Interesting website about squalor

[DogwoodMama]

I know we all struggle with keeping our homes clean & we probably all have that point of "oh too dirty! must do something!" :eek :lol Anyway, I ran across this link on MDC about support for folks who used to live in squalor and thought y'all might find it interesting. It really highlights the importance of doing those daily chores again and again and staying on top of things so it doesn't get out of hand and your home is a blessing to your family. :)

http://www.squalorsurvivors.com/

[tcdsmama]

I was talking to someone about the state of filth in my house right now and said, "I don't have sink pudding - but that's just because it's too full with dishes."

[jghomeschooler]

wow, that was,....interesting. I looked at the photos page, and the first set of photos made me :eek My messes look more like the second set of photos, but it's not always like that. except my puter desk, <sigh>. I dejunk and dejunk and dejunk it but it just piles right back up. I need an alarm for my desk, lol, that sounds off every time something is placed on its surface. :lol
Jenn

:shifty but seriously, does anyone know of such an alarm?

[AngelBee]

I you find an alarm like that.....let me know! :mrgreen

[greenemama]

i am totally shocked. i seriously felt sick looking at kimmy's bathroom. :sick2

i will never complain about what slobs we are again. we are as neat as a pin comparitively!!! :cup

[butterflyqueen71]

Wow...that reminds me of that show "How Clean is Your House" with the 2 British ladies that go in and clean up places like this. I admit, I have a sick fascination with the show, not because my house looks like that, but because I think "Gee, I'm not THAT bad!" :blush

Anyway, thanks for the link! I'm going to browse the site some more, perhaps I can find some inspiration for my lack of housecleaning skills. I wouldn't say I live in squalor, (nowhere near) but I certainly need all the help I can get! :shifty

[MagnoliaMommy]

:eek :sick2
Wow...that is shocking. How on earth can anyone live like that? I just wonder how you would actually cook in your kitchen or eat at your table, or sleep on your bed. Where do you even sit? On top of garbage? :shrug

[MomToDM]

I can't believe that someone could live like that. It's sad. :sad2 My Aunt and Uncle have some housekeeping issues, and they even have a housekeeper!! Too many untrained pets, and 4 messy people. I can't stand even a bit of clutter, it drives me crazy, there is one clutter spot in my house and thats my craft area, because I don't have shelving, but its pretty neat. Now that I'm nesting I'm getting even weirder, I had a huge project list and only 1 thing left on it!! (For me, dh has 2 things left on it). I feel bad for those people, it must get to a point where they feel that they have absolutely no control or way to fix it.

[Marrae]

Oh my goodness! I really feel :sick2. These picture are so awful.
I feel like the 'Queen of Clean', lol, j/k.

[ArmsOfLove]

I had to move out from living with a roommate who had been a dear friend because she lived in squalor like that. It got to where I couldn't use the kitchen and I was embarrassed to bring friends over because we had to walk through her area. I had everything in my big room and just stayed in there when I was home :(

I had known her for years and she had lived very very neatly with a previous roommate but then he moved out and I moved in and things were good :tu Then I moved out and eventually she lived in squalor--so she hired me (she needed help and I needed money :highfive) and I cleaned her apt every other week. It was that bad every time I cleaned :sick When we moved back in together I told her it had to stay clean like it had before and she agreed--but apparently she'd gotten into new habits :cry

It was horrible. I felt terrible for her, but it wasn't my mess, she wasn't paying me to clean it anymore, and I couldn't continue living with it in the same space as me.

I do watch that "How Clean Is Your House?" show with that same fascination :shifty

[crunchymum]

wow. just. wow.

[Blue Aurora]

I can't imagine living like that.... wow!

[butterflyqueen71]

I read some of the parts of that site that deal with overcoming squalor...and wow, it was eye-opening! I really saw a lot of the mindsets that hinder me in some areas of my own life, including housekeeping. That one part on perfectionism was really eyeopening and explained a lot of things for me about why I approach things the way I do! While I may not live in squalor, I have a "squalor mindset" in some areas. :(

I wrote about it in my blog...link in my sig line. ;)

[MarynMunchkins]

We actually have friends that used to live like that. :wow It was disgusting. :sick They lived in a 2 bdrm trailer with their two boys, and nothing ever got clean. They ate out *every* meal because there was no place to cook. They would come visit us because I could cook in my kitchen.

They are better now. They've built a nice 3 bdrm house, and she's doing a fairly good job keeping up with it. :tu

But it is a good reminder that my obsession with cleaning isn't such a bad thing afterall. ;) :P

[Punkie]

Wow :eek

[poetmom]

I just looked at "Kimmy"'s pics, and it was deja vu. The woman who is now married to ex #1 used to live like that with her three daughters. They lived in an apartment downstairs from me, and at one point, when they were gone for a week, and I had her key, to keep an eye on the place, I went in and cleaned the entire apartment, top to bottom. TWO DAYS after they got home, it looked like that again....and even after she married ex #1, they continued to live that way for some time. It turned my stomach to have to send MY children into those conditions every other weekend, but CPS, who had been getting calls on her for 10 yrs at that point, never did a thing....I saw them on several occasions,come to her door, tell her someone had called again, and say "You really ought to clean up a little, hon." then turn and leave...without ever setting foot in the house! She did eventually get a little better about housekeeping, but considering they now live in a motel room, I guess she doesn't have to DO much! :)

[Garnet]

kimmys house was mine when i was young......my mother is bi polar, and my dad suffered from depresion, along with being unemployed. my mother would only clean if one of us angered her...............which is why i can't stand mess. when i moved out my whole apartment was white and cream.......white curtains, bed spread, towels, cream walls, furniture.......i was so pleased that i coudl keep it neat and beautiful. now that dh cares for the house most days its 1st degree squalor and i hate it..........