As usual, we’re on the same wavelength! My house is always tidy because we’re minimalists, but clean? Not usually. Marks on the wall, fingerprints on the light switches, sticker residue on the floor … trying to keep my house sparkling clean with three kids under 6 would be like trying to keep the driveway perfectly snowflake free in the middle of a blizzard. Instead, I rush out with a shovel and try to see bare sidewalk once in awhile.

I am a clutter-centered cleaner as well. I cleaned the dining room table really well this morning for the first time in a long time and I feel like I’ve accomplished enough for the day. Anything else accomplished will be gravy. :)

Love from,
Jamie and the Boys :)

I love this! I had never thought of the cleanliness vs clutter mess before and I’m right with you. I clean and no one ever seems to notice, including me. I clear clutter and my husband comments about how clean the house is and doesn’t even notice the dust. Huh…interesting! Your posting this just made my life so much easier! thank you!

If my floors are dirty it drives me insane. Dirt is worse for me, but then again I don’t handle clutter well either. But if my floors are clean I am a much happier mama & wife which is why my husband got me a lovely new hand held Dyson to keep out in the kitchen so it is easier to clean up at the end of the day.

I would have to say both for me. I have a hard time going to play dates at other mom’s houses because you can’t walk on the floor without crunching on something disgusting (worse if they have a shoes off policy; we have one, but I keep my floors clean!). Of course, there are certain things I don’t keep spic and span all the time (I’m a big one for overlooking fingerprints on windows and glass doors; it drives my husband nuts), but I can’t stand hair on the bathroom floor, crumbs or spilled food on the kitchen floor (or anywhere in the kitchen for that matter), and just dirt in the corners generally speaking.

I also hate toss pillows and throw blankets that end up on the floor and stay there, and am ready to chuck all my children’s toys that have moving parts (especially the duplos) because they just get everywhere. It drives me nuts that my kids are constantly moving my furniture around to suit them and emptying out the entire contents of their toy cabinet and book shelves.

I do a clutter sweep at least three times per day and try to dust bust the floors in the kitchen after every meal, and else where in the house as needed. I probably mop the whole house every other day but wipe up the kitchen floor with a wet paper towel after almost every meal.

I admit to a touch of OCD when it comes to clutter and clean, and it has gotten worse as I’ve gotten older and had more children, but I grew up in a clean, clutter-free house, and I think we mothers should set a good example for our children so that when they are adults, they know what a well-kept house should look like. It doesn’t have to be perfect (or even perfectly clean) but it should be neat and reasonable.

Clutter bothers me, too, but my DH could care less. He drives me nuts cleaning little things I’d never notice and leaving big piles of his “important papers” where they drive me crazy. Or I’ll spend all day cleaning and he comes home and asks why the house is trashed. This post gives me something to think about…

@Juliana, I agree that “neat and reasonable” is something we should definitely model for our kids…the only problem is that it looks so different for all of us! For example, I admit that pet hair often bothers me at other people’s houses, which is kind of strange because I grew up with animals and we have a dog now. I think because I lived most of my adult life without pets I just got used to not having fur around and it’s hard to get accustomed to. I’ve been at plenty of houses that are neat and clean but just have a lot of dog or cat hair around, so I try (not always successfully) to look at the big picture. I have a hard time deciding whether to have a shoes on or off policy in our house, because while I do try to keep our floors clean sometimes spills happen before you have a chance to get to them, and I definitely don’t want anyone crunching down on Cheerios with a bare foot. On the other hand, if people leave their shoes at the door there’s less dirt and less cleaning all around. I’m thinking I’ll restrict the “shoes off” policy to kids.

Meagan – our men could be related. Pre-visitor, my husband usually cleans the fishtank. ‘Cause, yaknow, every visitor will inspect that…

I cannot handle clutter! Hate it, despise it, and try to conquer it at every turn. Dirt…eh…doesn’t bother me so much!

It’s definitely clutter for me. Although there are a few trigger cleanliness things– lots of food under the dining room table, smears all over my sealed range top, that I have to have done to consider my housecleaning finished. Otherwise, if I can head to bed with the toys put away and the papers in a neat stack, I’m happy!

Dirt bothers me more and I enjoy tackling the scrubbing, mopping, dusting, etc much more than tackling the sorting, assessing and finding homes for clutter. But the clutter has to be put away before I can scrub and the clutter takes so long to deal with that I don’t have time (or energy) to deal with it after.

Thank you for making me feel sane. Clutter is the bane of my existence , that and a dirty bathroom . My three girls and husband have yet to grasp the concept that a tidy house makes mummy so much nicer to be around !

Dust bunnies and crumbs bother me more than clutter. I like things sanitized, but magazines on the floor don’t bother me, and I think the bench in our kitchen was made for junk. I will actually push toys around on the floor with my vaccuum cleaner.