Is anyone else here a neat freak?

Like the thread title says really. I'm being nosey.

It's kind of an OCD thing as I feel as though mental illness could creep in through dirt, smudges, clutter and disorder. However, I get genuine pleasure from having a really tidy and neat house that smells nice.

I'm pretty artistic (a designer before I lost my s### last year), and really like to have a nice looking environment. Even when I was diagnosed as maybe having BPD, my house was spotless. I guess I'm a bit obsessive about it.

Do any of you other BPDers get off on cleaning, arranging and organising?

I'm a little OCD'ish about germs so I try to keep things clean around me. that said, sometimes I get lazy and lose motivation for awhile. then I have to kick myself in the butt and go on a cleaning frenzy. I just did that the other day. feels good to have a clean'ish house again.

so, yeah in general I try to keep my space clean and neat.

an aesthetic environment is very important to me too. I like decorating and I think my place is really cute now the way I have it set up. i'm kind of an artist too

justagirl00 wrote:I'm a little OCD'ish about germs so I try to keep things clean around me. that said, sometimes I get lazy and lose motivation for awhile. then I have to kick myself in the butt and go on a cleaning frenzy. I just did that the other day. feels good to have a clean'ish house again.

so, yeah in general I try to keep my space clean and neat.

an aesthetic environment is very important to me too. I like decorating and I think my place is really cute now the way I have it set up. i'm kind of an artist too

Cool.

I watch period dramas and the like to drool over the set design.

I love art deco stuff and Middle Eastern things. My living room was inspired by 1930's gentlemen's clubs and opinum dens. I have no knowledge of these things, but hey ho.

I always think that depression = messy, although my psychiatrist says he used to be part of a community mental health team and he saw depressed people with really tidy houses.

However, a nice house does tend to lift your spirits.

Can you describe your decor please? I fancy some interior design porn.

Same here, I love the opium den style and the turn of the century look. lots of rich textures and interesting things to do with light and candles. mysterious and romantic

Right now I have silk sari fabric draped everywhere and oil lanterns, morrocan lanterns, and lots of furniture I salvaged and then spray painted it bright colors like turquoise and bright pink

I like lots of color in my environment. cheers me up

No way JAG! I've got sari fabric, moroccan/turkish lanterns and and stuff like that too. People always say how much they love the sari fabric and are really surprised when I tell them what it is. I bought some gorgeous sari fabric for a friend.

I've chalk painted a load of salvaged furniture and even bought some French style plaster casts to glue on it and gilded it with a tiny brush. Too much time on my hands.

You might be my interior decor twin. I have some really nice art Deco glassware and Aubrey Beardsley prints.

My back living room is a French theme.

lol...what a coincidence

yeah, that's what I love to do in my spare time. upcycle stuff and make stuff, paint furniture, make art, etc.

my theme is a little darker though, maybe. I have a fake gargoyle and a lot of haunted house looking candelabra. I really want to live in an Italianate Victorian haunted house with a cupola. my porn is Victorian architecture and turn of the century stuff.

but with a manic, brightly colored twist on it all. kind of a contradiction but that's what I like

sari fabric is gorgeous. I have a lot I bought at one time. I just drape it everywhere and add some moroccan lanterns, its gorgeous hard to be depressed in that environment

Yes, having a nice environment makes a lot of difference. I'm also really into Feng Shui.

I like the Gothic Victoriana stuff and feel quite jealous of your description! I live in the UK - in a stone cottage and the ceilings are very low. So, no candelabra or chandeliers for me. I recently gave a lovely French style one to my Mum and Dad.

I like to pick themes for my rooms and have various colours and styles for them. I was heavily into the Victoriana until I was struck by a passion for Art Deco and Mid Century decor.

I'm enjoying this conversation far more than I should.

i live in a very tiny "cottage" too, definitely no big chandeliers. but i have decorated as much as i can with this tiny little space.

i like art deco stuff too, what i have seen of it. they have some very crazy, funky stuff. like Gaudi in Barcelona? is that considered kind of art deco? i like anything cool. i just got into a Victorian funk and got stuck there.

someday i want to have a big house and it will be my decorating playground. i think i could have been an interior designer too. I've always been into that

art and design. i guess we have a lot of that in common

Clean smell yes definitely, not so OCD about tidy but clean smell i have too, my job is cleaning and painting so i get great satisfaction from completing my jobs and even look back before i lock the door and smell if i feel its clean enough...odd i hadn't though about it until i saw this post lol

justagirl00 wrote:i live in a very tiny "cottage" too, definitely no big chandeliers. but i have decorated as much as i can with this tiny little space.

i like art deco stuff too, what i have seen of it. they have some very crazy, funky stuff. like Gaudi in Barcelona? is that considered kind of art deco? i like anything cool. i just got into a Victorian funk and got stuck there.

someday i want to have a big house and it will be my decorating playground. i think i could have been an interior designer too. I've always been into that

art and design. i guess we have a lot of that in common

Gaudi is Art Nouveau. I went on a field trip to Barcelona as a student and saw his stuff - it's awesome. There's a Park with his old house in. The house is really creepy and seemed haunted.

I like living in an old cottage. I did a course in a form of spiritual healing and cleared it of 'energies' and 'entities'. I should start doing it professionally, but don't feel I've healed myself sufficiently. A few people tell me that one of the rooms has a presence.

Art Deco is lush! I wish I had more money. I'm happy with my cottage as getting a larger place would mean a big mortgage. At this point I'm all for reducing stress!

I've always been into interior design too. I think it's all about having an eye for detail. It's also about those little things that most people wouldn't think of. Also, the unexpected. Difficult when you live with someone though! Mr Shark doesn't always appreciate the importance of aesthetic pursuits.