Keeping a home clean is a lot of work, but seeing everything look pristine can be a wonderful, accomplished feeling. Unfortunately, some people just don’t like tidying up, so their houses often reflect their messy and carefree attitudes, which isn’t always pleasant.
This is why one woman vowed to keep her space neat since her parents were very unkempt and they always lived in a dirty home. The problem is that when her mom and dad moved in with her for a few months, they turned her clean place into a dumping ground.
More info: Reddit
Some folks are so disorganized and sloppy that they don’t even realize when their clutter is getting out of hand
Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Magnific (not the actual photo)
The poster shared that when she was growing up, there were mice and cockroach infestations in her home, along with mold and leaks, since her parents were very untidy
Image credits: grustock / Magnific (not the actual photo)
Since her parents’ home was damaged by a flood, she let them move into her place for a bit, but they soon damaged her fridge and cluttered everything up
Image credits: bearfotos / Magnific (not the actual photo)
When a foul odor started coming because of fish that the parents had left lying around, the woman confronted them, but they said they couldn’t change their habits now
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The woman didn’t want to kick her parents out since they were loving people, but she also didn’t know how to curb their behavior or make them realize their mistakes
It seems that ever since the poster was a young girl, she has had to deal with her parents’ messy lifestyle, as their home has always had mouse and roach infestations. There were also patches of mold in the place and leaks that were never truly fixed, which led the OP to believe that this was a normal way of living.
What people don’t realize is that an untidy house can actually have adverse effects on a person’s mental health. Cleaning experts explain that this happens because clutter can overstimulate the brain, making it difficult to concentrate and leaving a person stressed and overwhelmed.
This is exactly why the woman moved out of her family home in her twenties and kept her new place spik and span. The problems only began when she allowed her parents to stay with her for a few months while their flood-damaged house was being repaired. Unfortunately, she soon began noticing cockroaches, leaks, and odors in her space.
The problem with messy people is that they just don’t seem to realize how much their behavior is affecting other people. Professionals explain that although disorganized people have the capacity to change, they might be so used to letting the clutter pile up that it just doesn’t bother them anymore.
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Since the poster didn’t want her clean home to turn into a pigsty, she lectured her parents and told them that they needed to follow the rules of her house. Instead of respecting their daughter’s demands, the older folks tried to justify their actions by saying they were growing old and that it was too late to change their habits.
In situations like this, where adult kids have to set boundaries with their parents, psychologists advise using emotion rather than logic to help them see your point of view. This will help them understand how their actions make you feel, rather than causing them to shut down or put up their defenses.
The poster did try appealing to her parents’ common sense, but they weren’t willing to change their ways at all. That left her in a fix because she knew that they were kind and loving people, but she also didn’t want to ruin her clean home or put her husband and children at risk. So she and her spouse considered asking them to move into a hotel.
The woman also tried to make sense of why her parents could be so disorganized, and she explained that when her mom was 17 and her dad was 22, they were kicked out of their homes due to an unplanned pregnancy. This disturbance in their lives at such a young age could have been the reason for their messiness and hoarding behaviors.
What do you think is causing the older folks to be so disorganized, and how should the poster handle it? Do share your honest thoughts in the comments below.
Folks urged the woman to kick her parents out, hold them accountable, and to stop hoping that they’d magically change
