I think you are freaking yourself out by obsessing over other people's actions. OCD.
We constantly have husband/wife conversation about how grossed out we are every time we see someone do it,
This is what makes me feel it is obsessive for you.
Constantly might be a little hyperbolic. We have conversations about it every time we have a get together with friends/family and witness the behavior we consider gross. Afterwards it's more like "...so did you notice your mom cutting strawberries, then grabbing the trash can and opening it, then proceed to cut strawberries and touch everything in the kitchen with dirty hands? Yeah, me too" or "did you notice our niece go fill that bird feeder (that has bird shit on it) then come in without washing her hands and start rummaging through the chips? Yeah, me too" or "did you notice your BIL touching raw pork, then touching the trash can lid, then touching literally everything else in the kitchen? Then all the other relatives touching the same trash can lid and potentially spreading trichinosis and salmonella around? Yea, me too. Gross, especially because the garbage has a god damn foot pedal so you don't even need to touch it!"
The stuff that I'm scraping into the garbage can just came off of my plate. How does it suddenly get so disgusting when I was just eating it? I scrape into a plastic bag, which only sits in my kitchen for a couple of days. I wash my trash receptable out several times a year just because (rarely is there anything visible to wash off).
In public, yeah, I wash my hands a lot. I wash my hands immediately when I come in from having been in the outside world. I wash after using the bathroom. I wash before cooking. I wash if I've touched anything that feels gross. In my opinion, that is enough.
So yes, I do think you are a bit OCD and over estimating your risk from germs. A bacteria free world also kills the good guys that keep our skin, and our digestive systems in good working order.
Yea the stuff I'm scraping into the garbage just came off my plate, but also there are scraps from breakfast, and last night's dinner, and dinner 3 night's ago, and band aids, and used Q-tips, and a dirty pee diaper, and packaging that contained raw meat, and snot rags.
I commend all of you on not generating any type of gross garbage whatsoever, it's truly impressive.
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However I never see other people wipe their own trash down.
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Did you ever think that perhaps people are wiping the trash can down WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE GUESTS OVER?
The only reason I'm going to do a bunch of cleaning while I have guests over is if it's my parents (who are in a different category of guests) or something happened to make a mess. Even then, depending on what it is, I may just shove it out of sight. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it isn't being done.
No, it's visibly gross during my visit. Not only that but I see people gross their hands up by touching raw meat, or blowing their noses, then touching the trash can. It's definitely dirty after that. Even if it appears cleans and freshly wiped down I just assume it's gross and would rather wash my hands just for peace of mind. Same rule with a toilet.
I ALWAYS wash my hands after touching or petting an animal.
Do you?
Yes. Animals are fucking gross.
OP, you're going to absolutely die inside once your baby is mobile and licking the floor or finger painting with his/her own shit. Now might be a good time to practice mindful meditation and start to unclench a bit.
Oh he already is and is doing all sorts of gross things. I'm fully aware I live in a biological world and I can't avoid all germs, and I know that my son doesn't know any better. He doesn't know you shouldn't lick a shoe, or lick the garbage can, or stick your bare hands into a shitty diaper. But I feel like fully grown adults should know this stuff so I guess it bothers me a lot more when they do it. We also take him to the play ground, which I know is a cesspool and probably has more microbes crawling on it than my toilet does, and there is no way to stop everyone in the family from ingesting them during our time there. Such is life, but I'd still prefer not to intentionally lick everyone's garbage can.
Your cell phone probably has way more germs than your trashcan. Do you wash your hands after touching your phone?
I wipe my phone down on a regular basis.