How Do You Clean?

The way I see it, there are four types of cleaners in this world. And they are all friends.

1. The Monicas'. They clean everything, inside and out, spic and span. They are thorough to a fault, and often cause stress for themselves and others by being a perfectionist. You can eat off the floor- but don't, because that's gross. Monicas' thrive on the marriage of cleanliness and organization.





2. The Joeys'. They don't care what goes where. Clean? Bleh. Throw some spaghetti on the floor. Fughettabout it! Embrace the mess, and embrace life. Joeys' care more about having fun, and being with friends than what the hangout space looks like. Cleanliness is just not on the priority list. How YOU doin??

3. The Rachels'. They "clean." Come on now- I think we've all at least pulled a Rachel at one time or another. Who amongst us hasn't ended up with a dryer and a closet full of miscellaneous items after receiving a last minute "I'm on my way over" call. To the naked eye, everything looks clean. And that's what really matters.  To Rachels', the appearance is more important than the reality.

4. The Rosss'. Clean like a Dr. Sure, your method may be slightly more boring and take longer, but don't you want to have scientific evidence to back your cleaning decisions?  Rosss' don't clean as frequently, because when they do, it's quite thorough and involves hours of rethinking organization and pondering the meaning of life while reminiscing about when/where/who from who they received all of the stuff that they are cleaning.


Most of us can easily identify with the type of cleaner that we are (I myself tend to be a Ross, who was raised by a Rachel, and is marrying a lower key version of Monica). What is interesting to me, is that we tend to "clean" our lives the same way we clean our homes. Think about how you address sin or hangups in your life. Do you stress about every little thing, ever the perfectionist, and hold an unfair standard over others? Do you embrace your issues, eat, drink and be merry, and choose to ignore the issues as well as who those issues affect? Do you put on a happy face while you inwardly struggle and suppress your true emotions and behaviors, because appearance is more important than reality? Do you let all the little things pile up until you are overwhelmed with a mountains worth of life to sort through, feeling pressured to be thorough or to not do it at all, and drain yourself and others with your overthinking?

Once we understand our "cleaning" process, we can better develop a system for moving forward. It can be hard to admit that we have flaws, but admitting is the first step :) Try cleaning with a friend, or accountability partner who has a different style and can share perspective with you or encourage you. Cleaning is rarely a fun process, but sometimes a small tweak to your method can make it more enjoyable, and rewarding.