To be fascinated by tidy people

cleaners generally clean and clean only, it's owners who tidy up.

I do think the only way is to be constantly tidying/cleaning.

put it away, not put it down. It takes exactly the same time to throw something on a chair or putting it in a cupboard.

The difference is that you will waste time later to put the stuff back in the cupboard, while mine will already be in there.

I go to bed in a tidy home, which means the only thing to do in the morning is emptying the dishwasher, so dirty stuff goes straight in it. It saves me so much time to be tidy, but that's just me. I don't judge people, I just don't let my kids make a mess.

Were you tidy and contribute to the chores?

Maybe they have a cleaner? My friends with spotless apartments have cleaners at least twice a month

Tools decorating stuff go back in the garage/shed every time

Therein lies your problem

Not being snarky but you have to do it there and then

One of my relatives has an immaculate home but she is constantly tidying or cooking or cleaning. That's all she does tbh

I don’t have much motivation to clean but if I don’t clean I get really down. I can’t rest if my house is untidy, or I can but all I think about is what needs to be done. So I’ve had to make sure I’m very hot on cleaning, I also think that having storage and a place for everything helps.

I used to be like that

My answer was tidy as I go along, less stuff, and if you can… a playroom where all the kids stuff lives.

Once the kids were in bed DH and I would do 10 minutes tidying, in tandem, before we were allowed to sit on the sofa for evening telly.

Don’t be too purist about recycling and getting stuff out of your house in the right way - eg selling, donating, freecycling to avoid landfill. I find this takes longer and involved “good intentions piles” hanging around - it’s a hindrance to being clean and tidy. Try not to feel guilty about it and try to buy less stuff.

I can’t live in chaos. I’m naturally very tidy and everything has to have a place.

you are putting it the wrong way.

My kids have a much happier childhood because they don't have a stressed-out mum, there's no drama because half the PE kit is missing when they should be leaving for school, we dont' waste time to find missing keys, or missing essentials.

I don't care what people do or how they live, but I like a tidy home, my kids know where their stuff is, what's the problem?

I could ask how can anyone be happy when they are getting in panic mode because a friend is dropping something in 10mn, or when they can't find their car keys.

I. Do it as I go along. Make lunch, put kids down for nap (well not now as they’re adults). Come down, stuff in dishwasher, high chair wipes down, pans washed and put away, hob wiped, toys chucked in baskets and food picked up from floor. Then sit down. After dinner the same while they watched CBeebies.

Dp laughs at my morning routine even now. Get up dressed, bed made and cushions and blanket on bed. Downstairs, coffee on, dishwasher emptied and put away. Washing in drier or hung out. Before leaving house, all breakfast stuff in dishwasher, cushions plumped etc. nobody is allowed to eat anywhere but the table and we don’t have food upstairs which helps

I struggle with this too. We've been renovating for a few years too so there's tools /decorating stuff everywhere on top of the usual family crap. We both WFH so we're always in making more mess. The only time it's tidy is when someone is coming to visit us and I'll crazy blitz clean. I promise myself I'll keep it that way, then ends up messy in no time. I do think the only way is to be constantly tidying/cleaning.

You don't "tidy for visitors"

you KEEP IT tidy.

that's the main thing. Live in the house that works for you, why trying to change things for random people popping buy for 1 hour. My house is always as "visitor-ready" as can be. I live there, I want it that way!

Well it's boring as arse but I can't relax if my house is a mess, and with a baby and 3 pets who shed all year round I just don't really relax anymore 😂 but if DH has baby, or if baby is asleep, I'll stick a show on my phone and watch/listen to it while I clean up. Makes it way more bearable and sometimes feels like a treat if I'm really into whatever I'm watching. I do struggle to just sit and watch the TV or a film anymore though as I associate it with cleaning! Also decluttering makes life SO much easier. I am far more of a hoarder than DH and I finally bit the bullet a few months ago and got rid of absolutely loads of crap. DH was almost crying with joy taking it to the tip and the charity shops. It makes cleaning far quicker.

The two aren’t mutually exclusive, you nutter.

My parents used to be messy and I will never forget how embarrassed I was as a child/teen. The house was never tidy enough for guests to come over therefore I never had guests or sleepovers. Spontaneous visits from anyone just never happened so I missed out on a lot of core experiences, that I hope my children will experience instead. My parent’s house was gross to live in, they had dogs so the smell
and dog hair everywhere were not to be underestimated.

Regardless of my parents dying or not, I’m still going to remember them as messy people, and it did impact my life at the time. I might not remember a specific day where a specific cushion wasn’t straight, but I will remember the general unhappy sentiment.

Every morning and evening I do a 30 minute clean and tidy- kitchen gets done twice daily- dishes washed and put away, sink cleaned, sides wiped and things put away. Lounge tidied, quick hoover and mop and spray of air freshener

So, tidy people, tell me, how do you do it. What are the tips. Was this nurture growing up in a tidy household? Or something you learned?

I grew up in a very untidy and not very clean house. It got to the point where I was embarrassed to bring friends home.

I could ask you the same question - when you get something out why don't you put it away when you have finished with it? Apologies, but I admit that I struggle to understand why people find it so difficult to tidy up after themselves TBH.

My house is usually tidy because clutter makes me feel claustrophobic and unsettled.

My husband has clothes everywhere. I don't. They're either on my back or in the laundry basket.

Ok, you don’t ’just throw things down when you find home’.

I honestly believe one is born tidy or untidy so don’t be too hard on yourself 😁

My mum is messy, and even when she tries (folding clothes, packing things, putting things away etc) it looks a mess. My dad is the tidy one. He was very strict with household chores growing up. My brother takes after mum and I my dad.

A place for everything

everything in its place

don’t put it down put it away.

make if a game, ensure your DC and your DH/P join in too, so it’s a joint enterprise , just the way things are done around here rather than you trying to tidy up around them.

good luck.

Should add .... you'll soon learn that cleaning something straight away is much quicker than leaving it for later! Wiping dried up food off anything is always a pain in the arse.

What is it?

I go through phases. When I am in a bad head space, my house gets messy. I cant be bothered to do simple things because I feel apathetic about it all.

When I am in a good head space (such as now) I love keeping everywhere tidy and clean and smelling nice. Also, when life is a bit chaotic (such as work being busy) I need some order around me and that means tidying.

I have to ‘trick’ myself in to doing it sometimes. I will say to myself that I won’t clean the whole kitchen, I will just do the washing up. But once I start I can’t stop, something to do with the dopamine hit I reckon. Have offered wondered if I have ADHD