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12 October 2009

Are you: 1) neat, but not clean; 2) clean, but not neat; 3) neat and clean; 4) neither neat nor clean? →[More:]"Neat" meaning you put your clean laundry away, you can see the tops of your desk, counter, table, etc. "Clean" meaning your sink is shiny, the floors swept, the counters wiped down, etc.

I am neat but not clean. My husband is clean but not neat. So it all works out.

post by: desjardins at: 10:54 | 34 comments

I am neat but not clean. Stynx is more clean than neat, so we work out well!

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 12 October | 11:05

More clean than neat for sure.

posted by YouCanCallMeAl 12 October | 11:07

clean but not neat.

posted by gaspode 12 October | 11:34

Neat but not clean, no matter how I try.

posted by JanetLand 12 October | 11:39

Clean, but not neat in my homelife.
Clean AND neat in my worklife.

Problem is...I work from home!

posted by typewriter 12 October | 11:42

Neat but not clean. The GF is neither. It causes friction.

posted by mudpuppie 12 October | 11:55

I'm neither... Sigh.

posted by drezdn 12 October | 12:07

Clean but not neat. Wish I could be neater. When my home renovations are finished I'm going to get a cleaner in once a week. That, I hope, will make me neater.

posted by essexjan 12 October | 12:12

OK, you clean-but-not-neat people, I do not understand you.

posted by desjardins 12 October | 12:28

/me looks around his cube that he's managed to trash in less than three months. I'm going to have to admit to neither.

posted by octothorpe 12 October | 12:38

I am carmelized.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 12 October | 12:53

Dunno where I fit in... average at both I suppose

I've had pest problems so washing up is always done promptly and the food surfaces wiped. But I tend to let dust accumulate on shelves and the sink certainly doesn't sparkle.

Elsewhere I often let papers and junk accumulate to the point of tottering over.

I hoover everywhere and clean the bathroom once a week.

I put the laundry away when it's dry or ironed.

posted by TheophileEscargot 12 October | 12:55

I'm about halfway on both. I have a set cleaning schedule which works for me (quick wipe on counters, sink, stovetop after washing nightly dishes, bathroom cleaning, floor mopping, and vaccuuming on weekends with massive cleaning sprees 4 times a year) and I try to keep things fairly neat (such as all my makeup stuff is on the vanity, but what I use daily is kinda tossed on top and not super organized, but there's not too much of it so it's not horrifically messy.)

I live alone, so I don't really give a fuck if my laundry is out and about.

posted by sperose 12 October | 13:06

Fair to middling on both.

posted by deborah 12 October | 13:09

Always clean sometimes neat.

posted by special-k 12 October | 13:27

Lord, now I feel like a freak, I expected to come in here and see that at least some of y'all were clean/neatfreaks. I am both clean and neat, I cannot stand things not being tidy and germ-free. The only exception is my son's bedroom/bathroom. I refuse to clean them for him, and I also try not to nag too hard. I just stay out of his space because I cannot stand to look at it.
Where are my clean/neatfreak homies at, yo?

posted by msali 12 October | 13:31

I am neat and good at sinks but terrible at floors. It's hard to keep up with the bunny fur and hay sometimes, but I try.

posted by rmless2 12 October | 13:31

clean but not neat.

posted by eatdonuts 12 October | 13:42

Neat and clean, except when I overschedule myself and get too far behind to maintain the house. I absolutely hate that feeling and it happens more than I'd like. Some clothes on the floor, a rumpled bed, and some dirty dishes are enough to make me feel like a slattern.

I'm very much a "place for everything and everything in its place" person. I find a real peacefulness and serenity in having things in order. MY house isn't austere - it's full of tchotchkes and decor stuff - but it is pretty organized.

posted by Miko 12 October | 14:00

I really let the flat get too grubby and messy before I finally get around to cleaning and tidying, but I'm more clean than neat. I love the feeling of having things in their right places, but when things are dirty it's too much and I get grossed out. I live with a man whose grub tolerance is far higher than mine, so I end up doing the bulk of the cleaning. It's okay, though, as long as he cleans the gliders' cage and takes the recycling to the drop-off centre...

posted by Specklet 12 October | 14:27

Um, picture a Tetris scenario in real life. Fuzzy at the edges yet sorted and cleaned.

posted by buzzman 12 October | 14:44

I think I am more neat than clean, and not very much of either, but it's all a question of degree, right? My neat and clean may be objctively more or less neat and clean that yours.

posted by rainbaby 12 October | 15:00

Clean and neat at work.

Clean but not neat at home, except in the kitchen, which is immaculate.

posted by mdonley 12 October | 15:10

My in-laws are coming tomorrow so we're madly rushing around trying to put things away and clean. Seeing as the house is constantly under construction, it's hard to keep it clean even when we do try.

posted by octothorpe 12 October | 15:11

Clean and neat. It just means there is never a lot of work to do. Put it away when you're done with it. Clean it up when you're finished.

posted by netbros 12 October | 15:42

Clean and neat at work.
Neat but not as clean at home.
My boyfriend is neither neat nor clean, Which means I pick up after him all the time.

Every few weeks I get fed up with the state of the house and scrub everything top to bottom. I did that this weekend, and it's lovely. I feel like I can breathe.

posted by rhapsodie 12 October | 16:11

Hey msali! Clean/neat freak here.

It is VERY hard to have a toddler let me tell you. I mop my floor almost every day now to stop me from going over the edge.

posted by gomichild 12 October | 18:20

Somewhere in the middle, I guess. The older I get, the more neat/clean I get. I have orderly stacks of books, and the counters aren't sticky. I do "big" cleaning once a week, on average, but with three cats and a dog and two boys, well, it's not a priority to have a spotless place.

posted by redvixen 12 October | 19:34

Clean but not neat, except in the corners where it is neither.

posted by casarkos 12 October | 20:11

Huh. Right now, neither. And I had this in my fb freinds feed:

http://weorganizeu.com/article_clutterhotspots.html

posted by lysdexic 12 October | 22:57

I'm living with teenagers whose vocabularies include neither word.

posted by Ardiril 12 October | 23:39

The sort of Virago rising who's a ROTTEN slob.

posted by brujita 13 October | 01:48

Neat but not clean. My own germs just don't bother me that much. Other people's germs/messes really squick me out, though.

I really hate that feeling when everything is all over the place and you're stepping on things and piling things on top of other things. It makes me physically uncomfortable.

posted by unsurprising 13 October | 02:25

Very neat but not clean. My partner is neither, which drives me nuts.

posted by dg 13 October | 07:06

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