My title sounds kinda like one of those silly blogger quizzes, doesn't it? Don't worry, it's not.

When I woke up this morning, I went about my normal morning routine. I got out of bed, figured out what I was wearing to work, went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, fed the cat, futzed around a little, then opened the shower door and stuck my hand in to test the temperature. The water was ice cold. I checked the knob, and it wasn't pointed to the cold side. I cranked the knob all the way to the hottest setting, but nothing. The water was still freezing. I went out and checked the water heater, but who was I kidding? I don't know what to look for. I touched it and it was cold, but I didn't know what it was supposed to feel like.

Since I had slept slightly later than I should have, I needed to get ready. I stuck my head in the sink since my hair is impossible to style when dry, and then got dressed. It felt very weird to be going to work without showering. I left a note on the mirror in Dau's bathroom, and also on the dry erase board in the kitchen, saying that we had no hot water.

He called me at work later, told me he'd call the property manager, but if I had any cleaning I wanted to do or anything I wanted to get put away before people came into the house I should come home and do it. Now, we keep our house pretty clean. My room on the other hand, vascillates between clean and looking like a bomb hit it. Thing is, my room shares a wall with the water heater closet, so if the water heater broke and flooded the upstairs, whoever came to fix it might need access to my room, and my room was definitely not on the clean side of it's variants. So I headed home on my lunch break to do a bit of straightening up.

While I was doing that, I started thinking about cleaning styles. I have friends, and have recently read some bloggers, who have to clean their homes to a showroom level before anyone can see it. My sister is a neurotic cleaner, so I know that there are people who it just has to be that way, but I'm not at all. I like my space to be tidy, but I want it to look lived in. Even if I spend two hours cleaning before someone comes over, I don't want it to be obvious. Because to me, when your house is so clean tht it is immediately obvious that you've spent the last week cleaning, it kind of says that your house is generally an embarrassing mess that isn't fit to be seen by anyone. In reality, most people's houses aren't horrifying messes (though I have been in houses that are exceptions), they're just a little messy and cluttered.

My house can get that way, and I do straighten up when people are coming over, but I will sort of make it a point to look like I haven't. I'll leave a little bit of clutter. I'll leave a pair of shoes in the middle of my bedroom floor, or socks next to the hamper rather than in it. Don't ask me why, I just do. I want my space to look like I live there. I'm not a "clean it to within an inch of its life" person. I like things tidy, but not overly sterile. A little clutter doesn't bother me, and I don't care if people see a little of it when they come over.

My bedroom is the same way. Clean or bomb shell hit it!!

I love it when things are "tidy". It gives me peace of mind. But I'm ok with shoving things in drawers and closets too. :)

I am not a person that makes sure everything is clean. However, Chad is. He wants our house to be a showroom and not a home. He buys chairs and shit that's just for looks and CANNOT be touched or used. It drives me crazy.