Do I have OCD?

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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

I have OCD and I'm not offended. Why is everyone getting at OP? It's her family who's accusing her of having OCD, it's not her fault.

OCD is an anxiety disorder characterised by intrusive thoughts and ritualised behaviour. It's nothing to do with cleaning, although that's one way some people's OCD is demonstrated.

So, no, just because you clean a lot doesn't mean you have OCD.

So why have you started a thread asking whether you do?

People are offended because it's reducing a serious mental illness to a ridiculous stereotype.

I'm glad you are not offended and I hope you are doing well.
I've also previously commented to OP that none of this should be taken personally.

Anyone with experience of OCD knows how long many people suffer in silence due to lack of public knowledge around this disorder. So this type of post is bound to attract responses that urge people to educate themselves and not perpetuate harmful stereotypes .

Your cleaning arrangements are completely normal OP. Your family have dirty standards. Ignore them. It’s nice for your children (if you have any) to be brought up in a tidy clean house. Completely healthy IMO.

Thank you, these days I'm doing really well.

Sure, maybe OP could've read up on OCD before posting. But she wasn't saying she agreed with what her family was saying. I don't think being bad-tempered at her and chastising her will help break any stigmas.

I actually think cleaning the bathroom, changing bedsheets and hoovering every 1-2 weeks is more on the dirty side than the clean!

Sounds like a very normal cleaning regime to me. Of course you don't have OCD. But you already knew that.

Nope that’s definitely not OCD. hoovering every 1-2 weeks is grim. I do mine daily and certainly don’t have OCD. What a odd post.

Then why make a post asking so? 😂 Very strange!

OCD has a whole spectrum of “themes” it takes on, of which obsessive cleanliness is just one, and it tends to be a side effect of the actual issue/theme which is often (not always) “contamination”.

In a case like this, whether this would be OCD or not is far less about you having a regimented house cleaning routine, preference for a tidy space or the knowledge you’re always able to invite people in without embarrassment, and more about how not being able to do it for one reason or another would make you feel.

For example if you come across an unexpected mess in your home, would you just tut and give it a wipe or think “I’ll have to deal with that later”, or would your brain force you to deal with it there and then irrespective of if it was convenient, re-clean the area multiple times to feel ‘satisfied’ or use overly excessive products to do so so you can be sure there’s no contamination risk and to stop you being plagued with intrusive thoughts of what would happen if you didn’t. If you became unwell on one of your cleaning days, would you just sort it once you felt better, or would you have to do it before you could allow yourself any rest?

Essentially, the main difference is whether intrusive thoughts about it take over your life and if anything that hindered your ability to do those tasks it would bring you extreme levels of distress.

BUT YOU ASKED THE QUESTION!

If you already know you don’t have OCD, why ask? I have a child who has been pretty much housebound for two years due to OCD. I definitely don’t need to ask anybody whether he has it. If cleaning your house makes you happy/satisfied, you don’t have OCD. If you think something terrible will happen if you don’t clean your house and you have a burning compulsion to do it and it stops you going to work and living a normal life, then OCD is a possibility.

In that case the thread title is very misleading. DH has actual, diagnosed OCD and I opened the thread thinking I might be able to offer some insight. Not read a load of rubbish about cleaning.

It's not really about the cleaning, it's about the reason for it. Could you skip it if you were ill? How would you feel about that? Do you have intrusive thoughts about contamination? If not, I think you just come from a family of people with very different standards. My sister is like this, and because on some level she knows it's not great, she will sometimes mock me for being clean.

No

That is not OCD. It has nothing to do with being tidy. Some sufferers have specific compulsions and cleaning may be one of them, but not how you describe.
i keep my house to a similar standard and I def don’t have OCD! You need to educate yourself and your family about what OCD really is.

Accusing? What a strange term to use.

Thank you! I wouldn't call it an obsessive or even usual amount, it's definitely leaning into clarty territory.

I'd agree with others that your routine is just standard housework routine. I don't think your family should be accusing you of OCD though.

But OCD can be all those things, just in an obsessive compulsive way.

Really? That’s what I do and consider myself very clean. We also clean up as we go along so it’s not a huge blitz every one to two weeks.

But for some people who have OCD it is about being super clean and tidy!!

I think your post was a bit insensitive to people who do have experience of OCD. It might have been better to word it as "AIBU to think this does not constitute OCD?" considering that you never thought you had it and your point is that your family are being silly to suggest it.

Because no, you're right, the cleaning schedule you mention is completely normal AND you're not cleaning in a way which suggests obsessive compulsive behaviours.

Your family sound defensive like they can't accept their way is the one which is unhealthy so they have to skew things so that your way is "wrong".

This sounds perfectly normal and similar to what we do. I could invite people into my home at any time but I should add that no children or pets live here which I am sure makes a massive difference.

Being " super clean and tidy" is not the same as having OCD.

Please read the thread.