I just visited some young people in their twenties, and their home was extremely messy.
I have to admit that myself, I surely had a much less orderly home when I was at that age, twenty years ago.
Is it a youth thing? Do people only start to desire order at a mature age? And why do they start desiring it? What changed?
Update, related: when did "thinking about what to do with your life" become something you start doing when you turn thirty?
Update: Aniko wrote:
Don't worry: it is not age! It is subculture. Really.
And the intellectual / working class distinction does not apply here. Anyway, I think it doesn't exist any more either. There are innumerable subcultures out there... :-) There was even a very nice tv series about english "tribes".
Well, if you don't often meet young women in their twenties, you may generalize this experience... Please don't. :-) [note: good warning, because funny enough the last set of young women I knew were living in the same apartment, and they were also spectacularly messy.]
I am sure I would have felt an alien, and my 22 years old sister and my 9 years old brother would have felt alien too... :-)
It is possible that there is a specific english subculture. I don't know. But it is certainly not about people being of a certain age...
Or... well, I guess the people who need to have a drastically messy period in their life will have it in their early twenties. But the people who don't need it won't have it.
Anyway... It must have been a funny experience. People usually think they have to go very far to meet a totally different culture. Though, quite often, you just need to cross your doorstep... :-)
I was a complete slob until I was around 19 or so. Then, overnight (quite literally) I cleaned out my room and straightened things up. I still prefer order to a certain extent, although I always hook up with women who are very messy. That tends to thwart my efforts.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's an individual thing. I've become messier as I've grown older. I live alone, so I don't have to cater to anyone else's distaste for the mess. Of course, maybe that's why I live alone.
ReplyDeleteI live alone too, but I like things fairly orderly. I dislike unwashed dishes in the sink, or clutter left around. Like Kent, I've hasd a couple of messy mates, leading to messy divorces. Maybe it takes us a while to realize what we really do
ReplyDeletewant in our lives, and to also realize that if we want things neat,
life is usually a do-it-yourself job.
I don't know about everyone else, but for me, I guess it's sort of an indifference to the mess. Whenever I'm done with something, I'm in the habit of dropping it where I am and forgetting about it. Or if I finish a can of soda, I just throw over my shoulder and let it land wherever. I don't clean up until the mess just starts to overwhelm me(or starts blocking my way to certain areas).
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't mind it, I like things to look a little disordered. Of course, all that's a little at odds with other traits that are almost obsessive-compulsive, but that's another story. :P
Energy; priorities; busy schedules; kids; pets. Need I say more? lol! In my life, I've been running at *full throttle* since I was in my teens...until now (Eo's age): either makin' the money or...prioritizing according to what needed to get done and how much time; money; and energy would be expended. And then, of course, there are the years, when everything slows down, and you are doing the baby-step paces of the early development of children...until they are up and running and ready to get into...everything that is taller than a grasshopper! lol! And, actually...come to think of it...throw the grasshopper into the mix, too! lol! ;-)
ReplyDeleteAnd...then there are the husbands that were coddled by their mothers who...*in that era* did everything for them but teach them how to clean up after themselves and...depending on how many children you have, add the husband into the count and you have that total number of people (not forgetting to add self, of course! lol!) that you end up cleaning up after...because it tends to be easier than *repeated friendly reminders* to clean up behind themselves.
I'm looking forward to more independence, though. The messes get difficult to keep up with...especially as you age.
I'm looking forward, somewhat, to an *empty nest* and retirement, although I try to look beyond the messes and enjoy the time that I have w/my kids, now. I happen to LOVE when everything is nice, neat, and...clean. Just not always feasible, I've come to realize, when there is more than oneself and everyone has their own ideas as to what *clean* looks like! :-)
I find a certain messiness leads to creativity, if you let the mess build up for a while when you do tidy there is something new there that you wouldnt have found otherwise. Thats my excuse anyway.
ReplyDelete... when did "thinking about what to do with your life" become something you start doing when you turn thirty?
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone needs to kick their ass (YouTube).
I agree with you Sukiho. Now, if I only could get my wife to agree with you. That would certainly make my life easier.
ReplyDeleteOf course, tripping over the "creative" stuff is bothersom at times.
I guess when you start tripping its a sign that its time to tidy up, and really tidy places are the best to make a mess in anyway.
ReplyDelete"the last set of young women I knew were living in the same apartment, and they were also spectacularly messy."
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's the apartment that's cursed?...
"The cursed messy alien babe on my doorstep", now that could make an interesting movie...
"Neatness: sure sign of a sick mind." - poster quoting Sigmung Freud. Presumedly.
But it IS true that there's a psychological pathology 'bout being overly orderly, "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder"(!), while being a slob has no meaning to an objective medical practitioner.
:-)