Embrace Your Inner Slob

We spend a lot of time on AT talking about the virtues of keeping a clean house. For some, this comes naturally, for others it's a struggle. Jump below to embrace your inner slob:

We've relied on Flylady and the Cure when things got really out of control (we're sort of a combo of total slob and complete neat freak depending on the stress levels). And a weekend cleaning binge has often soothed our high blood pressure.

But for those that really don't get a boost from cleaning or just get a lot out of letting it all hang out (or you live with someone like this), there's a great new blog called The Slob Blog (because slobs need love too). Here they talk about the stresses of getting organized, the virtues of oversleeping rather than overachieving, and what calls for procrastination.

It's a satirical take on all the organizing blogs but bent completely the other direction. It made us laugh and relax a little, not take things so seriously. It also reminded us that we certainly haven't always been neat and no one ever died.

Here's the website: The Slob Blog

(Image: tachyondecay under creative commons license)

Comments (43)

a little untidiness is ok from time to time, and we should all be able to just... chill sometimes, yes

but that pic is really grossing me out...

This room has that "lived in" look that many AT posters seem to covet.

This room would drive me batty and I'm not perfect when it comes to tidiness.

Right now I STILL have my clean laundry in the laundry basket from last Sunday but I almost never let the room get to the point as shown in this pic, plopping the printer on the floor, leaving the packing innards where you left them is just being lazy. The desk is staying relatively clear since I gave it a good cleaning/clearing over a week ago so that's progress. :-)

My inbox is overflowing and that needs attention STAT but the bedroom is not too bad overall right now and the rest of the apartment is quite tidy for the most part.

Slob blog. That's hard to say.

That picture reminds me of my own living space during crunch time. I'm not a total slob, but I think nothing of living in chaos while I get creative (it helps me work... or at least doesn't impede my work). Thankfully I have an understanding partner.

while my room at home used to resemble this during finals weeks, i could never stand it! Now that i live on my own the only time it looks nearly that bad again, is during report card/parent teacher conference time =D

At least my mess is piled to one side leaving a pathway.

Gross.

Gross, definitely looks familiar (and I've only ever lived with girls!)

as a filthy grad student, i approve this message

that looks like my bedroom when I was in high school. Actually I think mine was worse.

Ok, so I was just reading this Slob Blog and I feel like this person is writing about me! Or how I used to be %99 of the time. I'm still lazy now, but now it's just procrastination. I eventually get things done...
But my apartment definitely has never looked anything like the room above!

I have that printer!

There's clutter and then there's filth. That pic is disgusting. This coming from someone who dusts when you can write you name in it.

GROSS

Does that kid have any parents? - if not, he should get some!

No.

i want to clean, just looking at the picture

I lived like that...yeah, when I was very depressed.

Often, how you live (slob or serious neat freak) is a sign of where your mind is. Perfection (not a thing out of place for example) means absolute control and slob means one's world has gotten way out of control.

That's not all instances but more often than now.

My inner-world was out of control when I lived like a slob.

I've seen worse.

darn right gross, can't wait to see them on the slob show about hoarders.

"A clean home is evidence of a life unlived." In this person's case they've been doing a lot of living. I'm not going to throw rocks, though, it's hard enough for me to keep up with myself let alone a husband who works in construction a toddler with a penchant for pens and throwing his toys. Sometimes you've just gotta let it go.

Your space is a reflection of your mental state.

Ok, ten points to anyone that can find the human under the mess in the picture.....!!!!

The bed is made! What more do you want?!

As far as I'm concerned, a room doesn't qualify as messy if you can still see the floor.

I gotta love the Eeyore doll, with his terrified eyes peeping over the piled mess of covers.

As a control freak (and friends call me a neat freak, though I swear I'm not), I would use these photos as inspiration to fuel my latest cleaning/purging binge. In the meantime, I celebrate that I seem to be convincing my husband to dispose of packing innards at last.

I am SHOCKED at these stupid responses. Gross? Really? As someone said, this guy/girl has unpacked a printer and not put the stuff away, there are some (gasp) books lying around, and some clothes strewn here and there. You have all GOT to be kidding me!!!!!

This has seriously made me mad, hearing some of your mean comments. IT'S CLUTTERED!!!!!!! IT'S NOT DIRTY!!!!!!!!

Jeesh, glad I got that out!

I have an intersting issue. I'm seriously un-tidy, but I'm also clumbsy. The more stuff on my floor, the more i trip, stub my toe, and curse :). So I'm forced for safety reasons to keep my floor picked up. The printer on the floor in this photo would be the first thing to go. I'd step on it, it would break into thousands of pieces and that would be all of that.

I can understand a few things not put away, but there is a huge hunk of styrofoam packing material on the floor.
I could not stand to be in a room that messy. Even if I was at a friend's place I would start cleaning.

at least the bed is made

this room is not filthy , it s messy ... very understandable , it s normal , if the person does sth about it every now and then

At one time I could not figure out why I was not sleeping well. I did one of my big time cleanings of the bedroom and that night I slept like a cat. I realized that the clutter was cluttering my mind literally. I sleep best when things are at least semi neat. Now my bedroom has a way of ending up with piles of clothes on the chair by Friday (tried to cure myself and hate my husband who hangs up everything right away), but not this. I could not walk around. This ruins my chi as I'm fond of saying to my husband when he leaves something undone too long. Sometimes you can let go and go live your life, but the floor thing is just a little too much. Seriously, it's a landmine you have to tip toe through everytime you come into the room and definitely would clog the mind of even the biggest slob.

This reminds me of my high school bedroom. We just new a few random band posters up and it would be complete.

I guess it says something about me (but I don't know what..) that I'm more bothered by the complete lack of design/decor than the mess.

This kid is using a sleeping bag as comforter!

I've definitely seen worse - and am very much inclined to agree that your level of cleanliness is a reflection of your mental state. I find that very true in my personal scenario.

@criv227 I agree. They just need some storage.

To the person who said this person needed to "get some parents,"

My parents always had a policy that common spaces needed to be kept neat and tidy, but my room was my domain. My room often looked like this (or worse) and I grew up to be a happy, healthy, responsible adult.

Chill out.

Oh my high school bedroom was WAY worse than this. I'm still a mess, but I can usually see most of the floor these days...

I really don't think this room is that bad. It's obviously a student's room, and I know from experience that school projects/papers take priority over cleaning (unless I'm cleaning in order to put off doing the project!). It's just life. Now, if there were half-eaten plates of food and piles of greasy pizza boxes laying around, that would bother me. As it is, it would take about five minutes to clean up the packing material, maybe ten minutes more to put the random boxes and books away or stack neatly next to the desk. I think the problem most people are having isn't that it's messy, but that it's messy and the space is not 'designed.' But seriously, how many college students have the time or resources to beautifully decorate their rooms?

"I realized that the clutter was cluttering my mind literally" Thanks to cliokitty, that REALLLLLY resonates with me!

Hey Rosenatti, i have your same point of view when it comes to closets.... if you can see the floor it's still not that bad!!

How about "Tolerate your inner slob"? Embracing it seems to go too far in the other direction.

This room is super messy, but that doesn't make it dirty or filthy. I remember my days cramming my whole life into a tiny bedroom in a shared house. Didn't take much to get like this.