I neatened up my apartment on Sunday because I was having some friends over for brunch. As I was waiting for them to arrive I looked around and was struck by how nice everything looked! Why is that a surprise, you might ask? Because my apartment is usually a mess. I live alone, and so having everything I've touched in the past week strewn about the
apartment doesn't bother me. Emptied wine glasses and the leftover bottles, the magazine I'm reading, the shoes I wore to work, my underwear, the files I brought home from work, the skirt I need to take to the cleaners...they're all right there where I last touched them. It's all my stuff so it's not in anybody's way.
If this stuff belonged to someone else and he expected me to live amid his mess, I'd be pissed. And I assume he would be equally annoyed. The beauty is that it doesn't matter because it's all mine and I don't mind it at all.
It's funny; I actually have a decent-looking place when it's all neat and clean so I don't know why I don't keep it that way. That's not true; I do know why. I can't be bothered. I think being single and living alone has allowed me to have this elongated sophomoric existence where I'm still living like a college student in some ways.
Which is why I love Mondays. My housekeeper comes on Mondays. I love coming home from work on Mondays. I can smell the Lemon Pledge (or whatever that lemony smell is) as soon as I open the door. The place looks good and smells good, it's all shiny and bright, and everything in its place. I'm thinking: it looks so good in here. I wish it could look like this all the time...without me having to do it.
One of my ex-es used to complain constantly about my messy apartment. I would think to myself: "then why do you keep coming here?" I felt like he should deal with it or we could just go to his place. Eventually I got rid of him. That's not the reason, but it was related to his constant complaining about things big and small. Once I sent him to his nice-and-neat apartment, permanently, he couldn't stop asking to come back. Suddenly my mess wasn't such an issue for him.
Anyway, here I am, still not keeping the place as tidy as I should. I wonder if this can be blamed on Living Single...or am I just a slob?
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4 comments:
I hate to tell you this Eleanore, I think it's coz you're a slob. . . .sorry, us Aussies tell it like it is. And the reason I know this is because I am also single and yet my house is anally clean and tidy. With no one else living here it STAYS clean and tidy. Sigh. Love it!
@Josie: Oh no! Though I fear you might be right. (sigh)
I used to keep my place neat and clean. That was back when I had boyfriends and no life. Now, I've changed. My place is NOT neat and clean. My friends can help themselves to my food, put their feet on the furniture and know I won't complain. Sure there are piles of stuff everywhere, but most have to do with the many projects that are in process around here. If I put everything away then I'd just have to pull it all out again. I'd rather being doing great deeds and making the world a better place, than working a broom all the time. Life is good.
It could be a bit of both. I've found in the last 3 years of living alone, that while I enjoy having a clean apartment, I do not have the energy to do everything all the time all by myself. (Unfortunately, I can't afford a maid even once a week...) and working full-time, keeping up with the three cats and the two fish tanks and myself, it's an awful lot to manage.
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