How clean is your house?

My name is The Girl and I'm a clean freak.

Phew.

Glad I got that off my chest.

I really do like things clean and I know that there is more to life than having a clean house (don't worry, I'm not so bad that I would cancel a night out to clean the toilet) but dirt and mess just stresses me out.

I think it's mess that bothers me more than actual dirt - as long as there isn't crap lying about everywhere I'm happy to leave the hoovering for another week.

Most of our spats usually happen over cleaning though. And it's probably not what you think - it's not that he doesn't do any cleaning, it's that he does and either a) gets in the way or b) does it wrong.

The thing is I'm really happy to clean. I like it. It gives me the greatest sense of satisfaction to sit down in a nicely hoovered and dusted room or walk into a sparkly kitchen. It makes me feel calm and serene. The boyfriend however is not really a great cleaner - I remember his room before we moved in together, actually I have nightmares about it. It was were dust and piles of clothes came to die.

However he's not so bad in the flat, mainly because he knows what I'm like so he does try to do his bit. He does need to be prompted - usually I just need to start cleaning and it won't be long before he appears and starts waving a duster around.

I do appreciate his attempts to help but sometimes it would be better if he just left me to it, mainly because I usually end up going round after him and doing the bits he missed.

For example...

The boyfriend took charge of dusting the living room one day. Excellent. A couple of hours later I happened to be stood by the window and looked closely at the TV.

"Erm. Did you dust the screen?"

"Oh....erm....no I didn't do that bit."

Okaaay. TV. Fairly large dominant item in the room. Not dusted. I cast my eyes nervously over to the shelves containing all our DVDs and books.

"And did you dust all the shelves?"

"Erm...."

To this day I'm unsure of what he did in the room. Maybe he just showed the duster to the living room and expected the dust to jump on it?

No. I know I shouldn't complain. I should simply bask in the fact that I have a boyfriend that is willing to help me with the household chores. But....you know.....I'm ok with it. I don't mind being a 50s stepford wife in this case.

Now where did I put that cream cleaner?....