CLEANLINESS: Please Don’t Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes.

Only clean things are allowed to touch my bed. No suitcases or purses; they’ve been on countless floors and other suspect surfaces. Not even me when I’m dirty; I’m the weird roomie who showers when she gets home from the bar.

And definitely no other polluted people or their polluted clothing.

I’m always surprised when my request confuses my guests. I mean, why would you legitimately allow street clothes in your bed?

I explain it like this: “Just think about where your clothes have been: on a subway seat, a city bench, a bar stool. Now think about who else has been on those seats, benches and stools. Would you invite them into your bed? I didn’t think so. Well, then what makes their sweat or cooties or bodily particles any different?”

I get the sentiment, but honestly, this sounds kinda OCD. And the Hygiene Hypothesis suggests it’s counterproductive to try too hard to avoid germs.