What's the house job that makes a home look clean and cosy?

[JustOneLastThing]

A bit 1950's housewife but have spent the day unpacking from holiday a week after coming home , doing washing and sorting stuff out. The house is cleaner but doesn't feel as organised and sorted as i'd like.
What can I do to bring this place make look cosy as well as clean? I am a slattern but do like to live somewhere where people don't wipe their feet on the way out .

Cushions and throws straightened. Vacuuming. My Tisserand vapouriser (got rid of all air fresheners).

@rwalker

The dark

ha ha!

Vacuum, dust and tidy. Home looks clean and inviting even if you need to clean.

The robot hoovers - how do you make sure they don't fall down the stairs when they are hoovering the landing?

@Handsoffisback how do you get to a place where you don’t feel guilty about throwing things out or giving stuff away? And I always worry that I’ll need it in the future then be pissed off about having to buy it again.

@FinnyStory

I agree hoovering.

I have recently treated myself to an Eufy robot vacuum cleaner, although I'm not sure why it was my treat and not the rest of the household's! He has made such a difference, putters around doing the hoovering for me and is really very thorough. The house always looks lovely when he goes back to bed. He also gives me someone to talk to.....

Does it get stuck under things or in corners or wherever? I am not sure how they work.

I'm not a really tidy person I'm not very messy but I'm never as tidy as I am in my head but I completely agree with most of what's said on here.

Clutter! It always ruins any work you put in to the space with decoration or cleaning or cushions etc because that's all the eyes see!

Hoovering. The couple of hours after you Hoover is the couple of hours the house looks it's absolute best, as soon as even a little amount of crumbs or bits land it's back to square one.

Clean bathroom as in toilet floor and sinks.

Dishes not lying needing washed (same effect on the eyes as clutter)

@FinnyStory - I've got a Eufy too. I adore him! Although he was very badly behaved yesterday. He attacked me, my husband's walking stick and his charging station and then reversed into a skirting board and claimed he was trapped.

For most rooms....Open windows. Dust the most visible flat surface in the room. Straighten up throws and cushions, or gather papers/toys into a basket. Hoover. Flowers and candles. Fairy lights in the evening.

Hallway- shoes in a rack or basket, coats hung on hooks not bannisters, mail in a basket or tidy pile, keys on hooks, bags in a cupboard, pot plants and a nice photo or two.

Everywhere- nice lamps on side tables, candles, flowers, surfaces reasonably clear though always nice to see books out, or a craft project being used intentionally (not just craft clutter left out).

Look up cosy rooms on Pinterest...they all have nice lighting and lots of plants.

Apart from what everyone else has said about plants, cushions, throws and keeping the house clutter free and clean, I think lighting is very good at making a house cosy. I have lots of little lamps instead of big bright lights, I also have tiny fairly lifts wrapped around a shelving unit on my wall, witch sounds a bit tacky, but it's nice and I only out them on in winter. Also have under cupboard lighting in the kitchen, which not only makes it look cosier, but is also really practical.

For all the fairy light fans, any suggetions where to buy decent ones please?

I agree with those saying no clutter. Surfaces stacked up with odds and ends papers, post and do on and house will never look good.

bibbitybobbitycats mine were the wire light ones. I got them on sale somewhere. They are battery powered which is a but of a pain, so might change them this year. The bulbs are tiny.
Like these

Can I also ask about the robot hoovers? Don’t you need to leave all the doors open? And then move it upstairs? And it can’t do the stairs anyway? I do hold my hands up and say I quite like hoovering but it’s one of the very few things I can’t believe would enhance my life? And I’m a sucker for a gadget

Thanks Iminaglasscaseofemotion

I think a statement vase with pretty flowers makes a big difference. And yes lamps and fairy lights, and a big wall mirror.

As we have no carpets downstairs. A good sweep With one of those dry mop thingies and clearing the kitchen surfaces instantly makes things better. I also sweep all the toys into the playroom as they always make their way into the kitchen.

Do Most people with laminate floors Hoover them much?

Clean floors, good storage to hide anything that doesn’t look nice and a few nice things out.

Have spent much of the day throwing bits of paper away.... So far I have;

Changed bedding
Put away 7000 loads of washing
Put all of the books in one place rather than 'artfully' scattered
Lit a posh candle
Hoovered
Decluttered the dining table
Muttered extensively about needing a bigger house and definitely a bigger kitchen to house a dishwasher
Cleaned the fridge and rearranged the contents

Just need DS and DP to stop making mess and for me to stop buying shite from the shop and it might stay a touch cleaner.

Dusting is my nemesis. I will eventually relent and pull out the Mr Sheen .

I dream of having a tidy house, but I have three young children and we home educate so there's always stuff everywhere. My children are very resistant to learning how to tidy. Once I've cracked the trick to make them learn I dream that my house will be better.

Although we got a large, double-coated dog, so that doesn't help.

Now that you've done all those things, @JustOneLastThing, do you want to come and sort my house? The cleaner was here yesterday so the bathrooms and kitchen are grand. It's just everywhere the children live.

Top tip re dusting: make your 8 year old think it's the most fun job ever and she'll do it for you.

Open the windows and let some fresh air in. Declutter, declutter, declutter.

Eufy owners, you are tempting me.
We have four carpeted rooms downstairs plus hall, so plenty of work for him, and not bothered about him working upstairs but what happens if you have rugs on top of carpet!? Does he adjust and get himself onto them or just avoid?

He copes OK with my large doormats, I'm not sure how he'd cope with a shaggy rug, but he manages to get over small threshold steps OK

Throwing away unnecessaries regularly and hoovering. I have a monthly ( pms related) declutter and hoover regularly. My house looks alot nicer without too much stuff in it.