I try to keep the kitchen cleanest, followed by other shared spaces in the apartment. The place I just moved into has new granite countertops and new appliances, etc, so I actually feel motivated to keep it nice. I'll let my bedroom slide a bit unless my girlfriend is going to stay the night with me... then it actually has to be picked up. My basement workspace usually looks like a trainwreck. There's usually some random tools and parts on the bench, projects everywhere, and sawdust and wood chips cover everything. I save most scrap pieces of wood and metal and have multiple bins of random scrap pieces that eventually do come in handy, but that also means some areas look hoard-ish. I just moved everything to a new location and that meant throwing out a ton of stuff that just accumulated, like a stack of old cardboard boxes (broken down flat) taller than my dog. I am not as motivated to keep it super clean because certain tools or tasks will undo hours of cleaning in just minutes and have a dust-free area sectioned off for finish and paint work too.
I spent a few hours last weekend hiking around a lake back where i lived as a kid, and was reminded of a family I knew that lived in the area. It was not a pleasant memeory, but it fits this thread perfectly. I'm spoilering it, because it is way disgusting. Don't say i didn't warn you. Spoiler The patriarch of this family was a hillbilly loser who barely held a job and raised bobwhite quail on the side. They lived in a house along the lake, but it was unfinished - as in the entire upstairs was unlivable, and many of the rooms in the habitable part of the house were down to studs. They lived there for about 10 years, and this dipshit was too lazy to even throw up a couple of boards of sheetrock every year or so. The bathroom was in a similar state. The outside of the walls were rocked, so you had privacy, but half the inside was bare studs, and the sheetrock came up about halfway up the wall behind the toilet. Apparently, the two daughters in the family thought this was a convenient place to put their feminine hygiene products. Their USED feminine hygiene products. Yes, they dropped their used pads and tampons down behind the unfinished wall, to - what? Rot? Dry out? Sweet fucking Jesus, i have no idea. l no idea why they would tell me this - maybe because the whole family was incredibly fucked up.
I keep a relatively clean home. Once things start looking hairy, it's time to do some work...overall I don't like dust, or clutter, or things on my counters. My first ex-husband was (is) OCD on a pretty significant level. I learned 'clean' from him. Since then I've relaxed a bit, but I don't like dirty houses or spaces. At all. Pizza boxes can be stacked. Over night. Then thrown away. My parents built a house in 2000. For the first three or four years they kept it relatively okay. When I went home for my daughter's graduation - no. Absolutely not. I've seen gas stations with more hygienic bathrooms. My mom's excuse? "I hate keeping house. I'm not good at it." I DON'T UNDERSTAND. You're PAYING MULTIPLE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR THIS AND YOU ARE UNWILLING TO CARE FOR IT. I don't get it. At all.