Today I was baking (I got a bag of overripe bananas {organic even} for only $2 at the store and made 10 batches of banana bread). That's not the point though. I was doing the dishes after the baking. I developed the habit of pondering while doing dishes when I was a teenager (my parents' punishment for just about any infraction was to give dishes...I think I did all the dishes, by hand, for about 6 years all by myself.) Anyway, I was pondering while doing the dishes and realized something about myself: I am somewhat obsessive/compulsive about the way things are done and the way things are organized around my house.
My closet is organized according to clothing item, length and color. My dishes are stored in the cupboards the same way and the plates (which are fiestaware in nearly every color they come in) are stacked in rainbow order. I even load my dishwasher in a similar way: like items together, by size and height. My laundry has to be folded just right so that it looks neat when it is stacked and put away in drawers. The towels need to be hung just so in the bathrooms. And everything has to have a place, a home to go to that is behind a door, in a drawer, or a box. Clutter just makes me anxious and stressed.
I am so OCD about these things that I inwardly cringe when the dishwasher gets loaded differently by the others in my household. I have to leave the room and not watch. It is why I usually end up folding all the laundry, even though the kids are able to do it their own way. (When I do have them help me, I usually end up refolding a lot of things when they are done, especially my things. If they take their own clothes and put them away, I just don't open their drawers. Mostly I just don't go in their rooms. Kids have their own organization systems which really don't match mine.) It is why I switched to hooks in most of the bathrooms so that the kids have an easier job of hanging up their towels and they look neater. It is why I go after the kids and rearrange the dishes in the cupboards.
I know I should just let it go. And I have--to a degree. I realize that my kids need to learn how to work, how to clean and how to do laundry for themselves. So I close my eyes tight and try to not think about it. And then I let them clean their rooms, put away their laundry, do the dishes and organize their stuff their way. Because, in the end, it doesn't really matter. And there are better ways to use my energy and more important battles to fight. So, sometimes, I give in to my OCD housekeeping demons...and, sometimes, I come off conqueror. But when I load the dishwasher, it's done my way.
So there you have it, something you didn't know about me, that I didn't know about myself! (Or maybe you did know that about me, and have been too kind to point it out...thank you!)
i haven't noticed you rearranging after I have done the dishes at your house. :) Maybe you are really sneaky.
ReplyDeleteI do some of the same things at my house, but I don't think I'm quite as OCD about things as you are. Although, I am about my kitchen cupboards!
I'm trying to let go and now Aaron is responsible for unloading the dishwasher. I just put things in the right order once he is done. He is actually doing a pretty good job.
I don't rearrange after guests, and I try not to rearrange after Nate. I am just utterly thankful that someone is helping out without me having to cajole, beg, plead, and/or threaten!
ReplyDeleteI find myself doing my daily routines in the exact same order, and if i mess up the order, i get frustrated and confussed. For example, every morning before i brush my teeth i have to wet the toothbrush holding it in my left hand, put the toothpaste on with the right hand, switch my toothbrush to my right hand, start by brushing my two front teeth, proceed for about 2 minutes. When im done, i have to wash the sink out three times and then look at myself in the mirror. its creepy, but its the exact same way everytime.
ReplyDeleteps your muffins look fantastic!
ReplyDeleteGuess what?! Fellow dishwasher OCD friend here! My sisters tease me because when they lived with me I actually did reload it after they had. I really can't help myself. But if you put the bowls and the cups in the right spot (all the knives facing down PLEASE -- I've only stabbed myself like 10 times after someone else has loaded!) And the big plates by the big ones etc. so much more fits in!! We had a FHE on how to load the dishwasher properly when I was a child and it stuck with me. BTW, love your fiestaware!!
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm the "guest." Guess I wasn't logged in properly!
ReplyDeleteMmmmmmm! banana bread muffins!!!! They look so good!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou know we all are OCD in some part of life me it is the way I get dressed and the way that I cook/clean in the kitchen. I do things in my order and that was really hard for me when I came to college because people have their own way of cleaning and ect... it is crazy but I also ponder while doing dishes maybe it is for the reason that it was a punishment in our family.
ReplyDeleteBetsy, you are not alone. I am OCD in my dishwasher too. I even go as far as the silverware have there own spot. Although when Jake does it I leave the room and am grateful.
ReplyDeleteI don't let anyone touch my laundry though. It's just a personal thing of mine. I am getting better though. Jake has done a few loads here and there.
Another thing is my closet and the kid's closet. They are organized by color, sleeve length and even the hangers are coded. IE: school clothes, play clothes, pants, dresses. Obviously I always put them away.
I used to be the way you girls are describing things. I'm not sure when I got over it, but I did. It may have been when I started working!
ReplyDeleteBut my dad's cousin Margaret once wrote me a letter - and I wish I could find it and quote it exactly - but she said something to the effect that she loved going to visit Mom and Dad when they were newly weds and Mary had all the towels folded just so and everything was put away just so and she was so particular!
Doesn't sound like the Grandma Clayton you know does it??
There is hope!
I remember coming home from school - and the little kids would still be napping - to piles of laundry in the living room - if they were even off the clothesline - and warm cookies in the oven - and Mom was on the couch reading a book. She always said, "Never do anything when your kids are asleep that you can do when they are awake."
It is advice I have always heeded!
I'm sure you don't need advice, but let me tell you a story: I have an Aunt much like you. I had my "day planner" on her counter. She somehow put it on a pile of stuff and than handed it to my brother, must have been one of his newspaper articles (he's a writer). I moved that weekend or went "home" to Logan. I couldn't find my planner, guess what - it was FRIED in the heat of my brothers car. I was devistated. My Aunt was a bit sad about it, but her OCD doesn't let her think past some things. She's better...yet trust me, it starts small and just grows. It's good you caught it, now the Besty I know (which I don't know you that well) seams to be a lot of fun...so I doubt you're on the road to ruining your neices day planner anytime soon:-)
ReplyDeleteI'm taking note, so next time I can put the dishes away in the right order.;)
ReplyDelete