To ask if you grew up in a clean and tidy home?

Mine too.

Of course it isn't.

I’d say my house was mediocre growing up. It certainly wasn’t hazardous but it was sometimes cluttered and messy and sometimes a bit grubby. Then it would get a blitz to sort it out. We had a cleaner on and off over the years.

Single parent teacher, so worked evening and weekends sometimes marking and planning. It was a struggle to keep on top of it all the time I think. It was better when we were a bit older and could do more to help.

i’m similar in that I’ll let it go due to business and it gets a bit messy etc. then will blitz and stay on it for a while then it slips etc.

DH grew up in a very tidy home and he likes to keep a very tidy home too. He is far more proactive about keeping on top of cleaning and tidying - he notices it sooner and it bothers him more.

Yes and it drove me insane, not allowed to lie in because we’d make a mess if we made our own breakfast (despite the fact I was actually working from aged 13 in a pub restaurant!).
I still can’t lie in to this day!
Our house is messy and cluttered and we just about keep a decent level of cleanliness but it’s often wanting.
The clutter is unreal but I now know I have ADHD so find this really tough to tackle and have been the same all my life. I wish I wasn’t like this. Have tried everything.

Yes I did. It was clean, tidy and loved. But, it was also cluttered. I am now clean, tidy and very much allergic to junk. (And dreading the day when I inherit said junk).

Yes I did. I am clean and tidy. I have a Labrador and a 1 year old - and once in bed. This house gets put to back to show room clean/tidy/neat.

it’s gets a super cleaned and tidy when my mother visits… I really like it this way but I won’t like it is exhausting no wonder she was always frustrated with us as kids!

Yes I did and my home has always been clean and today.

Yes we did. Very clean. We didn’t have fancy furniture or carpets etc ,not even a fridge until I was in high school. However my mum kept a spotless house. She didn’t work until I went to school and only part time until I went to high school, so it was a very different scenario to maybe two parents working all day! My mum still baked her own scones. Oatcakes etc for years. It was cheaper.Clothing was only replaced strictly when needed and living in Scotland the main clothing budget was spent on outdoor clothing. Sometimes the coats were second hand although my school gaberdine was bought new and paid off on an account. Worthwhile adding ,it was too big when I got it so it would last.Then it looked like a mini coat after two years of wear. lol.

Yes, but I always felt able to have friends round. One friend’s mum kept such a pristine house, we were never allowed in. My house is definitely clean, not always tidy, but always welcoming. Isn’t that what matters?

No I didn't I grew up in a messy hoarded home and I've ended up the same. I've autism and ADHD diagnosed as an adult and I would say my mum has the same but undiagnosed

My mum was and is a clean freak , my house is nowhere near her cleaning standards and gets m say mid week . It’s by no means awful but it’s not a show house and honestly I prefer it this way as I used to hate the feeling of not being able to mess up anything while growing up .

Every other day? I’m sorry but that’s horrible.

Yes, always clean & tidy, but not stiflingly so.

we were allowed to play, build dens, have Lego/puzzles/games/train sets left out out etc. but there wasn't any adult 'mess' as such like a pile of paperwork). But if a 'project' was 'on the go' then that was 'out' (like knitting, sewing etc or if my Dad was doing something. The one I remember in the house (rather than the garage) was when he was learning various rope knots. But my parents were both very tidy with that sort of thing. It would be in a tray or in a bag etc.

Grew up in an absolute shithole and now my own house is clean and tidy!

Yes, both my parents are very house proud. House was (and still is) always immaculate, clutter free, everything in its place, garden is gorgeous and well maintained, paint always seems fresh, interiors never dated etc. I am also very neat and tidy and my home always clean but I do find the clutter hard to keep on top off with young children and a husband who has too many tools and gadgets that are rarely kept in their place. I love going to my parent's home because no matter what time or day you call in it's spotless and lovely, they both really look after it and enjoy their home.

How to keep a clean and tidy house?

train your kids to tidy up after themselves
have a place for everything and make sure things get put back
have less stuff
never leave a room empty handed
reset a room after you’ve left it
organised mum method or similar for keeping on top of the cleaning in 30 minute bursts.

Basically, little and very often. Decent storage and remember whatever you bring in to the house you’re going to either have to get rid of or have forever. Makes you think twice about what you buy!

Nope. My mum was a single mum and had three jobs to keep a roof over our heads. It was a tip.

My house now is very clean and tidy and when I go to my mum and stepdads it makes me anxious just seeing the mess their house is (not the same one I grew up in, the mess came with them when they moved).

I hate an untidy house it really triggers me! I don’t judge though as I know it’s bloody hard work keeping on top of it. I just can’t live in untidiness for my own sanity. I’m not obsessive about it however.

How do you keep it clean all of the time? Just have less toys and less stuff? Or work part time? Or just not spend with kids and clean clean clean?

No it was dirty and untidy and every single day I struggle to keep my home halfway decent.

My house growing up was always a mess. Really untidy, cluttered, not very clean.
I’m the complete opposite. My house is super clean and tidy. I remember how embarrassed I used to feel when people came over when I was young and there’s no way I’d want my kids to feel that way.

Yes I did.
Mine (a lot smaller and older, plus full time working which is different to my DM) is a perpetual struggle. I'm naturally very untidy. Love it when it's done, though, and I do keep trying!

I'm talking about the 1970s and 1980s, a house would be clean and tidy but didn't have that effect of sparkling due to the style and materials.

My house was gleaming, spotless and shiny when I was a child, 35 years ago!
(ETA it was also a lovely home, as is my house now)

Yes but a house was different decades ago, it was a home so didn't look like the gleaming , spotless, shiny models of today.

Yes I did, even though there were 6 kids. I'm reasonably clean and tidy, not overly though