told him he would need to wipe it up. He grabbed some towels and said "It was mostly on the floor." I came into the room about an hour later and could see that it was about 3 inches wide from the top of the chair all the way to the seat. All he had done was wipe it with a dry towel. Are you kidding me? I had to get the bucket and the scrub brush and towels and scrub it all out of there. "Well most of it did go on the floor!" I thought he meant that a few drops got on the chair. GRRR!!!
I'm not the world's best or worst housekeeper. I try to keep it clean, and to do cleaning on a regular basis. husband never sees dirt. He learned to look right past it in his childhood. On the other hand, he has some very quirky habits. He does not touch doorknobs or toilet handles in our home. I kind of get the doorknob thing, they say something about the filth on doorknobs on the news once a year or so. But he has to open the sliding glass door with his foot. He's never, on the other hand, cleaned his computer keyboard. He flushes the toilet - when he flushes it which is rarely - with a tissue. Now, I use a tissue to put the seat down before I sit. But why use a tissue to flush it? You're going to wash your hands after, right?
The thing is, it is dawning on me that he is not afraid of dirt, he's just obsessed about touching dirt in certain places. His job is to do the after dinner dishes. He won't wipe the stove or counters or table. It could go days, and he'd be happy to cook on it or make a sandwich on it that way. When he is doing projects around the house, he leaves stuff everywhere, and won't clean up. Apparently that's for me to do when he is done with the project. Which could be months later. I mean he won't pick up tools, when I yell at him enough to get him to get them out of the middle of the floor or counter, he shoves them into boxes and buckets in the garage even though we have a workbench (can't see the top of it) and three toolchests in the garage.
I'd get it if he were obsessed with germs and needed to keep things clean, but other than in his own body, he is disgustingly filthy. It's totally irrational. It wouldn't bother me if he ever wiped anything off or swept a floor or flushed the toilet, but nothing bothers him.
He dumped about 1/2 cup of hand soap on an overstuffed chair last night, and I was in the other room and didn't see. I told him he would need to wipe it up. He grabbed some towels and said "It was mostly on the floor." I came into the room about an hour later and could see that it was about 3 inches wide from the top of the chair all the way to the seat. All he had done was wipe it with a dry towel. Are you kidding me? I had to get the bucket and the scrub brush and towels and scrub it all out of there. "Well most of it did go on the floor!" I thought he meant that a few drops got on the chair. GRRR!!!
I feel like I'm going in a vicious circle. Nor is my house any cleaner than when I was in school. Lately Nichole has been pitching in and is starting to feel my frustration. *sigh*
