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. I have had many themes over the years, and I wouldn’t wish this vile illness on anyone. My themes are not centred around germs but I do have perfectionism which I believe is linked, though not strictly OCD related. For example, I cannot leave something that’s ‘out of place’, but in those scenarios, I don’t feel the fear or panic of something bad happening if I don’t, rather it just makes me really uncomfortable.

My daughter has symmetry OCD, although she’s learning to cope with it with meds and therapy.

What you have is most definitely not OCD.

My OCD consists of intrusive thoughts. If I don't do something a certain way, something bad will happen. Do you get intrusive thoughts to the point where the anxiety can be crippling?

Same (minus the cleaner)

This is normal. Although, it’s hard to keep on top of whilst working FT and bringing up kids.

To be fair I have 3 children and 2 animals (cat and dog) so have to Hoover daily 😂

You hoover daily? That could perhaps qualify as OCD.

Family aren't doctors. My family are fat and accuse me of an ED because I'm not. Having a clean house is normal. Dysfunctional people are not qualified to judge functionality. Ignore and carry on.

OCD is a medical condition that it does not sound like you have.

Contamination fears in OCD are all consuming and present as intrusive thoughts about harm coming to oneself or others from contaminants (ranging from asbestos, to AIDS, to viruses and bacteria or even 'mental contamination' where things just feel contaminated). More often than not people with contamination OCD cannot clean the thing that they are worried is contaminated, for example being unable to clean the toilet for fear of contracting an illness or even in extreme cases unable to shower for fear of spreading germs from shower to themselves or vice versa. It always causes extreme distress and does not cause a nice, tidy, orderly house and life!

No, no it wouldn't. Not unless she is extremely anxious and has distressing intrusive thoughts about contamination that impact significantly on her work, hobbies or family life.

Oh give over.
I hoover twice a day. I don't have OCD.
But I have seen a loved one in absolute torment with intrusive thoughts and mental compulsions. It was, and is, heartbreaking it pushed the whole family to the brink.
It required intense therapy and medication.
OCD is absolute torture.

To equate that suffering with pushing a bloody Dyson around frequently is ridiculous and insulting.

No not really. You can be obsessed with order and very distressed if things aren't in order. You can be very distressed by things being unhygienic and stuck competing cleaning compulsions or showering or sanitising/ handwashing for hours every day but you don't just like things clean/tidy.

I didn't say it was.

My response is in reply to the posters who were insistent OCD isn't about cleaning. I was merely pointing out that for some sufferers it is about cleaning compulsions, not all, that goes without saying, but for some it is.

I've read the thread and noted there are people on it discussing having an OCD diagnosis that manifests with excessive cleaning compulsions.

But what you've described is OCD manifesting as a cleaning compulsion i.e. you like things clean and tidy, but in an unhealthy obsessive way.

We're saying the same thing, but in a different way.

Op’s cleaning routine as she described could not be seen as in any way compulsive 🤔
A bit on the lax side, if anything.

Yeah, was wondering if I was the only one thinking that's not normal 😕

I give the bathroom a basic clean daily, hoover kitchen every day and rest of house couple of times a week, change bedsheets at least weekly, and wash towels every 3-4 uses. I definitely didn't realise I was a clean freak!

Fully agree with @Darragon
MyDD is clinically diagnosed, it's a very serious MH illness, not some wife hoovering ffs

Hoovering everyday is necessary if you have hairy pets or messy children, otherwise twice a week is enough,imo

Yes this is basically my cleaning routine too!

No OCD is like scrubbing till your hands are raw, I hoover as I have fluffy cats and if I don’t I start sneezing. 😂

In your post you actually used the words ...

" For some people who have OCD it is about being super clean and tidy"
And you left it at that.

This reduction is the stereotype, the meme, the misunderstanding, the ignorance.
In further posts you've explained yourself better, but your first post was absolutely lacking in any understanding of OCD.

I have OCD centered around cleaning. At its worst I clean because if I don't my children will get sick and die and it will be my fault because I didn't clean thoroughly enough to get rid of all germs and viruses. I can't even smell bleach anymore because I'm so desensitised to the smell, my hands were raw cracked and bleeding. I would get up and remove furniture from the rooms and only allow them back in once they were cleaned in bleach and water. I had two vacuum cleaners, one for upstairs and one for downstairs so I wasn't contaminating the different areas. When I left the house I would panic and obsess over missing a germ and it multiplying and spreading. The anxiety and control it had literally made me shake.
I am in recovery from it and have been for some years. Unfortunately its never gone completely and it sometimes whispers in the back of my mind.
Being clean and tidy is just that. OCD around cleanliness is something completely different.

Absolutely not

Unless you think the letters in OCD should be in alphabetical order, in which case you do ...

OCD is a horrific condition. My DD has it, and I used to do before medication. You sound like a person with good hygiene who keeps her house clean and tidy.

I agree with this. It’s nothing to do with a clean house and the cleaning you are doing is fairly standard. Even if someone did double that amount, daily, I still would not say ‘OCD’ because that’s a very serious thing to say and OCD is absolutely nothing to do with the amount of cleaning. It’s the headspace it takes.

Some people just like a clean house. Good.

Your family are only throwing this word at you to make themselves feel better about their dislike of cleaning.

No it really couldn't unless the daily hoovering is accompanied by extreme anxiety and rituals around the needs to hoover and intrusive thoughts.

And it's highly unlikely that someone's OCD would centre solely around just hoovering the carpet.