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[INFP] INFPs - Do you keep your environment clutter free?

Do you keep your environment clutter free? INFPs only

  • Yes, I'm constantly getting rid of the clutter, and keeping it under control.

    Votes: 6 9.5%
  • No, the clutter piles up, and I sort through it when I get inspired.

    Votes: 37 58.7%
  • I'm not an INFP, but I wanted to vote, too.

    Votes: 20 31.7%

  • Total voters
    63

INTJMom

Well-known member
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Sep 28, 2007
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Not sure how many of you there are, but I was just wondering.

My INFP sister was always messy, would always leave her clothes on the floor, and even today suffers from trying to save all the memorabilia from her children's lives as they grow. It's almost impossible for her to get rid of things because they have so much sentimental value.

How about you?
 

SolitaryPenguin

Active member
Joined
Dec 20, 2007
Messages
824
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ISFP
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9w1
I used to hang on to every little memento I had from experiences growing up, but then moving some 15 times in the past 10 years has caused me to "minimize" my belongings.

I am constantly cleaning up the clutter around my house, but not so much in a "cleaning up" sense, but more of an "organizing the piles of clutter into smaller, manageable piles of clutter", but I didn't see that as a vote option.
 

Ivy

Strongly Ambivalent
Joined
Apr 18, 2007
Messages
23,989
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INFP
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6
INFP is about as close as I get to a type, and I am very cluttered. I'd like to hire one of my J friends with super-clean homes to come in and help me declutter, by saying "Do you REALLY need to keep this board game from your childhood with half the pieces missing? I mean, really?"

What's your rate, Jen? :D
 

Athenian200

Protocol Droid
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Jul 1, 2007
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4w5
To offer a contrast with INFP's, I actually don't keep my environment clutter-free. I tend to keep things in places where I'm more likely to use them or see them, in fact. I tidy my house up if I think I might be having company or something (which is rare), but otherwise I don't see a point... put stuff away just so I can pull it back out again? For what?

I do have a tendency to leave things in the same places, though, and I don't think I let it get too bad. I know a few SJ's who literally pull something out that they know they'll be using again shortly (within a few hours), use it once, put it back up, and then take it back out each time, when it would have been much easier to leave it out until you were actually done with it, or even permanently locate it in a more accessible place. If it weren't so socially accepted, I'd swear that behavior had traces of OCD in it.

I've noticed that for me, things I use frequently (more than three times a week) tend to get left out, and other things usually get put away. Unless I have company, in which case I actually do put everything away... and then pull most of it right back out by the next day or two.
 

Wandering

Highly Hollow
Joined
Dec 24, 2007
Messages
873
MBTI Type
INFJ
put stuff away just so I can pull it back out again? For what?
Hear, hear :smile: !! My dream house would actually have enough surfaces that everything that is used regularly would have its own surface and would thus never need to be "put away".
 

Nadir

Enigma
Joined
Dec 17, 2007
Messages
544
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INxJ
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4
The third poll option made me laugh.

I am around half P - and I'm not very cluttered. I can find my things if I need to find them, and that's really the most important thing. I find extreme amounts of clutter rather disturbing though, so I make sure things don't quite progress to that state.
 

Randomnity

insert random title here
Joined
May 8, 2007
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Can I vote on behalf of my INFP mom?

She's always had trouble with clutter...more because she never could find time to do housework than because of collecting sentimental things though...although she does that too, to a degree. And a lack of organization means that things don't really have places to go, so they just accumulate everywhere.
 

INTJMom

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Sep 28, 2007
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I used to hang on to every little memento I had from experiences growing up, but then moving some 15 times in the past 10 years has caused me to "minimize" my belongings.

I am constantly cleaning up the clutter around my house, but not so much in a "cleaning up" sense, but more of an "organizing the piles of clutter into smaller, manageable piles of clutter", but I didn't see that as a vote option.
Thanks.... I started to offer more options but the J side of me was afraid the poll results would end up not providing any definition. :)

INFP is about as close as I get to a type, and I am very cluttered. I'd like to hire one of my J friends with super-clean homes to come in and help me declutter, by saying "Do you REALLY need to keep this board game from your childhood with half the pieces missing? I mean, really?"
I know, right?!

To offer a contrast with INFP's, I actually don't keep my environment clutter-free. I tend to keep things in places where I'm more likely to use them or see them, in fact. I tidy my house up if I think I might be having company or something (which is rare), but otherwise I don't see a point... put stuff away just so I can pull it back out again? For what?

I do have a tendency to leave things in the same places, though, and I don't think I let it get too bad. I know a few SJ's who literally pull something out that they know they'll be using again shortly (within a few hours), use it once, put it back up, and then take it back out each time, when it would have been much easier to leave it out until you were actually done with it, or even permanently locate it in a more accessible place. If it weren't so socially accepted, I'd swear that behavior had traces of OCD in it.

I've noticed that for me, things I use frequently (more than three times a week) tend to get left out, and other things usually get put away. Unless I have company, in which case I actually do put everything away... and then pull most of it right back out by the next day or two.
That's exactly the way I am.

Hear, hear :smile: !! My dream house would actually have enough surfaces that everything that is used regularly would have its own surface and would thus never need to be "put away".
I hear that!

The third poll option made me laugh.

I am around half P - and I'm not very cluttered. I can find my things if I need to find them, and that's really the most important thing. I find extreme amounts of clutter rather disturbing though, so I make sure things don't quite progress to that state.
I saw that 3rd poll option on someone else's poll once, and thought it was a great idea. No poll should be without it! :smile:

Can I vote on behalf of my INFP mom?

She's always had trouble with clutter...more because she never could find time to do housework than because of collecting sentimental things though...although she does that too, to a degree. And a lack of organization means that things don't really have places to go, so they just accumulate everywhere.
Yes. I suffer from this, too, actually. I have noticed though that I have always done well keeping small spaces organized, like my desk at school, my locker, or my van. These days, I just have too much stuff that doesn't have any place where it belongs.
 

Wandering

Highly Hollow
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Dec 24, 2007
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873
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I have noticed though that I have always done well keeping small spaces organized, like my desk at school, my locker, or my van.
Kind of the same here. Small spaces I can do without too much problem, but big spaces overwhelm me. I *try* to see them as a collection of small places, and it helps a bit, but I must make sure that I don't start making a list of all the "small places" that need cleaning, or I crumble under the pressure :rolli:

These days, I just have too much stuff that doesn't have any place where it belongs.
Not good, not good :ninja: !!
 

cascadeco

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Oct 7, 2007
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Huh. I dislike clutter, and like to keep things tidy in my apartment. Ambience is rather important to me. (But yeah, if I play a game of scrabble at 11 in the morning, and think I might play it later on in the day, I have no need to put it away, I'll just leave it out)

My INTP brother, on the other hand, would be quite fine if things just became a crazy mess. But he's awesome, he does a good job of humoring me - especially in the kitchen. Other areas, like laundry room and family room, it's not an issue. He spends most of his time in his bedroom anyway - and his bedroom is...messy. But I have no doubt he knows where everything is!

The only thing that's a disaster zone for me is inside my desk. So I guess I'm the opposite of some here!! I can keep my large spaces organized, and prefer it that way, but I don't care a bit about inside my desk. And in my old apartment, my closet was a nightmare too. But I plan on keeping my new closet clean so it doesn't go the route of the old one! :)
 

INTJMom

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I kept my things put away and neat when I didn't own very much, but after the third child...
 

prplchknz

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yupp
everything is cluttered because when I begin to clean i get overwhelmed and take a nap hoping when i get up my room will be clean and laundry done (I don't mind laundry I just hate cleaning rooms because I'm not sure where to put stuff and don't want to throw any of it out)
 

Noel

Member
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Apr 23, 2007
Messages
613
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INFP
I selected option #2 but in most circumstances it depends.

I'm more inclined to feel annoyed if the community areas are cluttered such as the kitchen/bathroom/living room as opposed to my own room. My only real issue lies in the kitchen sink - dishes that underwent a half-assed cleaning job irritate me to no end. I mean Jesus, your almost there buddy. An extra five seconds would of made it immaculate. In regards to my room, I have clothes littering the floor, glasses cluttering my desk, papers & books grazing around, etc. A picture would really do my room justice. Alas, I've lost my battery charger for my camera.
 

Eve

New member
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
64
Not sure how many of you there are, but I was just wondering.

My INFP sister was always messy, would always leave her clothes on the floor, and even today suffers from trying to save all the memorabilia from her children's lives as they grow. It's almost impossible for her to get rid of things because they have so much sentimental value.

How about you?

I keep books and letters for sentimental value, the rest I'm glad to get rid, when I remember they exist. I don't seem to notice the clutter until it starts to interfere with my life or my family's life. When that happens, I start to clean and organize franticly. It doesn't last long though. The problem in keeping myself organized is that I have to follow a routine, soon I'm tired of it and start to miss doing things on the spur of the moment (i.e. postpone cleaning a room in order to read or reflect).

I have a schedule for the next six months though :). It was revised by my INTJ friend. I'm hoping to be able to do everything I need and have some kind of life. Let's see if it works, the longest I kept a cleaning/organizing routine was three months; it made me miserable and I decided to quit.
 

surgery

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Sep 28, 2007
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Four
Clutter makes my body feel "groggy," and can be mentally distracting. Every so often I let a mess build up because of laziness, but I soon feel inspired to clean again that I can feel airy and simple. While I am actually very unorganized, tidying up gives me a false sense of control. Also, just about all my friends are IXXP's too, and they are all significantly messier than me.
 
R

RDF

Guest
My wife and I (both INFPs) are at polar opposites on this. My wife is one step away from becoming one of those old ladies who is discovered one day in her home crushed to death under a fallen pile of her own clutter. :) I, on the other hand, got used to carrying everything I owned on my back during my years in the military, and I got used to sorting through my belongings and discarding everything that wasn't absolutely necessary.

But for purposes of the poll, I voted as a clutterer. I've always kind of taken it for granted that INFPs enjoy a bit of clutter. Once I dated an INTJ, and she mentioned that she could always spot the INFPs in her college dorm by their "rat's nest" of clutter at their bedside. I had to admit that I do like to have things right at hand by the bedside, so I guess I'm a closet clutterer too. :)
 
Last edited:

runvardh

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... she could always spot the INFPs in her college dorm by their "rat's nest" of clutter at their bedside.

Guilty as charged... :blush:
 

Ivy

Strongly Ambivalent
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Apr 18, 2007
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My wife and I (both INFPs) are at polar opposites on this. My wife is one step away from becoming one of those old ladies who is discovered one day in her home crushed to death under a fallen pile of her own clutter. :) I, on the other hand, got used to carrying everything I owned on my back during my years in the military, and I got used to sorting through my belongings and discarding everything that wasn't absolutely necessary.

But for purposes of the poll, I voted as a clutterer. I've always kind of taken it for granted that INFPs enjoy a bit of clutter. Once I dated an INTJ, and she mentioned that she could always spot the INFPs in her college dorm by their "rat's nest" of clutter at their bedside. I had to admit that I do like to have things right at hand by the bedside, so I guess I'm a closet clutterer too. :)

Yeah, same here. Maybe I really am an INFP! I don't feel very F-ey these days though. Must be all the time I've spent around INTPs. :)

I wouldn't say that I enjoy the clutter, though- frankly, it makes me hyperventilate a little bit, and if I could have any wish magically granted... well, first, I'd wish to be 135 lbs with all of my limbs intact (no monkey's paw wishes here!). But if I could have TWO! wishes magically granted, I'd wish to be 135 pounds and have the ability to keep a tidy, uncluttered household.
 

Jive A Turkey

New member
Joined
Dec 12, 2007
Messages
151
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INFP
I don't like clutter, especially where I work. I threw out the microwave in the kitchen the other day because I couldn't stand the extra stuff. My office is borderline sterile. The accusations often fly, "A clean desk is a sign of someone who is not working." Also, I think that if I leave indicators there's a risk that someone will understand me before I do.
 

kelric

Feline Member
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Sep 8, 2007
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2,169
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INtP
I'm a serial clutterer. I have literally years worth of holiday/birthday cards stacked up on top of my entertainment center, at least partly because I'd feel guilty throwing them away (eventually I'll get around to it, but clearly not a high priority). I've gone years without actually folding clothes - I've always been relatively fastidious about personal cleanliness, but the "clean clothes pile" and the "dirty clothes pile" were sufficient. Mom would be happy to know I've broken that little habit :hi: . Stacks of books in random places are not unusual, and I've got a couple piles of old 80's-era clothes that I haven't gotten around to donating to somewhere worthwhile (and I'm not kidding myself that I won't get some silly attachment to some of them, even knowing I'll never wear them again).

At least part of it is, I think, that I live alone and have more room than stuff. There's simply not a whole lot of incentive to go and keep things tidy - if either I lived in a small space (a dorm room) or lived with someone who it bothered, it wouldn't be a terribly huge deal for me to get things picked up.
 
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