Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

expectation for guests to re-make sofa??

85 replies

LottieGarbo · 31/01/2022 19:54

Went for a social gathering at an acquaintance's house (think book-club type thing), we gathered in her living room and some of us sat on the sofa. When we got up to leave, she asked if we minded re-making the sofa - so moving the cushions back to their original places and straightening the throw.

We did so as it's no big deal, but it got me thinking if this is a normal part of going to someone's house and have I missed something?!
Haven't been to the homes of others very much due to lockdowns so it really made me do a mental double take.

OP posts:
Pyri · 31/01/2022 20:13

@LottieGarbo

Grin no fort, but some sort of Stonehenge type arrangement....is that not what you do in people's houses?! It really has been a long time since I've been!
Need more info. Did you also undress and perform the book review in the style of a pagan ritual?

That might explain it tbh.

PinkSyCo · 31/01/2022 20:18

Oh that’s really quite weird and ungracious of her. Did she make you go and wash up your coffee cups too?

TooTiredForAdventure · 31/01/2022 20:22

Ooh - I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. I can’t imagine using someone’s sofa and making it particularly messy, but if I had moved things, I’d put them back as a matter of course. I don’t think I’d ever ask anyone to do it for me, but wouldn’t think twice if someone had asked me 🤔

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Home improvement
TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 31/01/2022 20:25

I always take a vacuum cleaner (cordless stick sort) when visiting friends or attending a job interview and do a quick 'whizz-about' prior to leaving. I thought everyone did?
Although there have been occasions when we've got into a right tangle when eight of us are all hooving around with our vacuums after a soirée at a friend's (which is why I now always take a cordless).

mathanxiety · 31/01/2022 20:30

Weird.

Wouldn't you prefer do straighten it up yourself the way you like it?

iklboo · 31/01/2022 20:32

I always take a vacuum cleaner (cordless stick sort) when visiting friends or attending a job interview and do a quick 'whizz-about' prior to leaving. I thought everyone did?

Is that all? I completely redecorate the house from top to bottom, re-carpet and fit new windows. You're not getting an invitation to mine if you're so slap-dash!

grapewine · 31/01/2022 20:36

I would put back cushions and throws. But I'd not ask others to.

Ionlydomassiveones · 31/01/2022 20:39

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn at the poster's request.

Original poster
LottieGarbo · 31/01/2022 20:40

My boys' version of tidying up is throwing everything on the floor so she got lucky!

OP posts:
BliainNua · 31/01/2022 20:42

@grapewine

I would put back cushions and throws. But I'd not ask others to.
What are you doing to other people's sofas? Do you not just sit there???Confused
saltandpepper234 · 31/01/2022 20:43

Hmm I’m sort of with her on this one. I never ask people to do it but it really grated on me when the sofa is a mess (it’s my favourite thing to complain at DP for, using the cushions) so I actually probably would naturally make up someone else’s sofa if I had messed it up tbh.

Original poster
LottieGarbo · 31/01/2022 20:44

Maybe I am a messy sofa-sitter!

OP posts:
MrsSkylerWhite · 31/01/2022 20:44

How bloody rude is she?

saltandpepper234 · 31/01/2022 20:44

@BliainNua so many people DO NOT just sit there. They like to pile cushions up in a corner or pick them up and hug them. We used to have a throw but I couldn’t stand the way people couldn’t just sit on the sofa without pulling it down so I got rid

saltandpepper234 · 31/01/2022 20:45

@LottieGarbo

Maybe I am a messy sofa-sitter!
It’s a thing!
Original poster
LottieGarbo · 31/01/2022 20:46

I would probably pull down the throw of a family member's sofa but I promise I didn't touch her throw! My lockdown bum might have crumpled the cushions a bit too much though.

OP posts:
grapewine · 31/01/2022 20:47

I move throw pillows to sit more comfortably and drape blankets around knees. I'm disabled so might be that.

greenlynx · 31/01/2022 20:52

She told you how to do this but didn’t join herself. Fear of Covid? Maybe she didn’t want to touch things after you were in contact with them so planned to leave them for decontamination but couldn’t bear the look of messy sofa?

Mo1911 · 31/01/2022 20:54

@3luckystars

Did she tell you to click the tips back on the pens too ‘make sure it makes a CLICK sound’! Grin
Love Friends!!
Original poster
LottieGarbo · 31/01/2022 20:55

@greenlynx

She told you how to do this but didn’t join herself. Fear of Covid? Maybe she didn’t want to touch things after you were in contact with them so planned to leave them for decontamination but couldn’t bear the look of messy sofa?
Perhaps! She hasn't seemed to be fearful of covid and was happy to be in close proximity with everyone in the living room but I suppose you never know what's going on inside someone's head.
OP posts:
HardbackWriter · 31/01/2022 21:00

@saltandpepper234

Hmm I’m sort of with her on this one. I never ask people to do it but it really grated on me when the sofa is a mess (it’s my favourite thing to complain at DP for, using the cushions) so I actually probably would naturally make up someone else’s sofa if I had messed it up tbh.
You have cushions that your DP isn't allowed to actually use?
saltandpepper234 · 31/01/2022 21:02

@HardbackWriter he can use them! He just says he’s not allowed to use them because once he has stacked them in a pile in one corner and thrown a couple that are annoying him on the floor, I want him to put them back nicely

greenlynx · 31/01/2022 21:02

@LottieGarbo
The thing is she can wash cups, wipe door handles, ventilate rooms but washing some throws and cushions is a big hassle so easier to leave them for “decontamination “ . Smile

cansu · 31/01/2022 21:03

how weird and unwelcoming.

Original poster
LottieGarbo · 31/01/2022 21:03

[quote greenlynx]@LottieGarbo
The thing is she can wash cups, wipe door handles, ventilate rooms but washing some throws and cushions is a big hassle so easier to leave them for “decontamination “ . Smile[/quote]
Do you think that mean she wouldn't use her own sofa for 48 hours? Or however long covid is meant to last on fabric for.

OP posts: