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AIBU?

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Do I have OCD?

109 replies

ToyStory20000008 · 06/07/2026 12:23

I grew up in a house that was only cleaned when people came to visit. This would happen about 4 times a year so we were all drafted in and it was very stressful. My sister has reacted to this by never cleaning her house and never inviting anyone round. I on the other hand like to have a house that if someone knocked on the door, they could walk in and I would not be embarrassed.
Family are now saying I have OCD and it is not healthy to live in such a clean house.

So I am setting out here what I aim to do and how often so you lovely people can tell me who you think is right.

Daily
keep kitchen and bathrooms clear of mess and tidy, wiping down kitchen surfaces after each meal
Hoover small entry hall to stop muck being walked in
Keep rest of house as tidy as possible

Every 1 to 2 weeks
Clean bathrooms
Hoover whole house
Dust whole house
Change and wash bedding and towels

Less often
Clean windows
clear our a cupboard
declutter
skirting boards

OP posts:
BeigeCardigan · 06/07/2026 12:42

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a clean and tidy home.

Funchythesnowwoman · 06/07/2026 12:42

One of my neighbours has diagnosed OCD and is being medicated for it.
She gets up at 4.00am every single day and cleans her house from top to bottom - from attic to kitchen and all rooms in between. She then goes to work.
She comes home at 5pm and starts to clean again - from attic to kitchen.
She goes to bed at 9pm, sometimes panics that she hasn't cleaned properly and will do it again.
The medication and talking therapy is beginning to work but it will take a long time.

Mt563 · 06/07/2026 12:39

OCD is not about cleaning.

If you don't clean, how do you feel? Do you have intrusive thoughts that by not cleaning you'll be poisoning your whole family and everyone might die? Do you struggle to leave the house because you've not cleaned enough to quite the intrusive thoughts? Do you find yourself having to clean to higher and higher standards just to feel safe and try to find calm?

You don't have ocd.

MyIcyHeart · 06/07/2026 12:34

Please educate yourself around OCD.
It's bloody offensive to those who actually struggle with it to suggest that it's around cleaning frequently/too frequently.

Mistymaglets · 06/07/2026 12:33

And to give examples,
I clean my bathroom three times a week.
I hate it dirty
I change bedding and sheets more often than you
In fact I clean everything more often than you, no shade OP just examples, and I DO NOT have OCD. I just like to see my house clean.

People really need to stop bandying about this nonsense and inform themselves about OCD. It's a serious mental illness and people reducing it to being a liking for cleaning are contributing to the lack of awareness which keeps sufferers from seeking help.

RegretfulVaper · 06/07/2026 12:30

I thought I was about to read that you deep clean everyday and that it dictates how you organise your life.

What you've described is a perfectly reasonable level of cleaning and tidying. By "family" do you mean your parents and siblings? The ones who do no cleaning?

Mistymaglets · 06/07/2026 12:28

OCD stands for obsessive compulsive disorder.
The sufferer has intrusive thoughts or images that cause immense distress and as a result perform compulsions to alleviate this distress.
These compulsions may be physical and visible or internal and mental.

OCD is NOT liking a tidy house.
OCD is NOT feeling bothered because your house is untidy.
OCD is not specifically related to cleaning and order, there are multiple themes of intrusive thoughts and compulsion.

Darragon · 06/07/2026 12:25

This is very unreasonable, OCD is a debilitating MH condition not something to be thrown around about people with clean houses.

charactershoes · 06/07/2026 12:24

I would say that is a completely normal amount of cleaning. Not obsessive, but also not leaving it until it gets disgusting.

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