So - today I got around to cleaning the bathroom.
I HATE cleaning the bathroom. It's my least favorite room in the house. Followed by the kitchen, then the laundry room.
So, I thought I'd detail my cleaning process - so you can see how this OCD'er tackles one of her worst fears.
1. First, I put on disposable gloves. Disposables are great! I've never understood why you'd want the regular rubber gloves that you keep forever. Because you put them on so you don't dirty your hands. But then, if you don't wash the gloves - they are DIRTY the next time you go to use them. Hello - cross-contamination. NOT an OCD'ers best friend.
2. After I have my handy dandy disposable gloves on, I squirt the toilet cleaner in the bowl of the toilet. Then I toss those disposable gloves. Because I'm worried about toilet germs - and because I might have gotten toilet cleaner on them. Even though I watched carefully to make sure I didn't. (Total obsessive thought, I know.)
3. Then, I get a new pair of disposable gloves. Once I'm garbed up, I grab my Clorox Wipes. They are my favorite, right after disposable gloves. AND - let me just say - this is a HUGE improvement for me with OCD. Chemicals are right up there on my feared list - right behind germs. It's such a catch 22. I'm afraid of the germs, but I'm also afraid of the chemicals. SO, the fact that I'll even use chemicals in the first place is a big deal for me. (Okay, so I'm suited up in nitrile gloves. Sue me.)
4. I wipe down surfaces in this order, from least dirty to most dirty, in my mind. And it HAS to be in this order.
*Mirrors, lightswitches, and doorknobs
*Sink and cabinetry
*Floor and scale - everywhere EXCEPT by the toilet - that comes later
*Bathtub edge that collects dust
*Toilet from top of tank down to the bottom, EXCEPT For the underside of the toilet seat
*Floor around the toilet and garbage can
*The underside of the toilet seat.
(Seriously, I wonder - how many people take this much thought into which item they clean first due to it's contamination level? Is this something that only plagues OCD'ers?)
5. Then I scrub the toilet. It's had a good 10 minutes for the cleaner to sit, so bonus. :)
6. Now I toss the gloves. :) I mean, seriously - who would want to save gloves that have cleaned the toilet?
7. Now I have to shower. EVERYTHING I was wearing goes in the laundry to be washed. (Hence why I fear the dirty laundry. All my clothes that get put in there do so because they are contaminated, not just dirty.)
8. I clean the shower - since I have to get in it anyway - with Comet - but it has to be the soft scrub. Because the powder makes such a mess - both at the store and at home. I'm always afraid to buy the powder because it never fails that the cans are covered in a fine dusting of it - and then everything I touch after that is contaminated. But I really like the soft scrub with a good sponge. And the sponge I will rinse out well and save for next time.
So, there you have it. That's how I face one of my fears. I know there's probably room for improvement. And maybe one day I'll be able to do it without the intense fear that comes with obsessions.
I HATE cleaning the bathroom. It's my least favorite room in the house. Followed by the kitchen, then the laundry room.
So, I thought I'd detail my cleaning process - so you can see how this OCD'er tackles one of her worst fears.
1. First, I put on disposable gloves. Disposables are great! I've never understood why you'd want the regular rubber gloves that you keep forever. Because you put them on so you don't dirty your hands. But then, if you don't wash the gloves - they are DIRTY the next time you go to use them. Hello - cross-contamination. NOT an OCD'ers best friend.
2. After I have my handy dandy disposable gloves on, I squirt the toilet cleaner in the bowl of the toilet. Then I toss those disposable gloves. Because I'm worried about toilet germs - and because I might have gotten toilet cleaner on them. Even though I watched carefully to make sure I didn't. (Total obsessive thought, I know.)
3. Then, I get a new pair of disposable gloves. Once I'm garbed up, I grab my Clorox Wipes. They are my favorite, right after disposable gloves. AND - let me just say - this is a HUGE improvement for me with OCD. Chemicals are right up there on my feared list - right behind germs. It's such a catch 22. I'm afraid of the germs, but I'm also afraid of the chemicals. SO, the fact that I'll even use chemicals in the first place is a big deal for me. (Okay, so I'm suited up in nitrile gloves. Sue me.)
4. I wipe down surfaces in this order, from least dirty to most dirty, in my mind. And it HAS to be in this order.
*Mirrors, lightswitches, and doorknobs
*Sink and cabinetry
*Floor and scale - everywhere EXCEPT by the toilet - that comes later
*Bathtub edge that collects dust
*Toilet from top of tank down to the bottom, EXCEPT For the underside of the toilet seat
*Floor around the toilet and garbage can
*The underside of the toilet seat.
(Seriously, I wonder - how many people take this much thought into which item they clean first due to it's contamination level? Is this something that only plagues OCD'ers?)
5. Then I scrub the toilet. It's had a good 10 minutes for the cleaner to sit, so bonus. :)
6. Now I toss the gloves. :) I mean, seriously - who would want to save gloves that have cleaned the toilet?
7. Now I have to shower. EVERYTHING I was wearing goes in the laundry to be washed. (Hence why I fear the dirty laundry. All my clothes that get put in there do so because they are contaminated, not just dirty.)
8. I clean the shower - since I have to get in it anyway - with Comet - but it has to be the soft scrub. Because the powder makes such a mess - both at the store and at home. I'm always afraid to buy the powder because it never fails that the cans are covered in a fine dusting of it - and then everything I touch after that is contaminated. But I really like the soft scrub with a good sponge. And the sponge I will rinse out well and save for next time.
So, there you have it. That's how I face one of my fears. I know there's probably room for improvement. And maybe one day I'll be able to do it without the intense fear that comes with obsessions.
