Is your home like a show home? If so, where is all your stuff?

What I find tricky about 'storage' is that I would never use anything if I put it away. If I put a new shampoo in the cupboard I will forget I own it. So I have maybe three shampoos and two conditioners, plus a hair mask, out in the bathroom, because if they're not visible I will forget I need them before I get in the shower, won't want to get out to get them, and will end up washing my hair in my kid's bubble bath.

The same applies to make up. And clothes in drawers. And shoes. I need things visible!

My mum was a librarian and I concur 😂They have so many bookshelves filled with books, I dread having to deal with them when the inevitable happens (they're late 70s). My uncle was also a librarian and is single and a bit of a hoarder, and his house is literally filled with books. The stacks of books act as tables.

I have one very large set of bookshelves and can't currently cram anything else in - I really need a clear out so I can access the books.

I once interviewed someone in a home that had no possessions around at all. I was stunned at how tidy and empty it looked. Then during the interview the landline phone rang in a muffled sort of way and he got up and opened a cupboard and there his phone was!

Your house sounds lovely and homely. Why would you prefer it to look sterile and soulless?

I'm a dog walker and cat sitter so see inside lots of houses.

The show home type ones always have cleaners, house keepers, gardeners, nannies, a separate laundry/ utility room and usually no children.

Our property a nothing like a show home. It’s an old 1930’s building, with a very rambling garden. DP likes “ stuff “ but thankfully that is confined to a “ room”. I’m more minimalist and could quite happily live with just the basics.

DD in particular, is a collector of things. Luckily she is at uni, so we do regular clear outs when she’s home.

My two house rabbits also occupy a room and their stuff is kept in there.

Tiny kitchen, so that’s always tidy.

Plenty of storage space, so lots of stuff is hidden away. Every so often, I venture into the attic and clear out stuff.

I have lots of stuff and have lived in my house for almost 30 years. I like light and airy rooms with only a small amount of clutter out, I manage this in my lounge, kitchen and main bedroom. My study is a work room, the shelves are overflowing, we have 2 desks that are used every day, it will never be tidy.

The 2nd bedroom is used by DH mainly and has stuff everywhere, the guest bedroom is currently full of my vinted sales and DC belongings that are not with them.

I have loads of clothes, shoes and other belongings and whilst I do declutter I like my stuff. I also believe in buying well and keeping things. My furniture is 30 years old, the sofa 10 years and still looks great but used.

The dining room has piles on the table, and doubles as our gym and laundry.

We did recently have a new kitchen and I went through the cupboards and git rid of the duplicates and things that we never use, but I certainly have more than a couple of pans and 4 plates. I can easily host Christmas for 12.

My sister has the show home, always has, not only are the surfaces always clear and the house immaculate, furniture, carpets, curtains and walls are replaced regularly. I can't imagine how much she has spent over the last 20 years.

what about when the house has a sickness bug? I can remember when we had my sister and nephew to stay one christmas and she brought a sickness bug I was the only one who didnt catch it - DH, Sis and 4 young children being sick over everything (1 year olds don't always get to the bowls!) meant I was very grateful for multiple changes of bed cloths and plenty of towels and blankets to cover everything!!

It is hard to be minimalistic when you have kids - we have 3 so there are 5 of us in our house. Just things like walking boots - everyone has a pair (DH has several for different seasons/terrain etc) plus then there are always a couple of pairs knocking about that are too small for one but too big for the next.
Doesnt help that we are scout leaders so always stuff hanging around that we have picked up for that or activities we are preparing or stuff people have given us for the second hand cupboard or stock of food for camp etc etc.

Good storage is key but unfortunately that is expensive and not all houses have spare rooms/basements/giant closets to put everything out of sight. I also think wealth comes into it - if you can afford to buy whatever you want when you need it you will find it easier to let go of stuff - if you do not have a lot of spare cash then you will feel like you need to hang on to stuff in case you need it as you wont be able to go out and buy a new one.

Ditto!

I think that’s half the battle.

We only have one set of duvet covers for each bed! Off in the morning, wash, in the drier it’s back on within a few hours.

I have a friend with multiple duvet covers for all seasons (Christmas, Easter, Halloween, summer themed), I can’t be doing with all that!

I live in a small two bed, two adults, one child. We don't have 'stuff'. People talk about bursting cupboards and overflowing linen etc. And how much of it is actually needed and used. Two sets of bedding for each bed, couple of towels over person for example. I don't need millions of serving dishes or crockery.

We live in a largeish 3 story house, the downstairs was always immaculate, as I wanted it to be clean and tidy for guests.

Our third floor has our office, playroom and storage area, it looks like a bomb has gone off in all the rooms (understatement). I guess we just prioristied where we store things. DH wont throw anything away either. Our garage is also full of junk 😅.

Although DD is coming up 8 months old now and alot of her toys are migrating downstairs and it isnt what it once was!

Less stuff and more storage would do it

pictures on the wall are because I like to look at them not because I am telling the world about me and my personality though

Yes same here. I feel like I declutter every six weeks or so. Just tidying up I find stuff that needs to go.

Lots of cupboards for toy and book storage. It helps that we have a playroom/second sitting room for that so the sitting room is clear of it.

And I just don’t have a lot of stuff.

I've got lots of old photos and things but they are organised in a boarded loft.

My house is pretty clean and tidy, and free of clutter, however it does look like we live there. A home should have a homely feel in my opinion, not something clinical and unloved or unlived in.

My house isn’t ‘t cluttered but I really don’t like a soulless minimal look. I have a wall of books in my study, plenty of art on the walls and some patterned curtains, lots of colour on the walls. I need to clear out some clothes but I like plenty of choice and still wear some things I have had for 20 years or so. Your house can is one way to express your individuality, if you have no books in your house I consider this very strange.

I couldn’t live like that. I like a house that looks like a home: pictures, books, children’s “art” on the kitchen walls. I don’t like places that look sterile; I feel like I’m making them untidy just by sitting down in them.

😂 I also think that empty house vibe - amazing sofa, island, plant etc has still been thought about and curated in the same way as someone who has full bookcases and art everywhere - probably more so. Often the architecture itself is compelling - they’ve designed an amazing window, the flooring is expensive. As much thought will have gone into their walls, floor, storage, sofa as any other more full home,

I’m baffled by anyone who wants their house to look like no one lives there. I once got this wrong with neighbours when we’d just moved in next door — their house looked uninhabited. Very maximalist decor (floral wallpaper, pelmets), but the hall had an empty hall table and mirror, the dining room an empty table and eight chairs, nothing on the walls, the living room a three-piece suite facing a tv and nothing else, and a kitchen with literally nothing on any work surface or table. They took the kettle out of a cupboard to boil it. In all the years we lived next door, I never saw so much as a pair of shoes in the hall or a bunch of keys on the hall table.

We thought they’d just moved in, but they’d lived there for over 20 years! Just their aesthetic was ‘busy but uninhabited’.

I really like this idea @Notmymarmosets .

I am not a hoarder but I dolike tangible things so everything is not reliant on wifi. But this sounds appealing.

I find these properties with little stuff not warm and cosy.

Regular decluttering and good storage

I would love to strike a happy medium with this and am fascinated how people achieve a clutter-free existence. My house is tidy, mostly, but an empty show home it is not. I am assuming that the majority who manage it do not have young children at least?

Kids stuff - puzzles/games/Lego. Treasured artwork bought home from school - yes it will end up in the recycling, but not immediately. Desks. Oh, kids desks... Primary or teenage, they are stuffed with stationary/paper/half done projects, have notice boards with magnets/pictures/photos/certificates etc. Yes you can try to keep them tidy and contain this stuff to their bedrooms but that is a big job in itself...

And then there is the rest of the house. All the things you store - decorating gear/craft supplies+sewing machine/off season clothes and shoes/music books/tools/baking stuff that doesn't fit in the main kitchen cupboards/seasonal decorations/a few boxes of childhood treasures, and so it goes on - they all take up space in the cupboards loft and garage.

Books. Ok, we have a lot of books. Some on display and some stored for different points in the children's lives. We don't have to do that, but it feels so huge to just chuck out boxes of favourites, many passed from grandparents or nice gifted hardbacks or favourite series. We do pass many on as we go, standard paperbacks are often in and out.

I really am not a buyer, but still we accumulate "stuff". Do people really not have this?! I wish I had less, but it's hard to know what to get rid of.

I never declutter. I only buy things that I value, but I probably look like a hoarder to anyone else. I don't think a home "says" anything about you. If you choose what you want it to say, then it doesn't really say anything at all, as it's a fake image.

I have stupidly large collections of some things like my musical instruments and hifi, but I love them all. It's not about presenting to the outside world, as nobody knows or cares about the significance of anyone else's stuff.

A friend is obsessed with literature, and she has a fascinating personality. Her house is almost empty, but it still feels like a wonderful home, because she's there.