Written by Lan 2022 Cohort
Recently, I discovered a channel on the Chinese video website Bilibili, which mainly focuses on housekeeping services, like doing chores and helping clean up the house. What made it stand out from others is that most of the videos they uploaded showed a home that was exceedingly nasty and messy.
With curiosity, I clicked in and watched most of their videos. For me, at first, it was just about watching others turn disorder into order, clutter into neatness, to get a sense of satisfaction and kill time. I believe that’s also why most other viewers subscribe to their channel.
The environment can be described as a garbage dump, full of cockroaches and mice, with a thick layer of mud or whatsoever attached to the floor and walls. Even their beds are filled with takeout boxes or other trash, and they can only sleep on a small area or the ground.
It usually takes days to clean up the whole thing, and these houses are not exceptional; there are way more houses like that than one can imagine. What on earth led to this mess? As I watched more and more of their videos, I discovered a pattern — the customers are mostly older people who live alone, and the orders to clean were made by their children.
Imagine I was an aging grandmother living alone, with all my kids leaving home to work in big cities. My health worsens daily, and I don’t have much energy to do a thorough cleanup. Due to my insecurity, I like hoarding everything, such as seasonings and health supplements. I don’t have many expectations for a better life and the future, and I muddle through every day.
All of this suddenly made sense. From my point of view, environments like these are not healthy living spaces. The elderly experience a sense of emptiness, and finding meaning in day-to-day life becomes difficult. The elderly living alone is a major social problem in China. Solving the problem requires not only the effort of the family members but also the whole of society should be aware of this problem and make an attempt to solve it. How is it in your country?