To think that I can't be the only person who lives in a messy/sometimes dirty house and cleans before anyone comes round.

[Bumpandkind]

This morning I wake to... last nights supper on the table, bomb site kitchen, evidence of baby led weaning on the floor, bin juice stains in the porch, last Saturdays paper all over the sofa (family section partially eaten by baby and stuck to floor). I could go on. My brothers family are coming over for lunch so my husband and I will blitz this over the morning and the outside world will never know. I would never be truthful about this in real life so just curious if there are any other closet statterns out there?

[PrincessOfChina]

Yep. Me too!

I'm getting slowly better, but will get a cleaner soon so it's just not my forte.

[ArtFine]

Yup me too! I blame BLW

[IneedAwittierNickname]

And me, ans my 'baby' is 7.5!

[Levantine]

yes, when I have people over I am sort of relieved that it forces me to make the house presentable

[SinglePringle]

I'm the opposite - very anal tidy - there's no way I'd leave last nights supper debris out and about. Not last weeks paper strewn hither and thither. Not the bin juice thing. Nor bomb site kitchen. I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing it was there!

I've even be known to stay at my best mates and clean up her kitchen after we've been drinking vino in it all night. She'll have gone to bed!

[thebody]

no can't abide a dirty messy house and especially the kitchen. I wouldn't sleep.

[newbiefrugalgal]

Me too
Wish I wasn't but that's life

[TallyGrenshall]

I'm a lazy closet slattern. I will only tidy up for certain people.

Regular visitors don't warrant a tidy, only occasional guests

[timefortea79]

I think hope most people live like this don't they?! We just seem to have so much 'stuff' everywhere and tidying often means moving one pile of stuff from one place to another. Nothing has a proper home!

[kirbygrip]

Oh yes, I manage more cleaning and tidying in the hour before visitors come than I do in the entire month week before.

The thing I always wonder about is why everyone on soaps has an immaculate house, and if somebody walks in and finds breakfast things on the table, washing up piled in sink, etc. it is a sign that something really bad is happening in the homeowner's life. Surely not? Surely many normal people go to work/school run and leave the breakfast things on the table?!

[Feminine]

How did last nights supper stuff get left there?

The rest I can understand. :)

I just cleaned as we have a friend coming from London...then the cat pooed in her room.

livid, does not begin to explain my feelings right now.

[Bumpandkind]

Phew so far! single I wish I had your fastidious tendencies!

[Feminine]

*daughter's room. The cat doesn't have one!

[BillyBanter]

That panicked tidy up is called a scurryfunge btw.

I should know.

[EEatingSoupForLunch]

My DH is convinced that everyone we know has spotless houses and we are the only disorganised slatterns. I point out that when they come to ours, our house is clean and tidy, because we know they're coming!

When I was on maternity leave I locked myself and baby out of the house on a snowy day and went r
to a NCT friend's house until DH got home. She said "Oh no, you'll see what my house is really like"! It looked like ours.

[FieryChipotle]

My house is awful. I tidy the kids toys up every night but the door gets shut on the kitchen. We both work full time and have 3 DC. The kids will remember their parents being fun and playing with them, not the kitchen being tidy!

[BobPatSamandIgglePiggle]

Mine's not too bad but there is washing up in the sink, clothes waiting to be put away etc.

I was on Baby Cente forum and a poster started a thread asking people to post pictures of their living room without tidying a thing. Mine was ok but old fashioned and shabby and I never got round to posting a pic (still is - we're renovating a hovel) but some were horrendous!

I LOVED that thread!

[eddiemairswife]

It doesn't get any better. My (grown-up) younger daughter is coming this evening to stay for two nights, and I'm exhausted already. And there's only me and 2 cats living here.

[cardibach]

Mine's a constant tip. Much as I would like this not to be the case, I would hate it just as much if I couldn't sleep knowing something was untidy. Surely there must be a middle ground of reasonably relaxed tidiness?

[hellsbells99]

I insist on a tidy lounge - the rest looks like a pig-sty!

[PeabodyRocks]

I cant think of anything worse than getting up to a huge mess so I always clear up before I go to bed.

[ThingsThatGoBumpInTheNight]

Oh this thread has made me feel so much better today



My house was clean - sorry you missed it, is my favourite saying

[headinhands]

Me! We're the normal ones OP :)

Does anyone else get frustrated with the competitive compulsive tidying some women do? Some of the woman at work seem to try and out do each other with their exclamations of how messy it is. They seem to score extra points for being the first one to say a room is messy, and the less messy it actually is the more points they get.

And then you'll go round their house and they keep saying 'oh god please excuse the mess' and their house is tidier than yours has ever been. And it's not rare, it seems most women are like this.

Where was I when they were giving out this gene? Probably MNetting!

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

No,I just couldn't live like that. I think it's really important for good mental health to have your immediate surroundings clean and tidyish.

[nicename]

We have too much stuff and not enough room. It is 'snug' for the want of a better expression.

It is also a tip as some people are very messy and step over dust bunnies rather than pick them up!

I have it down to a fine art. We live in a flat so from the second someone rings the main door until they get out of the lift, I can open the bedroom door, fling in the laundry and ironing basket and any other coats/bags/shoes etc lying around, give the main tops a very quick flick/blow, fling open the windows, shut the loo and bathroom doors and give a quick spray of airfreshener.