Let's talk about thresholds and baselines!

[Ronni]

And no, I'm not talking about doors or baseball!

I'm referring to those personal boundaries, standards, bottom lines that we all have in our lives, in all areas, that are indications of our own tolerances for activities or things, those delineations beyond which we will not go. And there's no right or wrong about any of them, there's just differences between one person and the next.

In the shower this morning, it hit me that I only ever wash my face once a day, in the morning, in the shower, unless I wear makeup (infrequently) and I won't go to bed with makeup on. Otherwise it's daily in the shower. Even if I don't shower that day (very seldom) I will STILL wash my face and put on moisturizer. I know other folks who religiously wash their face morning and evening without fail.

My threshold for dirty dishes in the sink is essentially zero, unless I'm soaking a particularly gnarly pan. Otherwise a dish gets used, it gets rinsed and put in the dishwasher or hand washed as needed. My daughter on the other hand will have her double sink PILED with dishes, accumulating as the day progresses, until she loads and runs the dishwasher which she does once a day.

My baseline for cleanliness and order is high in my own home. Other people's homes I don't even notice, but my own? I know it is. I'm pretty anal. If more than a couple things accumulate on the counter, coffee table, Ron's night stand, the laundry room counter, in my car etc., it bugs the ever-loving you-know-what out of me till the extras are put away. I have friends though whose baselines are far different, and their counter tops and coffee tables are accumulations of whatever, which they have no problem with until they reach THEIR baseline, at which point they'll go into a flurry of activity to get the areas cleaned up.

Ron will let months pass before tending to disorder in his shop (even while working in there) but can't STAND his office area to be out of order. So his baseline for order is environment-dependent which I find fascinating. On the other hand, I'll go for the whole year shoving tax-sensitive papers in a big bin, only sorting them when it's time to do my taxes. Ron has all his stuff organized week to week, so HIS tax prep is a couple hours whereas mine is a couple days!

I'm just fascinated by the differences in people with their own personal thresholds and baselines. Tell me about yours!

 

[Pinky]

A place for everything, and, everything in its place. That way, nothing gets misplaced. I've never been one to accumulate a lot of "stuff", so, that also helps.

Never have dishes pile up. Like you, dishes, cups, etc. get rinsed immediately and stacked in the dishwasher. I don't like clutter, in the kitchen or anywhere else.

I wash my face in the shower in the morning, and at the sink, every night before bed. In summer, I sometimes wash my face in the afternoon if I've been perspiring.

 

[cdestroyer]

ha ha ha...have let dishes pile up to the point it smelled rather bad,,,even had my mother visit oncet and wanted to cook a meal and had to wash the dishes first.....piles of crap on the desktop, i.e. usb cables, paid/unpaid bills, usb drives, inhalers, pens/pencils note pads......bathing is a chore due to my breathing problems so it is a bit lax....cat box litter is changed often cause she really does stink.....

 

[cdestroyer]

as to thresholds personal boundaries, there are things in that category that will stun and awe you and dare I say probably unfit to be posted herein,,

 

[MarciKS]

I used to be more finicky about housework but anymore I've been so exhausted from work that I mainly focus on the important stuff. The rest gets done when I have vacation or if I'm bored.

Dishes get done when I get time.

I do however hate the filth at work and will often scrub things down with my free time because it grosses me out. I used to be more picky about things being done just so and not so much anymore. Now I figure as long as the same end goal is reached it doesn't matter how I got there. As long as it produces the same result. Coworkers don't like that. It has to be a certain way or they throw a fit.

I don't like not being able to find things so disarray tends to annoy me. Things being in ridiculous places like they will hang a super long whisk or tongs on a hook that fixes it so it bonks me in the head while I'm chopping veggies and that really sets me off. One day I grabbed the whisk and threw it on the floor. LOL

 

[Aunt Bea]

There is really no rhyme or reason.

I like things neat and orderly but the cleaning has been known to slide.

I do dishes several times a day and try to keep the counter clutter free but I have a bookcase loaded with vintage kitchen stuff.

I keep up with the laundry but I wear old comfortable clothes and dress like a down at the heels scarecrow.

I keep editing my possessions but I still have one room that resembles Fibber McGee’s closet.

The good news is that I’m the only that I need to please and believe me that helps a lot.

 

[win231]

In the past, I let too many dishes pile up in the sink. I realized that it's too big a job to wash that many & it's easier to wash 3 or 4 dishes than 10. (I don't use a dishwasher).
Several years ago, I got a big surprise when I had salad with beans & left the bowl in the sink for 3 or 4 days. A couple of the beans sprouted.
After I was through laughing, I thought, "Hmmmm, bean sprouts are supposed to be healthy; in a few weeks, I could have had a big pile........"

 

[raybar]

Several years ago, I got a big surprise when I had salad with beans & left the bowl in the sink for 3 or 4 days. A couple of the beans sprouted.

I cut into a tomato a while back and found numerous little green shoots coming out of the seeds. Now we have some tomato plants producing the same tasteless tomatoes they sell at the market.

 

[Gaer]

Wow Ronni! I'm the opposite! Kinda neat and organized, kinda messy. NO boundaries! Sometimes I'm reading three books at the same time, or painting three pictures at the same time. Maybe I'm writing a book. or sculpting! (creative binges) Other times my surroundings are spotless.
My thoughts are not concerned with any of these Earthly things! I notice I do like changing things around though!
No limits. I'm pretty open to constant change, learning new ways, doing things differently.