Friday, June 28, 2013

Compulsions



I think we all have them.  Whether we are born with them or they come about because of our lives, we feel compelled to do something a certain way at a certain time.  We react in a certain way to certain people.  Some compulsions are stronger than others.  Some people can control their compulsions...but  if they are accepted by society, some of us find we must do them or explode.

My compulsion is cleaning and beautifying.  I can live in a fairly messy, dusty house for months on end, but if company is coming I must get every dust bunny and streak and errant article of clothing out of sight.  If company is coming to stay...and if company is family...then I cannot control my whirling dervish energy dust bunny.  Yes, I can get a little testy during these times, but I think I try to realize that others are not as crazed with such goals as I, and I let them go cower somewhere until I am back to normal.

For instance, I took the leaf blower and blew our the garage yesterday.  But that was not enough, because I then attached an ammonia cleanser to the hose and washed down the inside windows, the garage door, the garage floor and the steps to the house.  I straightened all the garage shelves and garden shoe and boot piles and assorted odds and ends by the entry.  Yes, I could have rearranged all the shelves in the garage and not just the most visible and really do it up proud, but I found my finished work acceptable.

As my 'fans' know (and the rest will have to catch up) I will be leaving for the wedding soon and bringing relatives back to the empty house after five days away.  This presents a challenge regarding food.  What can I prepare ahead of time and leave in freezer or fridge?  Do I arrange the cut flowers for the bedrooms before I go, or will they all be wilted and petal-dropped when I return.  Thus, do I make a quick cutting trip to the garden while guests unpack on the late afternoon of our return?  Perhaps, since I am an early riser, I can cut and arrange small bouquets the next morning before breakfast?  I have checked the soaps and shampoos and conditioners.

I will have laundered every single floor rug that can be washed.  The rest are vacuumed to within an inch of their nap.  Yesterday I hose washed the outside of all the windows and showered away the webs in corners.

Today I will select the CDs that are most appropriate for dining and pleasant conversation and have them ready in the player for our return.  I have purchased a case of red and a case of white wine, a little more expensive than the wine I buy for myself.  I need to buy beer, but am at a loss, as I don't drink it.

Now I am wondering if I should go through my shoes and straighten those...just kidding.

Some of us have compulsions of a more personal nature...like watching that television series at a certain time, arranging the remote and coffee cup just so each morning,  combing their little boys hair in a certain way before he races outdoors, feeding the cat the exact homemade food formula, or insisting on sorting and reading the mail/newspaper first in the household.  Think about it a minute.  What are your compulsions? 


17 comments:

  1. I wish I had some of your energy so I could clean a bit of my house. :)

    I am trying hard to think of my compulsions. LOL! The only thing that comes to mind is the toilet paper must go "over" and not under.

    Laughing out loud! If this is all I can come up with???

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  2. As you are compulsively cleaning and arranging, you are painting the canvas for the way you guests will experience your day to day reality. I get it! A lackluster extra bedroom bedroom became a delightful cottage retreat as I prepared for my sister's visit...since that visit, my reality appreciates the charm of that room every day. Your guests will never know how much work and thought you put into every detail of their visit, but I know they will be impressed with their experience of your lovely home and hospitality! As for my identified compulsions: coffee ASAP after getting out of bed each morning.

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  3. Haha! I'm laughing with you, not at you. Especially since I am the same way. I have similar quirks. My best friend and her family are coming from Oklahoma tomorrow and will be staying with us for 4 nights. I am in my mad cleaning frenzy even though her family are not neatniks. At all. Even if my house were "a mess" they would probably think it was spotless. Still. I would be mortified if people came to my dirty house. I usually try to keep it pretty clean because, what if someone just stops over?????? ACK!
    I am also a "everything has it's place" kind of a person. I've been trying to let that go a bit because with 4 small children stuff is always lying around. It drives me crazy but I'm working on it. ;)

    I think your guests will be cutting you some slack since they know you will have been gone for a week, and that you've been pretty busy. Don't stress yourself out about it. Just enjoy!

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  4. Doing my morning routine in a specific order. Everyone has compultions. These, as i tell my kids, are stronger than habits, which can be made and broken. If you've tried to break it for years at a time and can't resist going back every time, it's a compulsion, not just a habit.

    Then i explain that even people without OCD have a few compulsions, we can't help it, and it's not a disorder if it doesn't interfere with people's lives.

    And my other compulsion is explaing things beyond reason! Thus i edit most of the time and get rid of all the excess, but it has to come out.

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  5. I have only one compulsion that I can think of. When getting ready to leave the house I check the burners on the gas stove.

    I host a music night once a month and clean madly for that occasion starting with watering house plants, mowing the yard and doing laundry. Then it's dusting and floors and..... Anyway, it's good to have guests once a month, it gets the house pretty clean. It's a large open party so I never know for sure who or how many are coming and that really spurs on the cleaning.

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  6. I'm in the midst of doing the same, my sister and her daughter are arriving late this afternoon. I see this as a good thing. Who knows what condition my house would get into if no one came to stay ;-)

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  7. Your energy is amazing. My compulsion prompts me to avoid housework whenever possible.

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  8. I'm not thinking about my compulsions. But I wouldn't mind being a house guest at your place!
    (:
    (Only kidding. I wouldn't pull anything like that on you.)

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  9. What a whirlwind of cleaning and preparing! I thought I cleaned today to get ready for guests, but nothing compared to what you've done. Should I go look at my garage?I think not! Hopefully, my guests won't inspect it either. Enjoy your son's wedding.

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  10. An easy one was the newspaper. I hate reading it after my husband, because it is all messed up. I want it to look exactly like it did before it was read.

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  11. Gosh, I loved this post. I could so identify with your compulsion and also the fact that others in the house don't have the same approach to life. Woe betide anyone who sloppily arranges a towel after I have arranged them smartly in the bathroom for our guests!
    I suppose my other compulsion is photographing certain things like butterflies. Even though I have hundreds and hundreds of butterfly pictures I will still grab my camera and stalk it if I see one. I think it's some cave man hunter instinct coming through!!

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  12. watching TV while doing the computer! Ha
    That is just one of many
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  13. RYN: Crafty things are art. So there.

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  14. No flowers....they will just be rotten messes in every room. Plants....water well before you leave. You are so funny. I too over clean when visitors are expected. Cleaning afterwards makes so much sense, but it isn't functional as you have to do that anyway.

    Compulsions. For many years I had to make my bed. Now I just pull up the covers. I really do have to have a clean bathroom before taking a bath.

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  15. I guess my compulsions are to take my vitamin and pills in the morning, drink some vitamin waterZero lemonade before lunch with a bagel and to be on the computer every single solitary day for way too many hours. Not to mention that I HAVE to have piles of books to read so I can relax.

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  16. you wanna come work your compulsion on my house? it could use it in the wake of my surgery. and thanks so much for your kind wishes.

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  17. Playing catchup here. Sounds like the wedding will be a wonderfully festive occasion no matter who does or does not come. I had to laugh at your cleaning compulsions - I could have written that post!

    I use the same tea cup every day; a replacement for the previous favorite which was broken (that put me in tears! At my age!) and I always, always set a placemat at the table even if it's just me eating there, which is usually the case.

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