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P's, how clean/neat/organized are you?

greenfairy

philosopher wood nymph
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I'm tentatively a "j." I'm a pretty clean, neat, and organized person. I have a place for everything, and try to keep things in their places. I like the aesthetic of looking at organized objects. My room is almost always neat and clean, aside from the occasional small pile of things like not-yet-dirty clothes or books. Aesthetically I'm a minimalist, and I dislike clutter. I love a clean kitchen, and dirty showers disgust me. I usually don't keep things spotless, but the non-spotless-ness really bothers me. I feel like I can't think clearly if my environment is a mess. And if my things are disorganized I start feeling panicky, like my life is getting out of control.

My ISFP (?) mom is the opposite. She has no sense of how to decorate a house and hoards all kinds of things. It drives me crazy. I'm constantly trying to tidy up and throw out her junk. My INFP former roommate was a slob. My ISFP guy is pretty neat, but his room is still kind of full of stuff and not very feng shui.

I know most P's probably aren't slobs and most people like it when things are clean, but I wondered exactly how clean P's really are.
 

Eugene Watson VIII

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That's like the most vague response ever. lol

Edit: Ok maybe not, and I just think too much.

yeah that was pretty vague actually lol. I'm a perceiver but I know some things have to be done (thoughh sometimes stuff like laundry piles up). I could be catatonic for hours and contemplate on one thing though..

Pretty sure there's a few STJs in my family.
 

kyuuei

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:laugh: Most of the time is about right.

I'm not too tidy/clean spaced.. I love looking at pictures of empty spaces, and minimalist mentalities, but it isn't in my personality to have so few items. I have a very hodge-podge bohemian vibe to what I own, so my spaces aren't very clear of general clutter (i.e. lots of posters and crap hanging from my wall, my wardrobe is full of useless items and articles, etc.)

What I am, however, is very sanitary. Dust gets dusted up, floors are swept/vacuumed and cleaned, laundry is washed frequently, sheets are changed accordingly, deep cleaning happens frequently enough. I am very on it as far as sanitation goes.. No dirty dishes get left for days or anything crazy like that, and I maintain the items I own.

Things are generally organized, I like having a clear floor, and things to be cleaned up looking and manageable. Where I fail, many times, is my ability to manage my time for it if anything piles up. I'll unpack from a trip, and the stuff will sit on the bed on the side for like.. two weeks straight. It's not unsanitary, so I don't deem it too important until something else shakes it up (i.e. I need to wash my sheets and all that stuff is in the way.. or a friend is coming over and I need room for them to sit..) and makes it a priority.
 

Halla74

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I'm the most organized person I know.
It took me 5 years of CBT to become so.
If I am to live up to my MBTI reputation as a master of reality, I need to have the tools of my trade available at a moment's notice.
Organization has helped me accomplish this portion of my life's purpose, but there is much more to do, and I am young.

:solidarity:

-Halla74
 

Pseudo

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I'm pretty oblivious of my environment. I basically binge and purge when it comes ot neatness. Ill do a massive clean out, promis myself to keep it neat. Then one shirt of the floor becomes two and on and on this it s a sty again. I've never really had places for anything. My only really drive to have things look good is for others
 

21%

You have a choice!
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My INFP boyfriend is a lot tidier than I am in organizing tangible things, like his living space, his clothes, his computer desktop and files. These are always perfectly orderly. I'm a J but my physical space is a mess. However, I am much more concerned about cleanliness. Things can be a messy but they have to be clean and germ-free, so you will never see unwashed dishes piling up. I'm also much more direction-oriented when it comes to planning ahead and preparing for the future.
 

Andy

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I'm the most organized person I know.
It took me 5 years of CBT to become so.
If I am to live up to my MBTI reputation as a master of reality, I need to have the tools of my trade avaialable at a moment's notice.
Organization has helped me accomplish this portion of my life's purpose, but there is much more to do, and I am young.

:solidarity:

-Halla74

I hope that in this case CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, rather than its other meaning Cock and Ball Torture, which brings an image to mind of someone kicking you in the balls every time you forgot an appointment or brought the wrong groceries.
 

Esoteric Wench

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Most of the time.

Yeah, this is pretty accurate for me as well. I'm generally a neat person. However, if I get stressed or over committed, then "straightening up" is one of the first things to get cut. I agree with [MENTION]kyuuei [/MENTION] about being sanitary as well. I've always said there is a difference between neat and dirty. You can have a neat house that is terribly dirty. For example, all your towels can be folded nicely (neat) and you still have mold in your shower (dirty).

That being said, I actually think being neat/un-neat has very little to do with being J or P. Seems like being Je is about feeling a strong need to structure one's external world. This need for external structures may or may not translate into personal clutter.
 

Tyrinth

...
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My answer would depend on what I'm talking about.

Most of my stuff is just strewn around the house, but as the importance of the item/area increases they become more neat/clean.

My room is immaculate, with my manga shelf and knife collection being nearly obsessively well kept.
 

Rasofy

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I like organization, but I seriously need more space for my stuff.Perhaps once I start living alone I'll be able to be more organized.

I like being functional though; so if leaving a lot of papers on the table are going to help me save time & not forget stuff, I'll leave them there, regardless of aesthetics.
 

Halla74

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I hope that in this case CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, rather than its other meaning Cock and Ball Torture, which brings an image to mind of someone kicking you in the balls every time you forgot an appointment or brought the wrong groceries.

Greetings, Supreme High Commander!!! :2ar15:
Yes, Sir; CBT in my case is indeed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
However, if I do not behave Mrs. Halla74 will Godsmack me, and make cock and ball torture seem like a walk in the park. :shock:

:solidarity:

-Halla74
 

Kierva

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Very interesting responses. Since I've been mostly described as an INTP, I'm gonna comment about me.

I like space - which means that I don't like having stuff that I don't need. I see keeping old things that you don't use as impractical, space-consuming, reasonless. For some reason, it even feels good after cleaning up the stuff that I don't need anymore.

Dishes would pile up for a couple of days until I'd unleash the power of washing machine over them.

Clothes would be in the washing machine likely as soon as there'd be enough to fill it up - it only takes a few minutes to set it up and a bunch of smelly clothes lying around isn't good for comfort (smell...?) nor for health.

I don't dust often. The things that I use don't get dusty and cleaning the dust off the top of my PC case and my monitor isn't dusting.

Since I don't like having useless stuff, there isn't many things lying around. Things get untidy on my desk, but I organize them from time to time. And besides, I don't keep much clutter here. When cooking, I put things back where they were - why keep food I don't eat out in the open? It'll annoy me the next time I'll be cooking since I won't need, for example, flour.

I do organize my files from time to time, but they do tend to get disorganized if I add lots of new stuff. Most often that happens when I'm frustrated due to my PC being slow or crashing and I "just want to get on with it." That happens quite often.

Unlike my family members, I always clean my hands after eating something that gets them dirty (grease, sauce, apple juice after eating one, etc.). By that I mean that I never touch anything until they are clean. I find that very disgusting. In fact, I don't even wet the door handles after washing my hands - I want them dry the next time I'm gonna use it. And anyway, usually I eat clean - I don't drop sauce on my shirt, table, etc., my plate is only dirty where the food was, I avoid getting my first and the location around my mouth dirty... Most of the people that I've met so far doesn't seem to mind it at all. The ISTJs seem to mind it - some of it they avoid, some of it they clean instantly, some of it they don't mind. (that goes as far as cooking and eating, don't apply this to other activities ;))

I'm not sure what function(s) my actions may reflect...

It just means you have OCD.
 

Such Irony

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I'm tentatively a "j." I'm a pretty clean, neat, and organized person. I have a place for everything, and try to keep things in their places.

I'm mostly that way myself. Most things of mine have a place. A few items don't or I change my mind as to the most suitable place for the item.

I like the aesthetic of looking at organized objects. My room is almost always neat and clean, aside from the occasional small pile of things like not-yet-dirty clothes or books.

Same here

Aesthetically I'm a minimalist, and I dislike clutter.
Yep.

I love a clean kitchen, and dirty showers disgust me.

Yep. Dirty is gross.

I usually don't keep things spotless, but the non-spotless-ness really bothers me. I feel like I can't think clearly if my environment is a mess.

I'm not totally spotless either and I have my little piles of things here in there. I can tolerate a little clutter but if there is too much physical clutter around me, it does affect my ability to work efficiently. I once had to share an office with someone who kept a very messy workplace. I had trouble just finding some of the basic desk supplies that I needed to do my job. That was very annoying.

And if my things are disorganized I start feeling panicky, like my life is getting out of control.

I don't think I exactly feel like my life is getting out of control, at least not to a great degree. It's more about feeling inefficient and unproductive. And things don't look as nice either.


I suspect there may not be as much correlation between J/P and neat/messy as people like to think. I'm quite neat and clean and I'm a P. Okay, my P is weak but I do know people with a stronger P preference who are even neater than I am, like Adrian Monk neat. Conversely, I know some strong J types who have very messy desks, who hardly ever throw anything out and don't consider it an important priority to organize their stuff. I've seen too many exceptions to the clean = J and messy = P for it to be a reliable indicator of type.

It just means you have OCD.

What [MENTION=15978]Typoz[/MENTION] said sounds pretty normal to me.
 

gromit

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Almost as neat as I need to be. I think I could stand to be more tidy with my life. Would help things to go a bit more smoothly and would be more pleasant, but I am still working on it. I go through cycles, every couple days, of gathering up clothes, cups, etc from my room and straightening everything out. That is my strategy.

People who put everything away the instant they are finished using it kind of seem like miracles to me.
 

Redbone

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I am much more concerned about cleanliness. Things can be a messy but they have to be clean and germ-free, so you will never see unwashed dishes piling up. I'm also much more direction-oriented when it comes to planning ahead and preparing for the future.

Same here. If it's clean, not in my way, not too messy and I know how to find it when I want it, it usually stays as is. When I have a goal or long-term plans, I'm extremely organized in planning and execution. I really dislike leaving things to chance.
 

INTP

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im not messy, as in throwing food on my lap when eating or pouring juice on table. when it comes to organizing, i keep things in their correct places, i have a spot for my headphones, phone, tea mug on my computer desk, i keep spices on same spots etc. and know exactly where everything is. but on the other hand i do have 5 empty bags of potato chips behind me at the moment(and under them one plate) and i dont mind cat puke on the floor if its not somewhere where im walking on :D
 

greenfairy

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I suspect there may not be as much correlation between J/P and neat/messy as people like to think. I'm quite neat and clean and I'm a P. Okay, my P is weak but I do know people with a stronger P preference who are even neater than I am, like Adrian Monk neat. Conversely, I know some strong J types who have very messy desks, who hardly ever throw anything out and don't consider it an important priority to organize their stuff. I've seen too many exceptions to the clean = J and messy = P for it to be a reliable indicator of type.
I do think there is a correlation, but I agree it's not nearly as strong as people think. Quite interesting how these things work. I had that stereotype in my mind, and then I thought about it and realized it was just a stereotype and the truth was probably somewhere in the middle; so I created the thread to find out what that looked like. I'm guessing developed Te and Se would be responsible for the external organization of tangible things. Or it could just be not too related to type and I'm overthinking it (as usual).
im not messy, as in throwing food on my lap when eating or pouring juice on table. when it comes to organizing, i keep things in their correct places, i have a spot for my headphones, phone, tea mug on my computer desk, i keep spices on same spots etc. and know exactly where everything is. but on the other hand i do have 5 empty bags of potato chips behind me at the moment(and under them one plate) and i dont mind cat puke on the floor if its not somewhere where im walking on :D

That sounds good except for the cat puke. Ew? haha Although I confess I might stick my head in the sand and avoid cleaning up something gross now and then. But it would bother me a lot. I have peanut butter on the inside of one of my car doors right now, and I can't bring myself to clean it. But the car was generally musty and dusty when I got it, and it needs a thorough cleaning anyway. That's what it is, it seems like a big task I would want to be really thorough with and don't think I have the time for. (And peanut butter is relatively non-perishable anyway...)
 

Porcelain Hearts

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I'm best at categorizing or organizing things to efficiency. And I can carry that on for a length of time until time is under stress, then zero fucks will in turn be given. I'm 80-90% perceiving. I do think I'm an expert at organizing clothes and desktop folders though. : D
 
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