As a follow-up to yesterday’s post in which I alluded to the hubby’s organizational prowess, I thought it only appropriate you hear just how our differences play out at home – in his words.
This should be fun.
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Of my many shortcomings, the one that causes the most consternation for my wife is my perfectionism.
Now many of my friends will tell you it’s OCD, but it’s not. I don’t lock and unlock doors 5 times, I don’t wash my hands incessantly, etc. But let’s just say that my beautiful wife and I are a little different when it comes to cleanliness.
That’s not to say that she’s a slob – not by any means. Well, mostly.
In college, I would come over to her dorm room and just start picking up. It’s not because I have a crazy need to clean – it’s mostly because you couldn’t see the floor of the room.
Here’s an illustration:
My wife’s dresser – piles of clothes falling over, moderate attempt at organization by season.
My dresser and closet – clothes separated by style of shirt and organized by color. Obviously. Clearly, this is the only way to do it, right?
We tried to sell our house a few years ago, and with that came removal of many things from counters and whatnot so that the house looked “staged.”
Erin hated that – it felt impersonal and barren, not to mention that many things that she needed regularly had to be put away. I LOVED it – everything was so clean, smooth, uncluttered, and organized – perfect.
Erin’s phrases: “It’s in that pile somewhere,” “It’s downstairs, I think,” “It’s not a mess, I know exactly where it is,” “I might need that someday,” and “I’m not sure why I saved that.”
My phrases: “Everything in its place,” “Put it back where it goes,” “When in doubt, throw it out,” “Let’s reorganize!” and “Hey, Target has plastic storage tubs on sale!”
Do you ever wonder what God was thinking when He put you and your spouse together?
Sometimes I think He needs a laugh and says, “This should be funny!”
Come on, I know there are some more people out there who are with me and love organization – speak up, people!!
I'm Erin, a wife, boy mom x 3, writer, and runner in Nebraska! I'm excited to share all my favorites relating to faith, family, fashion, and fitness in this space! Enjoy! 
Haha! I love this. I WISH that my house were clean and uncluttered all the time, because that makes me feel at ease. The clutter stresses me out. But alas, the kids destroy it on a daily basis. 😉
Jennifer
http://www.thefarriswheel.blogspot.com
I remember helping Bruce and Stephen out at the office. They encouraged each other’s need for organization and order. Oh man. I would just take orders from them. I would like to say that right between super organized and super messy is just right for me. I love you guys!
Great post!! Sounds like I’m a little like Erin and my hubby is like you. 🙂
I am shocked to think that Erin would NOT be as organized if not moreso than Stephen. However, only having the ability to see Erin’s organizational side at work and not at home and not knowing Stephen well, this limits my ability to make any kind of judgement in regards to the topic!But speaking from which I do now, at school Erin was very organized and detail oriented, not to mention creative. I think creative people are allowed to be a little more flexible in their organizational methods-if they choose to be organized at all!
Stephen, I HAVE to comment here, because I am TOTALLY with you…I have personally spoken every single one of your ‘phrases’ to my own family at some point in time…I LOVE organization!
Now, bear in mind that my home does not always reflect my passion, simply because the 5 other people that live here do not necessarily share my feelings (opposites DO attract, don’t they?!), and I have learned to ‘let things go’ in order to maintain everyone’s sanity. However, I do hope to someday have a home where everything does indeed have it’s own place and/or storage bin!
(And yes, the clothes in my closet are also arranged by style and color – something I am trying to teach my children as well!)
I’m so like you {sorry, Erin, lol!}.
Great post 🙂
I am so much like you, although I get busy and fall apart and become like Erin ;-). My heart’s desire is to own every plastic bin {all matching of course} ever made and have every single thing in the correct bin and labeled. If only I had the time to do it all.
I’m definitely the more organized one in our duo.. but I hate to admit that I’ve been slipping and slipping and slipping.
My husband’s kindness (and um, shall we say ‘casual attitude’) sometimes makes me accept my messiness a bit more than I should. And then I get lost in the mess and have to dig my way out again, pile by pile.
Hmmm. I think I see another pile forming now. Gotta go!
I agree with you 100%. Everything has its place and it should stay there, or at least go back there. The bathroom is the worst for me. I will go in there when I get home from work sometimes and its a war zone! Curling iron plugged in, towels everywhere, toothpaste in the sink, hair in the drain, and two or three outfits in perfect little piles like she spontaneously combusted or something. It drives me crazy too, you are not alone.
I’m with you Stephen! I need everything to have its place. Child care makes this difficult at times, so in that case I can kind of relax and just shut the door and go upstairs to feel at peace again. We keep the world organized and pretty.
Laughing, but totally understanding! My husband is definitely the “everything in it’s place” person in our relationship. I’m the “as long as I can find it if I need it” person.
Stephen I am totally with you on this one because that is how my husband likes it, but I have Erin’s tendency’s…I tend to blame the kids… I organize and they rearrange for me..it drives me nuts, but I try…opposites attract!:)
One of these days I’m coming over and I’m going to rearrange every single thing in your closet just ever so slightly.
And then I will giggle.
I’m the neater of the two of us … but somehow after almost 15 years together the lines of clean/messy have blurred a little bit. We’ve sort of met in the middle … he does a little more than he’d prefer and I do a little less than I prefer and somehow the house manages to stay basically clean AND we still have time to do all the fun things we love after we are done. 🙂
I’d like to say I’m like you and my husband is like Erin. It’s just not true. While I do like things to be organized, I usually do have my own system. My dresser can end up looking like hers sometimes but usually on Sunday mornings or before weddings/showers/outings. Otherwise, I like it to be neat and clean. I need a maid.
My longsuffering husband is the “born organized” one in the family, while I am definitely the opposite. It’s heartening to know we are not the only couple like this!