Essay #4 Timed Contrast

                Growing up I always had a list of chores. It’s something I figured most parents taught their children.  Knowing how to do the chores stuck with me, but doing them isn’t always a priority.  For years I had considered myself a messy person when it comes to house cleaning.  But then I experienced walking through the most disgusting house I think could ever exist.  I looked like a cleaning freak compared to this trash pit.  The difference of my mess in the kitchen, living room, and bathrooms was astonishing.

                If you walk into my house the first thing you see is the kitchen.  I usually have a small pile of dishes from the day, maybe even the night before, sitting in the sink.  The first layer of grime and grease is rinsed off but they still need a good wash.  The counter has some spilled sugar from missing my coffee cup.  The table has some mail and a few papers strewn.  The floor is a bit dusty, but the big bits of dirt have been swept.  Not too bad compared to the sight I walked into.  The first step through the door is a rancid stench.  Like dead, rotting carcasses were used as air fresheners.  The sink and counter tops are loaded with dishes.  The majority of them still had enough food for a meal.  Nothing you’d want to eat of course, unless you enjoy a layer of green slimy mold on top of your spaghetti.  The floors are sticky and stained from what you can tell are numerous spills nobody bothered to pick up.  The Table is now the new trash bag because the actual trash is overflowing.  I’d rather eat off my dusty floors then eat anywhere or off anything in that kitchen.

                Next is the living room.  It’s a public place.  Some where you can sit with company and visit, or relax and watch TV.  I’ll admit, if you sit on my couch, chances are you’ll stand up and be covered in cat or dog fur.  There are a few chew toys lying in the middle of everything.  I pile my shoes at the end of the couch.  The TV has a layer of dust, because I never think to clean it.  It’s presentable, even fresh I would say compared to the war zone I experienced.  I actually had to look hard for the couch.  I saw more garbage, books, toys, and just plain junk in general.  It was a towering heap of useless things.  The dust on the TV was so thick I thought it was a black and white TV show!  All I could smell was an odor of cat piss with a hint of clean linen scented Febreeze, which possibly just made it worse.   I didn’t even dare lean against the wall let alone try and find space for me on the couch.  The worst that could happen after leaving my living room is that you might have to use a lint roller, at least you won’t need a chemical shower.

                Lastly, the bathroom, a place used mostly to get clean. You brush your teeth, you shower, you shave, etc.  For me the bathroom is the hardest to keep up with.  There’s hair dye stains on the floor.  Q-tips around the trash can from missing when I try to throw them in.  I have toothpaste and floss strewn all over the place.  The shower has a few of my long black hairs stuck on the floor of it.  It’s enough to still feel clean when you walk out of it, unlike the hazardous area I saw.  The sink was covered in powder from make ups.  Piles of hair from shaving, and I mean PILES! I would guess an entire year’s worth!  Tooth paste stains and chunks all over the counter top.  The shower even had a glossy layer of slime.  And worst of all, something floating in the toilet.  Needless to say I held it until I got home. 

                After seeing all of those things, I gave myself a pat on the back.  I’m pretty sure my health was being jeopardized just by looking at those ungodly sites, let alone inhaling the smells.  I am no longer ashamed of the dirty dish in my sink, the fur ball on the couch, or the water streak on my bathroom mirror.  Seeing that mess also taught me to tidy up when I can.  Who knows, if you let things go uncleaned too long, you may end up with a shit storm like that.  Let it be a lesson to everyone, that those pesky chores, they really aren’t that bad.