When I was a young adult – when my kids were little, before they’d started taking over to the point that I just couldn’t keep up – I was a cleaning fanatic. Nothing could be out of place. I’d run around 24/7 vacuuming this, sweeping and wiping that. Then one afternoon, my friend Paula said to me, “When I die, I don’t want anyone to say that I ‘kept a good house’.”
Her words really hit home. I realized then that I’d been spending a whole lot of time trying to make my world perfect, like who really gives a crap? That day, I changed. (OK, I still vacuum quite frequently.)
Seriously, as long as I’m not as bad as those hoarder people, what difference does it make? I have better things to do.
Et voilà , this list was born…
And yes, I CAN rationalize anything.
Now leave that dust behind your bathroom door alone. It’s not hurting anybody. Go and dance around your living room for an hour or two. Here, let me help you…
TheFurFiles 
Thanks for your rationalization- certainly makes me feel better 🙂
I LOVE your list. It’s perfect.
And, “Jesse’s Girl” is one of those songs that constantly pop into my head. Constantly. I am working on a post about suffering from this particular affliction. LOL!
They were playing that song at the store the other day, and now it’s stuck. Thought I’d share my pain LOL.
So dust behind the doors is ok, what about balled up cat hair on the steps? And in the corners? And occasionally on the table? Darn cats go everywhere! Oh, and thanks for the song. It will be stuck in my head all damn day. Excedrin won’t help that… LOL
Cat hair everywhere…la la la la…I sing that song a lot.
And Rick Springfield, you’re welcome LOL
Years ago, we had a cat that actually liked to be vacuumed. Oh, how I miss that!
Must say . . . I love this! Now must go dance.
I can vacuum Archie sometimes. I think he’s partly deaf, or just to lazy to run away LOL.
I’m dancing with you. I can’t turn this song off. 🙂
When my mom visits and sees my messy bed I’m going to say, “Stop harassing me! I make love a lot!”
Oh thank you ~ dust bunnies forgotten and I’m Jessie’s Girl!
You are probably going to be “Jessie’s girl” for a while if you are anything like me. I’ve played that song – no lie – about ten times today LOL.
LOL You should. At this point, I do neither but my bed’s still unmade. I thought it sounded good though.
Well, that’s a relief.
Love this! I feel so affirmed now. 🙂
That’s how I felt after I finally made this realization. Whew…
Glad. 🙂
It has been a bit of a life-long process, the attempt to honor the good things given to me by my mother, and to shed those which will not feed and sustain me and those around me. She could not relinquish control, and so walked the borderline of hoarding mentality. Striking a balance in order to become a more empowered woman has shaped much of my journey. Relationship with stuff, with clean, with imperfection—big.