I don’t know why, but I always have this mental image of people who identify as male/masculine to just have their living spaces look like a dumpster (okay maybe its a bit hyperbole, not a literal dumpster, but you know what I mean), while people who identify as female/feminine to be extra tidy? (Perhaps its mainstream media’s portrayal affecting my subconscious?) Is this actually true?
Sorry if this sounds offensive, I don’t mean it that way.
It’s definitely not universally true. I don’t like my space looking like a dumpster and I dated a woman for 13 years who absolutely, positively, would not clean, and didn’t know how to use a garbage can. Would drop trash on the floor and leave it there until I finally got sick of it and cleaned it up. She would leave dishes unwashed and just laying around.
But outside of that experience, most women I know have kept neater spaces than me. As I said, my place doesn’t look like a dumpster, it’s organized and tidy, but I probably sweep less, dust less, and so on. I do dishes daily because they get gross fast if you don’t.
Also it is to be noted that I lived in absolute filth in my twenties and I had to teach myself how to clean and be tidy over time, it took about ten years until I was in my thirties before I was consistent on cleaning.
I’m embarrassed about being a slob. I’m definitely messy and it’s a point of friction in my marriage. (I’m trying to get better but it’s hard to reprogram stuff from childhood.)
Fuck. I feel like an army drill sergeant now in comparison.