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Original poster

Does anyone else just feel so down about their house?

109 replies

Grasss · 27/04/2023 11:08

I feel like I'm probably being a bit unreasonable but this has been getting me down for weeks. I just feel like everyone else's house is nicer than ours. There just feels like so many things to do and no time in the world to do them.

We own our house, it's not in the nicest of areas but not terrible either. It's an ex council house, not the prettiest to look at from the outside.

Inside everything is pretty tidy but it just feels not properly clean all the time. We have 3 kids, one a toddler and me and DH (and a dog!) So it just feels... Not dirty necessarily but not clean either all the time.

I try to have a bit of a full clean when I can between full time work and children but it feels back to square one again within a week. The walls always have some sort of mark on them, dirty hand prints here and there, the bathroom desperately needs doing up but we can't afford it right now.

I go to my friends houses and they all seem to have such nice pristine homes even with little kids and I wonder what it is I'm doing wrong. Everything in our house feels half finished and a bit grubby.

How do people keep show style homes whilst living with multiple kids and working full time?!?!?! I appreciate it sounds very dramatic but it's depressing me at the moment. Everything could do with a good makeover and proper scrub but without the money or time for it I just feel a bit shit about it.

Anyone else feel like this? Like their house isn't awful by any means but it still gets you down and never feels "done".

OP posts:
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Original poster
Grasss · 27/04/2023 11:21

Poppasocks · 27/04/2023 11:15

I hear you OP. We have second hand, mix matched furniture. Kitchen and bathroom gets a wipe around once every couple of days and there's just stuff everywhere!

What i'm doing is tackling 1 room at a time and each month get in the things we need :)

Thank you!

YY to the furniture. Feels like nothing really 'goes'. Just sort of like whatever fits a purpose is in there, it's not decorated a particular theme /colour scheme or anything like that. Just feels thrown together does that make sense? 😂

God the bathroom is utterly depressing. It's absolutely vile and one of the main reasons I won't invite people to our house because I'm actually ashamed for people to see it.

It's not because it just needs a clean, its just incredibly old and tatty and needs ripping out completely.

OP posts:
Nordicrain · 27/04/2023 11:21

Grasss · 27/04/2023 11:19

I could yes but most of the ones I've spoken to recently want a one off large payment for the first one that I just can't justify right now. So basically yes I could afford to spend X amount every 2 weeks, but not nearly £200 for the first one and then X every 2 weeks after if that makes sense.

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That'll be because they need to get your house clean and then keep it up. Negotiate, tell them e.g. a 4 hr clean to start and then go from there. You can tell them how long you want to pay for and then can then do what they can in that time.

FooFighter99 · 27/04/2023 11:20

I feel exactly the same about our house. We've been here 9 years (rented)

I'm not very good at cleaning, and the place just feels grubby. There's me, DH, D(S)D23, DD11, a dog and 4 cats

I'd love to get our home professionally cleaned, blitzed from top to bottom, but I just can't afford to. And I'm just not physically capable of doing it myself Sad

Or I'd love to win the lottery and move into somewhere that's immaculate and we can then keep it that way (this house was far from immaculate when we moved in)

I have replaced the carpets upstairs (pay-weekly as that's all we can afford) so it feels slightly nicer in general

But I totally get it OP

Original poster
Grasss · 27/04/2023 11:19

Nordicrain · 27/04/2023 11:13

Could you afford a cleaner. Either weekly or biweekly or even just in for a one off spring clean?

I could yes but most of the ones I've spoken to recently want a one off large payment for the first one that I just can't justify right now. So basically yes I could afford to spend X amount every 2 weeks, but not nearly £200 for the first one and then X every 2 weeks after if that makes sense.

OP posts:
KylieKangaroo · 27/04/2023 11:16

I have given up, until they move out it will never be clean. Sometimes it gets to me but most of the time I can let it slide. What will they remember when they're older a nice clean house or all the fun they had? Don't get me wrong I'd love it to be clean but it's just not going to happen!

Batalax · 27/04/2023 11:16

I trained my kids to not lean on the walls, no food in the sitting room etc.

A combination of that and not having expectations of a pristine home when you have a toddler.

Poppasocks · 27/04/2023 11:15

I hear you OP. We have second hand, mix matched furniture. Kitchen and bathroom gets a wipe around once every couple of days and there's just stuff everywhere!

What i'm doing is tackling 1 room at a time and each month get in the things we need :)

Nordicrain · 27/04/2023 11:13

Could you afford a cleaner. Either weekly or biweekly or even just in for a one off spring clean?

Original poster
Grasss · 27/04/2023 11:11

Whenever I do try and do a proper clean I have to take our toddler to my parents for the day (which I can't do a lot) because I find it utterly impossible to do it properly or well with a 2 year old around. It just feels absolutely overwhelming all the time trying to keep on top of it all.

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