natazha: jaytkay: Many moons ago the Chicago Trib had an article about a police drug raid on a home. It said as well as drugs, they found kids being kept in squalid, filthy conditions.

The next day they printed a retraction, saying the children were fine, the conditions were normal for a home with 5 kids.

My mother, who raised six children, would beg to differ. But, nicotine was her only drug. The house smelled of second-hand smoke, but back in the 1950s just about everything did.

the money is in the banana stand: Homes should be messy if your priorities are in order. This doesn't mean that it needs to be unhygienic and dirty. Who gives a fark if clothes are all put away and what not, especially when it is things that are used everyday. Sure when we have guests over I might pick up some crap, but let's be real, the people that would have a problem with some things being a little messy are people I don't want in my home. If you have to put up a front to entertain guests and create an atmosphere that is a lie, why waste your time with those people?

Trash and dishes? Yeah, do that. Cleaning is important and I am a big fan of purging. Where people get paralysis is letting go of sentimental things, getting rid of things they "might use" because they cost money, and of course not wanting to throw things away. My wife and I have an understanding that she gets a month to try to sell or donate stuff. If it is still sitting there after a month, I get to throw it away. Sure, it isn't environmentally friendly and someone might be able to have a use for it but if it means just sitting in a pile for years causing stress, it is better to just toss it.