dish washing poll

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I find it absolutely disgusting that anyone would lick a plate/utensil clean and put it back in the f*****g drawer. Literally shudder at the thought.

I am totally with you, AB. It is probably only because I live with someone that I have to maintain higher standards. And when I do clear up the clutter, somehow the clutter re-emerges in seconds.

i live in a tin can, no drawers to speak of, so i don't even put it back in the drawer.

thank you it is a wonder i didn't get kicked outta the army [the land of totally anal neatniks who take it to a psychotic extreme].

I can let things get a bit out of hand, so my solution is to have very few items in the first place.

If you live alone and don't have other people over who eat at your place (at least I hope nobody eats from your dishes ) you don't need many dishes. Keep only for example 2 dishes, 2 forks, 2 knives etc. That way your sink can't pile up because you're forced to clean them if you want to eat.
Just make cleaning and tidying a habit and build it into your daily routine. Then you only have to spare a couple of minutes here and there and it is effortless. For example clean your dishes every evening before you go to bed (takes no more than 10 min). Or first thing when you come home in the afternoon make your bed and decide if the floor should be vacuumed /cleaned and then do that (only a few min if you live in a shoe carton, so minimal effort). Clean your bathroom regularly every 2-3 days then it only takes a few minutes each time too.

Learning to declutter is also worth it. Don't keep stuff that isn't of any use and that you don't really love.

i only have a few dishes and utensils. so your solution makes good sense

thank you for the advice, it makes sense my problem is my frontal lobes seem very slow, and decision-making takes me all-day just to decide one single thing. multiply that by thousands of decisions, long-deferred, that need to be made. i haven't vacuumed in years. the bathroom prolly is the cleanest. but it is still untidy. in the bedroom is space just enough for a bed and a small area next to it. as bad as it is, it is a world better than it was a few years ago when there were goat paths in the house, so i have made a bit of progress

Then make habits and make rules so you do things automatically without thinking and so you don't even have to make decisions.

For example, it is probably already a habit to take your shoes off when you get home and you don't have to think about it, do you?

I also have a small flat and no proper kitchen and I know then it is even more important to be tidy if you want to feel comfortable. In my previous flat I could just ignore the piles of junk in my kitchen and close the kitchen door and not see it.

How much time do you spend in your flat?
Do you have a functioning vacuum cleaner? If yes, you should spare a couple of minutes today vacuuming your room. If you are home you should do it now, immediately before thinking about it. Then make a rule that you vacuum every Tuesday. Vacuuming doesn't need to be preceeded by decision making if you make rules. Just as you put on your shoes before you go outside or pull down your pants before you empty your bladder in the toilet, very soon it shouldn't require making decisions but is like a rule or almost automatic behaviour.

Another example is make it your routine to change your bedsheets every Tuesday after vacuuming. Don't think about whether it is necessary or when the last time was you changed them or if you shouldn't do it later that evening. Just do it because its Tuesday and you're done vacuuming, without thinking or deciding about it any further.


Have a fixed space for every single item you own. Don't just put them away randomly or look for where there happens to be room at the moment. That would require decision making every time you tidy. Therefore each item should be designated its own fixed place. when you see an item not in its place pick it up habitually and put it immediately where it belongs without thinking. You will also be able to find/locate your items without thinking.

If you've not touched an item for more than a year, chunk it in the garbage/recycle/donate it/sell it, don't put it back where you dug it out, don't think about whether you still might use it (you won't).

Look into minimalism, not to become a minimalist (unless you want to) but to get yourself thinking about your stuff and realize the benefits of letting junk go. It is a perspective that can help minimize decision making and decluttering the mind a bit.

i still have boxes and boxes from my 2008 move from the city. place is similar to yours in terms of tiny size, only it is a tin can [mobile home] out in the sticks. i spend 90% of my time inside. i have trouble deciding what gets tossed and what gets kept, i've sat in a stupor stuck on some things as i couldn't decide, and then before i knew it, the day was over and it was dark outside.

you have homed onto the thing i'm very weak at and that is rules/self discipline. i was raised with harsh discipline so the rest of my life has been going in the opposite direction of no discipline. hard to find a kindly middle ground. before i can vacuum i gotta remove all the stuff from the floor.


mebbe i should get another bedsheet so i can change the one i got.


i've gotten rid of much. i have stuff in the hallway i can take to the local goodwill. that will make the hallway a hallway again instead of a goat path, at least.

i am on the way to that, i just concentrate on keeping my voluminous collection of music and movies. i am making progress, it is just slow. and the most irritating thing is, that the place won't stay clean even for a few hours, somehow within that time it gets untidy again.

Are they filled with things you didn't need yet?


When my mother moved out from her house to a smaller flat, I loved it to help her decide what can go and what to keep. I like organizing. Do you know someone who can help you?


What kind if stuff is on your floor?

don't you have another one? Do you never put clean sheets on your bed? Or am I using the word bedsheet in the wrong way and have a misunderstanding of what the word means?


That's good.


That is normal, especially noticeable if you have a tiny space only. You'd have to put items back where they belong more than just once a day if you wanted it to be continuously tidy. Especially if you spend your whole time there.

yup. lotta books i have yet to read. mostly books and periodicals. miscellaneous stuff. deciding what to do with each miscellaneous item is the toughie. keep or toss is much tougher than it sounds.

that was good of you to help your mother. nobody in my neck of the woods to help me, i gotta help meself.

mostly trash. some of it is groceries.

i wash 'em now and then when i can't stand 'em. washing and drying is a PITA. everything seems to take so long and is so hard.

Have you heard of Marie Kondo? She said when you can't get rid of an item it is usually because of either an attachment to the past or a fear for the future.

If I knew you well enough (and lived closer obviously) I would force you to let me help you because I would love a decluttering and tidying project.

are you not worried that insects could crawl on your food when you leave it on the floor that is covered with lots of other garbage?

But you have a washing machine, right? if you buy new sheets you should wash them before you use them anyway because of the chemicals. I know drying clothes in a small living space is a PITA because it makes the place more crowded.

^^^^ too many shoulds. What is easy and fun for Marie Kondo et al can be a horror for others.

Solutions simple to some are beyond the pale for others.

gradually i am doing things in the name of simplification, that i wouldn't have dreamt of doing just a few years ago, such as auto-billing some bills.

I feel like there are other options besides lick and wash. Maybe someone else washes them for you or maybe you use a washing machine.

I don't always wash my dishes right away. Sometimes I let them stack for a day or two, but I always eventually wash them with soap and water before re-use.