most of my friends and family know of my attitude towards cleanliness. i'm famous for sleeping in my clothes when visiting other people's homes. it isn't related directly to dirt itself, i have no trouble heading off on a muddy trail or getting grimy while repairing a bike or something. it's more about human residue. i can't stand thrift stores much longer than two minutes and seeing steph try on unwashed thrift items deeply disturbs me.
it also has nothing to do with maintaining order. a person's belongings may be strewn willy-nilly around the house and as long as they look new and don't smell funny, i could eat off of them. on the other hand, if the most meticulously organized space in the world feels overused and unkempt, it will give me the heebie-jeebies somethin' fierce. couches, beds, carpets, pillows and (strangely enough) dishes appear in my mind as sponges for the hideous slime of human beings.
here comes the confession: i have recently gotten into the habit of cleaning up public restrooms. certainly not washing the facilities or anything like that, but picking up paper towels strewn about the place and wiping up counters.
i wash my hands when i'm done, of course...
4 comments:
Oh my gosh, you are channeling Grandma Carson who can't stay in motels for the very reasons you are citing. I also heard one time Oprah Wingfrey threw away a piece of her china because someone stuck a piece of chewed gum on it. It is definitely a particular kind of meticulousness...
You're so freaking adorable I could eat you. I'm laughing so hard right now Coc is looking at me like I'm crazy. Ohp, now he's dead again. Thanks for that, babe. *whew*
If one could have a "touch" of OCD, then I would say that you (and I) do. I get so weird about my desk at work, and I have to clean it (wipe with disinfectant) before I leave. My sticky notes have to be evenly spaced and symmetrical. I throw away pens if someone borrows it and a. puts in or around their mouth, b. scratches their head with it, or c. rests it on their cheek while they think. eww.
Perhaps in some way you are facing your fear of body cooties by doing the extreme nasty of cleaning public bathrooms- I wonder if you are afraid of getting sick or if this is an extension of hating people? or neither... very odd indeed. Oprah Wingfrey!
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