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Is anyone really dirty

Moonhart44

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
I know a trope trait of people with autism is being incredulously clean, but i also read that people with asd reallly have polarizing traits. I am horribly dirty, horribly clumsy, horribly cluttered. I dont see any logic in being clean honestly. if the dirty is bound to come again, why do i have to clean? why clean when i can work out? why clean when i can meal prep? why clean when i can draw or play games? I dont care and i only "clean" because it bothers other people. sometimes i even find it shallow to focus on cleanliness so much. regardless of all this, i know that this is not a normal feeling and that i need to be cleaner. i recently bought some organizing stuff like agendas and calendars to try and help me, as well as a timer

does anyone relate to this feeling?
 
Ehhh.... somewhat.

I'm clean in terms of washing. The point being to destroy germs and prevent getting sick (or getting anyone else sick). Even moreso with the current situation. Mostly this means washing my hands and face. I do wash my hands alot and I'm very, very careful about what I touch. Not so good about scrubbing other than that though, depends on how spaced out I am while showering. My feet are never clean though due to rarely wearing socks/shoes and my tendency to just walk through basically anything. Callused, you see. I'll absolutely stomp through jagged rocks or shells or mulch or whatever. Only thing I wont walk through is dog turds or something like that. Well, not on purpose anyway.

But in terms of organization? Ye gods, no. I'm bad at that. You should see what happens to a hotel room after I've been in it for like 5 hours. Looks like something exploded. Not on purpose, mind you. It just sorta happens. My own room is even worse, as is my desk here in the basement. And my idea of "organizing" is "put it wherever".

Never seen much purpose in organizing. Whether my books and gizmos are in neat stacks, or a hideous tangled clump, doesnt magically cover them in germs or anything. Though also I'm way too spacey to be organized.
 
Took me until late thirties to not hate cleaning. I always washed though, I can't sleep if dirty and dirty hair makes me feel depressed. It's stuff you have to do on autopilot, don't think about it, just do it.
 
A lot of people do stuff like cleaning just for the sake of it, or because it's what one is supposed to do, rather than out of real necessity. There are many things that people do that, in my opinion at least, aren't really necessary... such as making their bed. I never make my bed. Why? I'm only going to undo it again. Or ironing certain garments. I rarely iron anything, because, what's the point? If I don't clean for a while, a layer of dust builds up and becomes very noticeable, then I start to think, time to clean. But it needs to be visible and obvious before I decide it needs to be done. And I'm messy. Tidying my things away is not a priority, though ironically, other people's excessive clutter stresses me out. I'm quite hygienic, but not always 'clean' by other people's standards (last sentence edited for clarity)
 
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Hello, Friend! It is rare to find people to admit to that. It's always, "Oh yeah, I'm a messy....." I like you and your honesty. Grime on, friend :)

I have heard that, "A Clean House in the sign of a misspent life" but the person who had it still cleaned....
 
Hi i'm am the opposite end, i seem to need order of my stuff to feel calm and be at ease with my environment and self, all things have their place and.... order order order relieves my anxiety and stress levels, same with keeping myself clean, degrees of OCD prehaps, not a problem ATM as i live alone but soooo was when i've had 'live in' relationships during my life.
 
Everything goes in a specific place but apparently it all just appears to be strewn randomly in whatever open spaces are available.
 
I don't mind much about cleaning, I usually do it if someone is coming to stay, which is seldom. It just doesn't seem worth it unless anything is really dirty, I would clean spills or any obvious dirt, but a bit of dust etc doesn't seem urgent...
 
Well, left to my own devices I’ll clean myself several times a week (daily is definitely overdoing it), there is a rota of household cleaning, but it’s all spaced out over a month so nothing gets repellant whilst occupying the minimum amount of time.
Things that don’t bother me can take care of themselves: I’ve heard of ironing, dusting and vacuuming behind furniture... but life, I’ve been told, is short.

When I was younger I never cleaned anything much... I used to repeatedly scratch spots on my scalp with fingers covered in turps... leading to big pus weeping burns across my scalp, which were agony: my house was so filthy and mouldy I wound up with chronic sinusitis and I didn’t brush my teeth for so long it cost a bit over £600 to have them fixed.
 
I like to be clean, hate greasy hair. But my things are old. I wash my winter coats every year or so at maximum: they've been around since World War II was in the news, without washing, so why should I start now?

In some regards I am fastidious but in other regards I'm not. My automobile gets used like a pickup truck, for example: which was great until I met a girl & offered her a lift in it when we were going on a little date. Told her to close her eyes & don't breathe, and pretend she was in a Mercedes-Benz.
 
I know a trope trait of people with autism is being incredulously clean, but i also read that people with asd reallly have polarizing traits. I am horribly dirty, horribly clumsy, horribly cluttered. I dont see any logic in being clean honestly. if the dirty is bound to come again, why do i have to clean? why clean when i can work out? why clean when i can meal prep? why clean when i can draw or play games? I dont care and i only "clean" because it bothers other people. sometimes i even find it shallow to focus on cleanliness so much. regardless of all this, i know that this is not a normal feeling and that i need to be cleaner. i recently bought some organizing stuff like agendas and calendars to try and help me, as well as a timer

does anyone relate to this feeling?

Completely, although a large part of it is just that being organized and neat and so on and so on is actually very difficult and stressful for me. Basically along the lines of this

Executive function: what is it, and how do we support it in those with autism? Part I - Autism Awareness

“Executive function is a term that is widely used in autism circles to describe a broad array of skills that have to do with an individual’s cognitive function. Some sources say that up to 80% of those with autism suffer from executive function disorder, leading to difficulties managing time, completing tasks, and making what for many of us would be simple tasks – like cleaning our rooms – very complicated or seemingly impossible.

For some people with ASD, social and communication difficulties are not the primary issue. They are socially engaged and are doing their best to communicate frequently, but they are unable to respond in a timely and organized way to the requests of parents and teachers, or to organize and initiate sophisticated play because they have considerable difficulty with executive function.”
 
I'm quite disorganized and have stuff all over the place. But I usually know where things are. As for my work, I live by my spreadsheets where I keep track of the status of everything that I have going on.
 
I don't think we predetermined to be one or the other. But I do believe there is a ASD1 tendency to head for the pole (as you mentioned) once they decided which direction suits them or seems to naturally occur. At times another motivation may contibute, like say if a person is a germaphobe.

For me clutter seems to set up a mental disturbance or noise and I also like the atmosphere of clean (and sparsely filled spaces. But I have had to learn to adapt. While my son took after me, my wife and daughter are clutter queens and against the women of the family there is no chance of victory. Interestingly, now after so many years my wife is shifting more towards organizing and designing living spaces to be easier to keep clean.

She absolutely loves the new little floor sweeping robot. And I have had to step up my chore game to keep up with my new rival.
 
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Cluttered desk and top of bathroom vanity is my never seem to get around to duties.
I can't see making the bed everyday either. I might smooth the sheet and blanket out a bit before
going back to bed. Just feels better than a lot of wrinkles in the bedding.

Other things get done as I see it looking dirty, like the floors or too much dust collecting on whatever.

As for myself, I don't like dirty hair, but, I don't shower everyday like a lot of people do.
Teeth brushed, face washed and hair combed is enough.
I want basic, but clean clothes when I go out some where.
 
Hygiene issues have been an issue most of my life.

I am meticulously clean, but have problems with grooming. Sensory issues interfere with my shaving, haircuts, and so on.

I have never been able to ever get anyone to understand this, as it's "all in my mind," so I choose to be the way that I am.

I've had similar problems with dentists.

A typical cleaning shouldn't be painful, but the noise and vibration are intolerable. I'm often labeled as a drug seeker when I request sedation from a cleaning, and my family challenges my masculinity because I'm a pansy who can't tolerate the normal discomforts that go with everyday life.

So . . . I am hygenic and clean, but I struggle with it.
 
Ehhh.... somewhat.

I'm clean in terms of washing. The point being to destroy germs and prevent getting sick (or getting anyone else sick). Even moreso with the current situation. Mostly this means washing my hands and face. I do wash my hands alot and I'm very, very careful about what I touch. Not so good about scrubbing other than that though, depends on how spaced out I am while showering. My feet are never clean though due to rarely wearing socks/shoes and my tendency to just walk through basically anything. Callused, you see. I'll absolutely stomp through jagged rocks or shells or mulch or whatever. Only thing I wont walk through is dog turds or something like that. Well, not on purpose anyway.

But in terms of organization? Ye gods, no. I'm bad at that. You should see what happens to a hotel room after I've been in it for like 5 hours. Looks like something exploded. Not on purpose, mind you. It just sorta happens. My own room is even worse, as is my desk here in the basement. And my idea of "organizing" is "put it wherever".

Never seen much purpose in organizing. Whether my books and gizmos are in neat stacks, or a hideous tangled clump, doesnt magically cover them in germs or anything. Though also I'm way too spacey to be organized.
My feet are always dirty. i hate socks. i feel like because i hate moisture so much i try to avoid any contact with water. Even if its winter and super cold on the time i try to take less showers :V bleh everytime i am dirty i remember when i was a kid sitting at a diner across my dad and him nagging me saying, what are you going to do be dirty for the rest of your life?
 
Took me until late thirties to not hate cleaning. I always washed though, I can't sleep if dirty and dirty hair makes me feel depressed. It's stuff you have to do on autopilot, don't think about it, just do it.
As a person who doesnt stop thinking at any point, i dont understand this
 
A lot of people do stuff like cleaning just for the sake of it, or because it's what one is supposed to do, rather than out of real necessity. There are many things that people do that, in my opinion at least, aren't really necessary... such as making their bed. I never make my bed. Why? I'm only going to undo it again. Or ironing certain garments. I rarely iron anything, because, what's the point? If I don't clean for a while, a layer of dust builds up and becomes very noticeable, then I start to think, time to clean. But it needs to be visible and obvious before I decide it needs to be done. And I'm messy. Tidying my things away is not a priority, though ironically, other people's excessive clutter stresses me out. I'm quite hygienic, but not always 'clean' by other people's standards (last sentence edited for clarity)

I only care about being clean in the since of less pathogens at work because we deal with disease, but when i'm home, i am a mess. its ironic because i used to be a dishwasher and a janitor. When i was a kid, i was much worse like i was the smelly kid. now i am not and people would not call me as a person unclean, because i learned how much i can get away with ( a compromise of sorts) but my household is a different story
 
Hello, Friend! It is rare to find people to admit to that. It's always, "Oh yeah, I'm a messy....." I like you and your honesty. Grime on, friend :)

I have heard that, "A Clean House in the sign of a misspent life" but the person who had it still cleaned....
I often broadcast about my filth in person because irl, i dont come across as dirty until someone enterse my house and gets to know me.

Admitting ur flaws is the first step to overcoming them after all ;V
 
Hi i'm am the opposite end, i seem to need order of my stuff to feel calm and be at ease with my environment and self, all things have their place and.... order order order relieves my anxiety and stress levels, same with keeping myself clean, degrees of OCD prehaps, not a problem ATM as i live alone but soooo was when i've had 'live in' relationships during my life.
The main reason that this has become a surging problem for me again is because of a relationship. my bf is very very clean and he wont even sleep over my house. I feel stressed when he is in my house because when i do make efforts to clean, it is not considered effort in the eyes of most others and it feels defeating. at the same time i live in my house lol so i know really that his feelings of my dirtiness is justified. He is a neat freak and it is hard.
 

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