Domestic fetishes...

[Mrs-M]

I was laughing over a most recent entry made by Miss Cellane, Re: her cat, which immediately prompted me to start this thread.

I personally (to a certain degree) am uncomfortable with the word "fetish", but I think it sums up what this thread is all about. (One select "thing" you simply love doing, domestic related).

For me, that one thing is, folding! I love folding! If it's foldable, please, allow me! How about you?

[maribeth]

You and my 3-year-old, Mrs-M. She is really into helping fold sheets. Then she wants to do the towels and washcloths the same way, with two people and everything.

About two weeks ago, she started begging to bake bread. Where this came from, I do not know, as I have never baked bread before. But we are learning together, and that could be our new domestic "fetish."

[iris lily]

DH is extremely picky about the butter he uses. Because he claims that I get crumbs in the butter, he has his own stash of the stuff.

[Tiam]

Gosh...I don't know that I do...

[Acorn]

Mrs M, I like folding too! There is something very satisfying about a neatly stacked pile of freshly folded laundry. And the futileness of it is just part of the appeal.

[goldensmom]

Table tops have to be clear and things have to be put away where the belong and in proper order. Speaking of folding.... towels, sheets, etc., are folded one way and put away in proper order, by size and color. Now that I think about it, it sounds a bit OCD but in a good way.

[Rosemary]

I am very particular about cleanliness around food prep areas.

[Miss Cellane]

I like to iron. If I'm leaving the house, my clothing has to be ironed. I've worked hard to get to the point that I can laze around the house in an un-ironed shirt. (I like to fold, too, but ironing is my secret pleasure. I love having people over, so I have an excuse to iron table linens.)

Now, other people think my "fetish" is organizing the kitchen cabinets--where things are neatly stored so that you can see easily, at a glance, what's in the cabinet, and retrieve it easily. I don't consider that a fetish. I consider that good organization. (People complain that there's "wasted space" in my cabinets. See the rewards decluttering can get you?)

[jania]

I really like to iron my pillow cases.

[Kestrel]

Yeah, folding towels etc. I don't know why. You'll also find me re-organizing our closets and cupboards and drawers every so often. DH never know where anything is, because I've likely moved it :-D ...

Part of organizing cupboards and drawers, I also save bottles and jars and boxes of all sizes and shapes, because you never know when you'll need one. And, I make boxes to fit whatever I'm needing to keep organized. I like things to fit "just so", so I usually have to make a box to fit.

Washing dishes is not something I seek out, but I do enjoy it because I like to watch TV at the same time. Occupies my mind while my hands are busy. Or just look out the window and "meditate".

[libby]

I iron my pillow cases and also my tshirts. I can't stand wrinkles. I alos love to have my kitchen counters clean and tidy at all times.

[Mrs-M]

Maribeth. Awww... that is so sweet about your daughter.

Iris Lily. LMAO! I love all the funny goings-ons between you and your husband!

Tiam. Not even a one? :)

Acorn. I'm such a fuddy-duddy when it comes to folding. Sometimes (when I'm in the mood and I'm strutting my extra picky self) I'll refold a towel or two or bed sheet (or whatever) if it doesn't fold-up to my standards! :laff:

Goldensmom. I fold and stack (by size and colour), too! And, all folding is done the exact same. Deviating from the normal (with me) is taboo! :laff:

Rosemary. You and me both! Kitchen and bathroom cleanliness is a must in our house.

Miss Cellane. Ironing is a secret pleasure of mine, too. In fact, second to folding, ironing would be my next domestic fetish.

Jania. I may have to give it a try now that you've seeded the idea in me. :)

Serendipity. So funny your husband never knowing where anything is! :) Third on my list of domestic fetishes, washing/drying dishes by hand!

Libby. I cannot function or progress with meal preparation if there's dishes and things on the kitchen counter/sinks.

[Kathy WI]

I like to put things in the same place all the time. The stuff on my dresser has been in the exact same spots for years, some since I was a kid. Same with my desk.

I also love to save jars and boxes, especially cylindrical ones like oatmeal boxes or baking powder boxes.

[loosechickens]

The only one that I can think of is that I MUST have everything in the kitchen clean and put away before I can cook. My sweetie can cheerfully cook in the kitchen of our RV when there are dirty dishes from an earlier snack in the sink, crumbs on the counter, clean dishes in the drainer, etc., but I must put all the clean dishes in the drainer away, and make sure every surface is clear and all is in order before I can commence preparing even so much as a peanut butter sandwich........it's weird, but I do it.

[Mrs-M]

That's awesome, Kathy WI! I'm much the same when it comes to certain things. I find I'm so meticulous when it comes to the organizing and placing of things, I also tend to live by the same for years and years.

Loosechickens. Me too! I simply cannot concentrate or even plan a proper start unless everything is organized, spotless, and clean.

[daisy]

For some reason I really like to make the bed. I don't do it to the military specifications that my dad did, but even if the rest of the room isn't perfect, having a nicely made bed really makes the room look nicer.

And I also insist on crumb-free butter! :)

[Mrs-M]

I'm exactly like you, Daisy. A "made bed" has always made for a much better me! :) Crumb-free butter on the hand, not exactly an easy one to rectify, thanks to having a family of eight! :laff:

[Gardenarian]

Daisy, I also like to make my bed. I've read that it is one of the most important things you can do to make yourself happier.

I also like to vaccuum and sweep. I love clean floors.

[pony mom]

Not really domestic, and not needed in a condo, but I LOVE pulling weeds!! At the farm where I board my horse, there are rocks spread at both barn doors to prevent mud. Unfortunately the weeds are growing through the rocks and out of the hay and barn sweepings. They're so easy to yank out by the roots that I always think "It would just take 10 minutes a day to clean this place up". I find it so relaxing and satisfying.

My pony does his share of weedwacking anytime he can get his head down in that area.

I used to enjoy folding laundry from the spa---I'm THE expert at folding fitted sheets. Now that everyone assumes that I'll do it all I really resent it.

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by Gardenarian.
I love clean floors.NOW, you're talking my language! :)

Pony mom. I know it! That's one of the problems with becoming an "expert". :)

[Float On]

Napkins.
I love the napkins I've made over the years.
I call it 'napkin therapy'.
DH points out the napkins are the only things I'd never declutter.
I've probably made over 300.
And yes...I have decluttered some over the years. Some to the rag box and the antique linen ones I'd collect but never use to a sale.
Infact tonight I think it is time to put away my fall/thanksgiving ones and bring out the christmas ones.
I love to iron them and fold them and keep the ones we're currently using in a big pottery bowl in the center of the table.

[shadowmoss]

My Mom is a person who always changes things around and reorganizes cabinets. One time years ago I went to my parents' house when only my Dad was home. I wanted a peanut butter sandwich and went to the last place she had it stored in the cabinet. Something unrelated lived there now. I asked my Dad, who was also a peanut butter sandwich eater, where it was, and he said he hadn't found it yet. I had to open most of the cabinets in the kitchen before I finally found it again.

I'm more a creature of habit. I tend to leave things in the same place once I find a good one.

[citrine]

I need a clean house....clean floors, counter tops, toilets, etc....I usually clean 3-4 times a week! I also have a habit of clearing off the counters and stuffing things in a drawer that do not belong together....drives my bf crazy!

[treehugger]

I can't really think of any domestic fetishes I have. I do prefer my spices to be in alphabetical order, but that just goes along with general organization and being able to find things. I like to be able to find things; there, that's my domestic fetish!

Kara

[Mrs-M]

That's lovely, Float On. I wish I could go through some of them with you. I was thinking (with such a collection) an old and ornate vitrine would make for the perfect addition in your home to display them.

Shadowmoss. When it comes to kitchen organization and storage, pretty much everything I have placed either in drawers or in the cupboards, has remained the same for eternity. Having a smaller kitchen has definitely helped aid in that, but still...

Citrine. Me too! You and I would for superb cleaning friends. :)

Treehugger. The area where I keep all my spices is a smaller space, so I'm unable to alphabetically organize my spice selection, but if I had a new more modern kitchen with actual slide-out spice racks, look out! :laff:

[treehugger]

Treehugger. The area where I keep all my spices is a smaller space, so I'm unable to alphabetically organize my spice selection, but if I had a new more modern kitchen with actual slide-out spice racks, look out! :laff:

I definitely don't have a modern kitchen, but my MIL (we bought the house from her) had installed spice racks on the inside of two tall cupboard doors. They are very narrow shelves (so that the doors can still close) and are the perfect size for one row of spice bottles. Very organized. :)

Kara

[Mrs-M]

I may eventually end up doing the same, Treehugger. That, or have DH build me something. Re: arranging spices alphabetically, I need to do this, because whenever I need something I find myself rummaging through bottle after bottle in search of the right one. PITA!

[Acorn]

Citrine, I like a clean and organized house too. I guess simply enjoying domestic chores is a bit of a fetish. A well stocked and organized pantry, a stack of folded cloth napkins, freshly laundered bed linens, freshly swept floors - I like it all.

I was recently chatting to a neighbor who decided to leave her job to be a stay at home mom to her 3 kids and she was lamenting to me how boring she is finding it. She was aghast to learn I actually enjoy housework. :)

[IshbelRobertson]

I cannot go to bed without plumping up cushions, straightening chairs to their 'correct' (by my reckoning!) positions and ensuring books/magazines are stacked into the magazine rack or neat piles. Also that the kitchen is completely tidy with all washing up put in the dishwasher or into cupboards and worktops absolutely of any extraneous stuff.

[Mrs-M]

Acorn. "Housework = clean = reward", a simple enough idea, yet I still can't convince my old self that I love housework. :) But one thing is for sure, I sure do love the end result!!!

Ishbel. Ditto on the kitchen being all tidied up prior to "Z" time. The thought of waking to a mess would for surely bring on nightmares for me...

[Sissy]

I absolutely must have the doors closed to any rooms not being used. That way you won't see any of my non-fetishes :)

[IshbelRobertson]

Oh, Sissy.... if it were only THAT easy for us slightly OCD people!

[Mrs-M]

LOL, Sissy. :)

Ishbel, you took the words right out of my mouth.

[Mrs-M]

Bump!

Loved this thread!

Newcomers, post your domestic fetishes!

[KayLR]

Float On...we're soulsisters! I love ironing my handmade and antique napkins as well. I also share the alphabetical spice jar fetish. AND my greatest fetish---clean windows. I absolutely abhor gummy, spotty, dusty, dirty windows. I wash them any time of year.

[Mrs-M]

Originally posted by KayLRZ.
I absolutely abhor gummy, spotty, dusty, dirty windows.And icky tracks! One of my biggest pet-peeves!

[Mighty Frugal]

Fun thread! All my fetishes are ones already mentioned
1. I NEED to put everything back in its proper place. Scotch tape goes here, envelopes there, scissors over there and if you borrow them return to the right place!!! Keys always in tray in hallway, purse beside, you get the picture...very OCD!

2. I can't leave the house unless ALL beds are made. And when dh makes them, I give a snort and remake them (you wouldn't believe what he considers a made bed!):~)

3. After a party or get together everything must be cleaned and put back to its proper place (see rule #1) before I can go to bed. Nothing worse than waking up to a mess. I must wake up to a clean home

Even when I watch TV or a movie where someone is freaking out and throws all the dishes on the floor, or sweeps all knickknacks off shelf-anything that makes a mess..I outwardly groan...I HATE messes!!!

I also like dusting

[BayouGirl]

Oh dear, there is nothing like the confessions and shared joys of ocd housekeepers to make me feel guilty for the slacker that I am. (Well not guilty enough to actually change my ways though, lol.)

I am a slacker extraordinaire but this probably comes as a normal rebellion against my OCD gram who I lived with a lot as a child. Now she is 92 and I go and spend weeks with her as her caretaker. She is frustrated that at 92 she can't clean like she is used to. Her house is immaculate though, like a museum. She has me "broken in" so I already know what not to touch and what not to do but it would drive anyone else nuts.

She still has the capacity to drive me nuts though. Bills are paid the minute she gets them out the box. An incorrect bill will send her into a tizzy so I handle those. She is so worried about her credit report yet she is 92 and has ample money. I told her that if I were her, instead of fussing with those who send an incorrect bill, I would call them and tell them that she is 92 and they can put her in credit hell if they like but they ain't getting paid. I told her she needs to learn to tell people to eff off. (The woman that I was on the phone with, concerning the incorrect bill, laughed and agreed!) But I digress.......

At this moment, as I write this, my house looks like a bomb went off in here but I'm not worried. It'll get cleaned, it isn't like the mess is going anywhere. I'll get on my cleaning kick and go ocd for a day or so then collapse in exhaustion and satisfaction. I do like staying up all night cleaning, then going to sleep and waking up to a clean house.

Make my bed everyday? But WHY? I'm gonna be in it a lot of the time anyway. It is my home office when I work and where I retreat to to get away from BayouBoy and his obsession with watching TV without hearing my incessant yammering. Oh I do straighten the comforter and have to adjust the fitted sheet daily because as BayouBoy says I wallow in that bed like a hippo in mud but that's about it (nothing worse than having a fitted sheet pop up in the middle of the night).

But BayouBoy was raised well and knows how to cook/clean and will even do his own laundry. But I feel like I should do those things as a stay at home spouse. I like being a stay at home person but I am not crazy about cooking or cleaning so one might wonder what the heck I am staying home for. I am not cut out for a career in the domestic arts, obviously. MY gram told me when I was a kid that no man would ever marry me because I didn't know how to close the shower curtain properly. I am happy to report that my lack of skill or concern in the area of shower curtain closing has not hampered my love life in any way.

I don't even like to cook. I have always been blessed with men who love to cook and Italian mothers in law who see cooking as a joy and feeding folks as their main goal in life.

But if I ever feel depressed about the state of my house or lack of enthusiasm, I can always watch an episode of hoarders for a quick ego boost. I guess the reason why I like a small house is because it takes less time to clean and with limited space, everything should have a place (not that it is always IN its place).

Once upon a time I dated and lived with an OCD man. He thought I was appalling because I was "shoey" which means I wore shoes in the house and even had them on my bed. Meanwhile a mere shoe touching the bedsheets was enough to send him scurrying to buy NEW sheets because he couldn't sleep on "shoey" ones. BayouBoy also doesn't like shoes in the house but he isn't THAT bad about it

Well it takes all kinds to make up a world so I am fine with OCD people as well as slackers like myself. May I redeem myself domestically by saying that I can sew, crochet,and other such domestic arts?

On a side note, if any of you lovely ladies, drops by my house and finds me not at home and the house a wreck, do feel free to come in and clean to your heart's content. The door is always open. Perhaps we can have a slumber party at my house one weekend?

[Tussiemussies]

I too before cooking have to have my kitchen totally clean. There have been times when that also meant that the floor had to be washed too. I like things organized but have a few spots that I keep messy, like mt desk. I used to like doing laundry, putting starch in the rinse cycle and hanging out the clothes. I like when my husband's shirts come out nice and crisp!:)

[Selah]

I love doing laundry. I also don't feel the day is "right" if I don't make my bed in the morning.

[Mrs-M]

Clap, clap, clap! I LOVE you guys!!!

Me, too, to everything you mentioned, Mighty Frugal, aside from dusting. I love the end result of dusting, but the actual process of, not.

BayouGirl. I envy types like yourself (those who find comfort and joy in not worrying/fretting over little things)! Cheers to you! :) P.S. Slumber party at BayouGirl's house, awesome! I'm in!!!

Tussie. Me, too! Aside from a general feeling of unsanitary (related to dishes sitting around), meal preparation tends to become a disorganized headache!

Selah. Me, too! "Made beds", make me! Chaos, weighs me down and disables me.

[herbgeek]

I must admit, there are no household chores that I enjoy. I find housework a pain, and drudgery. I do it because my husband is even more of a slob than I am. I do what I have to do as quick as possible, so that I can get on to stuff I enjoy. When I read housework threads on this board, I feel even worse about my house keeping because I discover a whole other world of things I never even thought to clean, on top of the world of things I know I need to clean but procrastinate on.

That said, dirty floors bug me and dirty bathroom vanity tops and mirrors bug me, and I will take care of those more often than other domestic chores. My house is typically picked up, and looks presentable if someone dropped in but for me its a have-to-do not a want-to-do. I envy Mrs M who takes pleasure in this, I never could.

I do however like organizing and coming up with systems, so I guess I do have my fetishes. I would be lost without my label maker.

[SteveinMN]

Hmm. I think a lot of housekeeping fetishes were killed off in my first marriage. :~) Let's just say that our organizational skills did not mesh well.

I suppose the one thing that really drives me crazy but does not seem to bother anyone else in the world is that loudspeakers are not furniture despite their location and appearance. We have two very nice mahogany speakers in the living room and I can't stand to see them used as resting places for houseplants or coffee cups or charging iPods. Any other piece of furniture in the house, fine. But not the speakers.

I'm also a great fan of processing what comes into the house. Mail? What should be recycled gets recycled, magazines/newspapers go into the reading basket, bills go to their special place, filing gets filed. I've roomed with too many people who create this little paper tornado as they bring in the mail and it ends up everywhere. Groceries -- well, at least the frozen and refrigerated get put away immediately even if everything else has to wait. The other stuff -- it all has its place and the sooner it finds it, the happier I am.

[Mrs-M]

Herbgeek. I also envy you. :) I believe being able to say, "ack... it can wait for another day", or, "I'll tackle it when I get around to it", is a powerful thing. I don't have it.

SteveinMN. Ditto, speakers. I really like the way you said what you did Re: them... "loudspeakers are not furniture". Not many things can ugly-up a room quite like a set of boxy speakers.