Are Aspies clean or messy?
Do you keep a clean spotless living environment, or do you have piles of stuff everywhere, or somewhere in between? Me? I'm pretty cluttered, and my wife is a tidy person; I drive her nuts.
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We are not so different from potted plants in that, if given everything we need to be properly nourished, the outcome can be incredibly contrary to when we are not. A flower won't grow in flour, and neither can we.
It varies. When I'm focusing on special interests my living space can become disastrously untidy. But when I decide to clean, I apply the same amount of focus.
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"My personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair." - Steel Magnolias
Your neurodiverse (Aspie) score: 159 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 75 of 200
You are very likely neurodiverse (Aspie)
btbnnyr
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Joined: 18 May 2011
Gender: Female
Posts: 7,359
Location: Lost Angleles Carmen Santiago
Papers and markers everywhere.
But if things are put away and I can't see where they are, it takes me months to find them.
When they're nice and spread out across every surface in my room, I can see at a glance what's where.
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"You mortals are a hoot! I hate hoots."
-Sheogorath
CockneyRebel
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Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Age: 49
Gender: Male
Posts: 116,699
Location: In my little Olympic World of peace and love
I didn't answer the poll question, because I wasn't sure which one fits me best.
When I'm at work, I am obsessive about keeping the desk area tidy. Everything have to be in just the right place, and everything should be straight. I usually spend the first 5 minutes of my shift tidying up after the person who worked before me.
At home, in nearly all areas of the house, I'm the same way. I always clean up after myself, and always put things back just as they were.
Then, there's my room.
You know that expression "it looks like a bomb went off in here?" That expression was invented to describe my bedroom. For whatever reason, I have the hardest time keeping my room clean. There's always stuff laying around everywhere! I have probably 15 empty soda cans in there right now, clean clothes piled on the floor and at the foot of my bed, mail on the floor or spread out across my desk, etc.
I think the problem is that I'm a bit of a hoarder, and I have way too much stuff to fit in my room, and a lot of that stuff doesn't have a particular 'place', like the things in the rest of my house do, so I get stressed out and overloaded thinking of where I should put something, so I just toss it on the floor. When it gets to the point where I can't safely navigate from the door to my bed, I'll clean; and when I clean, it's SERIOUS. I spend hours sorting, organizing and throwing away. When I start sorting, I'll often discover something I haven't seen in a while, and I'll get distracted away from cleaning. Sometimes I'll decide to re-organize my Blu-ray shelf, which is probably the lowest priority to getting my room in living condition. It's definitely a full day event. Unfortunately, the longest I maintain the resulting super cleanliness is around two weeks. Birthdays and Christmas make this worse, because I get new things and don't know where to put them.
_________________
Aspie Quiz: AS - 141/200, NT - 77/200 (Very likely an Aspie)
AQ: 34/50 (Aspie range)
EQ: 32 / SQ: 68 (Extreme Systemizing / AS or HFA)
Diagnosed with AS and Anxiety Disorder - NOS on 03/21/2012
When I'm at work, I am obsessive about keeping the desk area tidy. Everything have to be in just the right place, and everything should be straight. I usually spend the first 5 minutes of my shift tidying up after the person who worked before me.
At home, in nearly all areas of the house, I'm the same way. I always clean up after myself, and always put things back just as they were.
Then, there's my room.
You know that expression "it looks like a bomb went off in here?" That expression was invented to describe my bedroom. For whatever reason, I have the hardest time keeping my room clean. There's always stuff laying around everywhere! I have probably 15 empty soda cans in there right now, clean clothes piled on the floor and at the foot of my bed, mail on the floor or spread out across my desk, etc.
I think the problem is that I'm a bit of a hoarder, and I have way too much stuff to fit in my room, and a lot of that stuff doesn't have a particular 'place', like the things in the rest of my house do, so I get stressed out and overloaded thinking of where I should put something, so I just toss it on the floor. When it gets to the point where I can't safely navigate from the door to my bed, I'll clean; and when I clean, it's SERIOUS. I spend hours sorting, organizing and throwing away. When I start sorting, I'll often discover something I haven't seen in a while, and I'll get distracted away from cleaning. Sometimes I'll decide to re-organize my Blu-ray shelf, which is probably the lowest priority to getting my room in living condition. It's definitely a full day event. Unfortunately, the longest I maintain the resulting super cleanliness is around two weeks. Birthdays and Christmas make this worse, because I get new things and don't know where to put them.
I think your post qualifies you for the piles vote, in my opinion. It's what you do most of the time that best defines you.
_________________
We are not so different from potted plants in that, if given everything we need to be properly nourished, the outcome can be incredibly contrary to when we are not. A flower won't grow in flour, and neither can we.
I am a clutterer, so every shelf and drawer in my room is filled with stuff. I think I'm a borderline hoarder. I've got a lot of videos on my shelves even though I have brought the DVDs of the same films, but I don't like to throw away the videos because I feel sorry for the people who have brought me the videos in the past. Plus I feel sorry for the videos.
I'm not as messy as some people though, but I'm not as tidy as some people either.
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Female
When I'm at work, I am obsessive about keeping the desk area tidy. Everything have to be in just the right place, and everything should be straight. I usually spend the first 5 minutes of my shift tidying up after the person who worked before me.
At home, in nearly all areas of the house, I'm the same way. I always clean up after myself, and always put things back just as they were.
Then, there's my room.
You know that expression "it looks like a bomb went off in here?" That expression was invented to describe my bedroom. For whatever reason, I have the hardest time keeping my room clean. There's always stuff laying around everywhere! I have probably 15 empty soda cans in there right now, clean clothes piled on the floor and at the foot of my bed, mail on the floor or spread out across my desk, etc.
I think the problem is that I'm a bit of a hoarder, and I have way too much stuff to fit in my room, and a lot of that stuff doesn't have a particular 'place', like the things in the rest of my house do, so I get stressed out and overloaded thinking of where I should put something, so I just toss it on the floor. When it gets to the point where I can't safely navigate from the door to my bed, I'll clean; and when I clean, it's SERIOUS. I spend hours sorting, organizing and throwing away. When I start sorting, I'll often discover something I haven't seen in a while, and I'll get distracted away from cleaning. Sometimes I'll decide to re-organize my Blu-ray shelf, which is probably the lowest priority to getting my room in living condition. It's definitely a full day event. Unfortunately, the longest I maintain the resulting super cleanliness is around two weeks. Birthdays and Christmas make this worse, because I get new things and don't know where to put them.
I think your post qualifies you for the piles vote, in my opinion. It's what you do most of the time that best defines you.
But, outside of my room, I'm obsessively neat; and I do mean OBSESSIVE. I can't function in clutter, or when things are out of place. I think it's important to note that I'm rarely in my bedroom, not unless I'm sleeping. It's almost like it's a storage closet. I get mad at my stepbrother for leaving messes around the house all the time. I usually only eat with paper plates and plastic forks, because I can't stand for there to be spots on dishes. I go around the house straigthening knick-knacks. I think by nature I'm quite neat and organized, as messes and clutter completely distress me (that's why I don't spend time in my room).
In summary, when things have a place and I know where they are supposed to be, I am obsessive in making sure they are back where they belong. However, when it comes to my room and having to FIND places for things, I can't seem to do that, so things just end up on the floor. My books and Blu-rays, which have special shelves, are always organized.
So, I'm both surgically sterile and have piles of crap everywhere.
_________________
Aspie Quiz: AS - 141/200, NT - 77/200 (Very likely an Aspie)
AQ: 34/50 (Aspie range)
EQ: 32 / SQ: 68 (Extreme Systemizing / AS or HFA)
Diagnosed with AS and Anxiety Disorder - NOS on 03/21/2012
Mindslave
Veteran
Joined: 14 Nov 2010
Age: 36
Gender: Male
Posts: 2,034
Location: Where the wild things wish they were
It depends on the last time I cleaned up. Since my parents were always neurotic neat freaks, I learned to keep things somewhat tidy, but I never keep things tidier than they have to be, because that would make me like them or something. I just want to make sure I know where everything I need is located, not make it presentable for somebody else who probably won't care in the first place.
It goes back and forth between lived in, and piles of papers all over. Every so often I hunt the messes down and kill them off into the garbage. Usually find a few unpaid bills when i do. I really don't like a kitchen to be messy; that is kept clean and tidy. Over the past few years I've gotten rid of piles of junk that I was hanging on to for no good reason. So the place is much easier to live in now.
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Be.
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